Coming from the Lake Central school district, Munster was difficult to get used to. The classes here are much harder, there are different norms and the school’s expectations are higher. I had a hard time in all my classes due to the different teaching styles the teachers use. 

Here at Munster, teachers go through content quicker and the tests they give are designed to make students use what they have learned and apply it in different scenarios. However, when I look back at it, all of the struggle and academic rigor that I went through was for my own good. I have gotten into almost all of the colleges I have applied to thanks to the outstanding learning environment Munster provides. But academics were not the only thing that shocked me when coming into Munster. 

It is no surprise that Munster is strict, and coming from the LC district, this was a shock. All of the rules and procedures students and teachers have to follow seem a little excessive at times. It sometimes felt comparable to an institution rather than a school, shown by teachers being afraid to get creative due to a chance of failure. Yes, there are teachers that incorporate creative learning environments for their students, but I think most teachers, especially new ones, have a hard time getting settled in and taking risks. It seems to me that the teachers that stay are the ones who teach conservatively and the ones who come and go are the creative ones. The teachers of Munster are not the only thing that was different, but the students were different too.

Here, most students are nice, kind and willing to help. Entering into a higher level math class freshman year, I had no clue who to talk to. I had students who were one to two years ahead of me in my class, all of which had their own friend groups. Finding which one to fit into was hard at first due to the age gap, but eventually I found my group. Everyone was understanding of my difficult situation and was welcoming.

Overall, Munster has been a positive experience for me, even through the pandemic; however, not everyone’s experience at Munster is the same. Some kids and teachers have negative experiences, which I understand because there definitely have been laughable moments since I’ve been here. Munster is not perfect and change would be for the better. With the future progressing, Munster has to decide if it wants to give into change or remain stubborn with its traditional ways.