Some Things Don't Get Lost in Translation

It is Friday afternoon of homecoming weekend, and excitement is rebounding off the walls and halls of Falls Church High School. I am new and a little uncomfortable. I came from another, more homogenous school, so I am wondering how this high school homecoming tradition will transfer in this most diverse of schools.

As I walk toward the gym, I hear the marching band coming around the back of the school. The students are spilling in, climbing the bleachers to sit with friends. I notice behind me a group of new immigrant students in the upper-left corner of the freshmen bleachers. What will they think of this? The student body president calls all to rise, as the school chorus sings the national anthem. It is silent; then the music begins.

The cheerleaders bounce out, break dancers defy gravity, the field hockey team dances a number, the step team claps and stamps a rhythm and finally the marching band takes over, as the football team dances along. I look up and see the new students stomping and cheering in the bleachers. Americana is alive and well. Go Falls Church! I wonder how that translates.

Mary Baldridge

teacher

Falls Church High School

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