Reflective Paper 1: Educational Autobiography

Here is the rest of my paper, since I did not realize how it was supposed to be posted. 

S.A Elementary School:

There is not much that I remember about Elementary school. I do however; remember conversations with other students on the last day of class. They were placing bets and talking about how they did not want to have this teacher for x y and z reasons. I ended up with the teacher that most students disliked. They were afraid of her because she was strict. She was indeed a strict teacher and did not tolerate any foolishness. But I must admit that I learned from her. She emphasized the importance of respect and the need for rules. Academically she prepared us for middle school or junior high as others call it.

One specific thing I can remember her teaching and truly emphasizing to the class was how to write in cursive. I mention this in this paper, because I know now that this is not really a course or part of the curriculum in schools today.

U.B Middle School

I was placed in the AWC class, which I hated and tried very much to get out of. But was forced to stay for reasons that I cannot quite remember. Perhaps because students tested into the travel group they were placed in. Then in the 7th grade I had a handful of wonderful teachers: Miss F and Mr. H for English and Mr. T for pre-algebra and Mr. A for science. Then during 8th grade I had the same teachers all over again because I was part of the pilot humanities class. We, my classmates and I, fought so hard to get out of the class, yet were unable to leave. We hated that we were unable to sit with our peers in lunch or join them during other activities.

Later we learned that the way the class was set up was that; they placed the students that were “gifted” along with the students that were named “special needs” due to their learning disabilities or struggles with particular subjects. And they taught us in a way that combined a lot of what we were learning. Our teachers knew us very well because we saw them every day and only traveled amongst the same classrooms were in constant communication with one another to work out the curriculum. That class had a very interesting dynamic. We worked as a team on lots of things, and really pushed one another to succeed. Ultimately, we learned that the pilot was a success. The special needs students in that class ended up scoring higher on standardized testing than the students in the regular classes.

Flash forward, most of the students remained friends during high school. And 98 percent of us went on to college. And just about everyone graduate high school. A statistic that is sad to look at. This middle school is located in an urban neighborhood and the numbers of students that drop out each year in high school are high. Therefore, to have a large number of these students make to graduation, it was a success.  

E.B High School

I graduated with the largest graduating class from this school. It was a wonderful experience because I, along with many others, seized every opportunity I had. In the school we had a senior café, oriented to provide all of the seniors with all they needed to apply for college or work upon graduation. We had a PIC counselor whose office had an entrance to the café and the TERI (college preparatory) and Access (Financial Aid) counselors whose offices were located inside the café. Down the hall we had the Gear up office, which helped with college access and applications. With the help of these offices I toured many schools and was able to successfully apply to higher education.