Doruk Ozyurt

From the other side of the world, Junior Doruk Ozyurt moved to Frisco from Istanbul, Turkey just a few days before the 2018 school year. Ozyurt, like Dacruz, says that the language barrier is one of the hardest things to adjust to, even though English is taught from elementary to graduation in his Turkish school.

“The hardest part is communication,” Ozyurt said. ”The accents are so different here, with Hispanic, American and other voices, it’s just too hard to get used to.”

Another adjustment Ozyurt had to make was to the structure of the school day. Along with Turkish education placing an emphasis on different subjects, Ozyurt is faced with learning about a very different school structure.

“Basically the education system is so different in Turkey, because in Turkey there is only one classroom and the teachers come into that class,” Ozyurt said. “Here, you go to every class so it’s different and it was so difficult to get used to.”

Another main difference in his school life, is that some subjects are taught at a different level, which proves difficult for Ozyurt.

“I went to a math placement test, and I think I failed,” Ozyurt said, “I learned at a low grade in Turkey, here it is higher.”

Similar to Dacruz, Ozyurt and his family came to the U.S to help prepare them for success in the future. In Turkey, the literacy rate only reaches 87 percent, while the U.S. reaches 99 percent, suggesting that American education yields better results.