BHS student attends governor’s school
Posted on Wednesday, August 1, 2007
BENTONVILLE - A student's life in college is a unique experience that is hard to duplicate during any other time in the student's life.
Bentonville High School senior Derek Moore got the closest thing to a college experience this summer in the Arkansas Governor's School, held at Hendrix College in Conway. The course was most of June and July.
"It's a simulation of a college experience," he said.
The six-week-long course divides the estimated 400 participants into categories based on their projected college major. The choices for major categories were: choral music, drama, English / language arts, instrumental music, mathematics, natural science, social science, or visual arts. The students in each major category took several noncredit classes that were taught by professors from several universities.
The program is funded by the Arkansas Legislature as a portion of the biennial appropriation for Gifted and Talented Programs through the state Department of Education. State funds provide tuition, room, board, and instructional materials for each student who attends the program on the site leased by the state.
"It was a huge academic experience," Moore said. "They are teaching us classes in the areas we were most interested in."
Moore was in the group that studied the social sciences. His four classes included • Sociology • Word Uses and Power in Times of Conflict (how people use certain types of wordings and phrases to influence a debate );
• Economics; and • Developing Nations (how nations develop and the challenges they face ).
"It was the best experience of my life," Moore said.
The student body was treated to special speakers throughout the week. The speakers' topics were on a rotation that allowed a topic from each of the major areas, including Moore's social sciences. The speakers were unique in both their presentations and backgrounds. A speaker that stood out was a former member of the Rwandan parliament, Moore said.
The students also had the opportunity for social time, which included seminars from authors, sports and other activities. They stayed in the campus dormitories, thus adding to the college-life atmosphere.
Moore said the entire experience cemented his desire to attend college and to major in international relations.
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