As I reflect back on the educational journey that I have encountered, I can certainly define it to be a learning roller coaster. I have had the opportunity to not only grow up in two different countries, but also educate myself these two different settings. Reaching up to the 4th grade in the Dominican Republic, and then establishing what happens to be the rest of my education in the United States, has made me explore all aspects of what now becomes my educational autobiography.
To begin my educational journey, from what I remember, attending school in the Dominican Republic is completely different than attending school in the United states. First of all, it was not public, so to receive an education in the area that I lived, you had to
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I started Elementary School in New York, the Bronx to be more specific. Because at the age that I came into the country, I was set to enter the 5th grade. From this year until I enter college, the community in which I attended school was again in the middle to lower class area. I would have to describe my 5th-7th grades to be the most difficult times in my educational experience. This was mainly because of the language barrier that I walked into. Being originally of a Spanish speaking descent, trying to grasp the English language was extremely difficult, specially attending school with a majority of students who only spoke English. I was placed in a “bilingual” classroom, however not being able to speak and understand the language frustrated me to the point where I would corner myself and not even try to interact with others. I remember at times coming back home from school crying to my parents because I was told to read a book in English by the teacher for a homework assignment, but couldn’t because I did not understand one word. In the classroom, we were given so many materials compare to what I got back in the Dominican Republic, something that I appreciated and took advantage of. My teacher at the moment wasn’t the best, but she tried. Her name was Mrs. Santiago, handling a classroom of probably fifteen 5th graders. The …show more content…
I had an English teacher name Mr. Hesse and a chemistry teacher Mr. Griffin. So far they have been the best teachers I’ve ever had in my entire school life. They were so great at what they did and taught us, because not only did they focus on teaching us about the course itself, but they made sure to give us real life advice. They were always there after school to help us with whatever we did not understand from the course, they were there to help us with advice on moving into our college careers, for any conflicts, they were just always there for us, to guide us. We also had great counselors who made sure that on our last year of High school, we were on top of our college applications as early as possible, and I really thank them for that because now I am attending a great
Going back to school at 30 is not the same as going back to school at 20, especially when you’re a single parent with an established career. Returning to school never left my mind throughout the years, I received my associates seven years ago and between then and now a lot had changed. So many questions I asked myself; do I have the time, who can help watch my daughter, can I juggle another load, etc. I answered every one of my questions; unfortunately I gave myself excuses instead. The decision going back to school was overwhelming because it was taking up another full time job; making it a priority and possibly putting in overtime to study and do homework.
When I first started school, I remember how difficult it was for me to make the transition from Spanish to English. My Mom left me at the door of the school in the morning, but since I was placed in an English-only classroom, the next time I opened my mouth to speak to anyone was when she picked me up again that afternoon. I didn't know what anyone was saying around me, and to make matters worse, my teacher didn't speak a single word of Spanish. That day, like every other day, I came home crying because I felt like an outsider. That year was very difficult for me because I ended up in the back corner of the classroom not participating. As a result, I had to take several years of summer school in order to catch up, something that could have been avoided if I had been placed in a bilingual program. Several key advantages to bilingual education are that it allows for an emotionally safe transition, students don't fall behind in their lessons, and parents are not alienated from their children's education.
Dr. Amber Peplow and this Capstone Course taught by Professor Wise. I am including the names of the professors because I feel they each contributed a specific teaching style and their input in these courses had a direct effect on how I learned from them each individually. All these courses I have completed were touchstones to my learning. Each had individual sections of learning that excelled me to the next level.
As migrant and English language learner the transition of living and studying in México to El Paso, is not an easy for any age student. I immigrated to El Paso when I was in my last year of high school and wanting to pursue a career at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. My father decided for the family and we were moved to a school in El Paso. In the high school I attended for about three months, I was placed on tenth grade and in regular classes. I just had one hour daily of English as a second language instruction. The system back in the 1980’s on ESL classes was not as they are in schools now. They made me feel like I did not had other option but to droop school, which eventually I did when I realized that I was going to be placed in the special education department. My self-esteem went down the hill and I was not willing to comply with what the school wanted. Especially if I was coming from almost finishing high school with an average of 9 of a 10 grade scale, I felt that it was not fair for me to be place in the special education department just because I had limited English proficiency. Fifteen years after I had drooped school, I returned to school and learn English at El Paso Community College, and now I am pursuing my master degree as instructional specialist in bilingual education. Coming from another country with different, or similar, family values affect the students’ learning and the way that other look at those students, especially in schools.
I was born in Mexico and came to California at age 4. I lived in many places such as San Jose and Madera but ended up living in Huron. I started at age 6 in kindergarten. Everything went well until second grade. The reading got harder and so did the spelling. The teacher wouldn't really help me, she would just continue class as usual. I started to not do my homework and not work in class. It wasn't that I didn't want to do it, I did want to but the problem was that I didn't know how to do it. I had no one at home that could help me due to everyone being Mexican and didn't know any English at all. At the end they sent me to a DSPS program.
She was the most caring and dedicated teacher I ever had and she respected every student as an individual. On the other hand, she had a very negative influence on my life. She is the person who told me there was no Santa Clause, which ruined Christmas for me for a very long time. Another person who has had a great influence on my life is Mr. Robinson. He was my first band teacher. He is the person who convinced me to join band, which
College education is an integral element that is effective to students’ social, mental and the career because it nurtures one to produce the best in life. College education is key to shaping student in tandem with the global demands that touches on career ingredients vital in securing meaningful employment. As a student pursuing college education, I stand to gain from these benefits. College education has been perceived to be expensive, but the fact that it will provide many benefits should not be ruled out. Every successful project or action undertaken has to come with a cost. a state that I acknowledge as I embark on my higher education. It is evident that of the various skills that one acquires in learning translates
Along with finding my passion for theater, I also found one of my favorite teachers during my time in Junior High. His name was Mr. Rodrigue, and he was my homeroom and science teacher for both seventh and eighth grade. He was one of the first teachers that was every real with me. He was a very open and honest teacher who treated his students like adults. Mr. Rodrigue had this wit and sense of humor that made him more personable than any of my other teachers. I loved how he gave everyone in our homeroom nicknames, for instance, mine was “Higgy-Baby”. To this day I do not know how he came up with a name like that, but I know that while I was in his classroom, I was never called just Alyssa. While I learned many new and interesting things in his science class, I remember more of the life lessons that he taught during homeroom. He was one of the teachers that was there for me when life got rough, he looked out for me during and outside of class. For me, knowing that I had him keeping an eye out for me made me feel
One of the main reasons I became a good student was my teachers back in high school, they had always respected and loved a good student, and you don’t have be a genius, just as long as you participating in their classes, they liked you, so I always fought for that sense of respect and love, also after I graduated, they were still giving credit of my dedication in the school, and that’s what I thrive for in life, to leave a good reputation behind me, and to always be remembered for my good
Throughout my high school years, my educational experience had its ups and downs. Being in college has given me a lot of flash backs from high school. Some of these flash backs include the challenges, the changes, and the different maturity levels which has had a major impact on my educational experience in life. After realizing that there are differences between high school and college, I began to see that high school was just preparation of being in college.
What is education? According to Webster’s Dictionary education is defined as, (noun) 1: the action or process of being educating or of being educated, 2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools. What does education provide for us? How important is education in today’s society?
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family” (Strong n.p.). Anywhere a person goes, there are people demanding that people have a certain level of education. This makes wanting to get into a certain profession hard to do. By going to schooling you can get yourself and education, but by no means necessary do you get an education by going to school. But the question lies in how you go about achieving both them, and increase in learning. There are times when you can get some school, but the education does not fully come. This could be from the lack of teachers, or the encouragement that you get. It also lies in how much enthusiasm that you put
Personal Development is a lifelong process that involves the assessment of current skills and talents and the enhancement of oneself based on that assessment which then leads to the realization of goals and an improved quality of life. To be able to assess yourself, you need to be able to reflect on your past which helps you to understand the attitudes you have developed and the foundation that you will be building your life on. Also, you have to reflect on your present to see if there’s room for improvement and reflect on your future so that you can achieve your aspirations.
My educational journey has been like a roller coaster. I have been in the worst spot of my life time. Where I hate going to school but, also think about my father education. My career goal is one of my most important in my life to better myself than I am today tomorrow I will better than yesterdays.
My journey as a student has always been focused on the path to college and success. Before I even set foot in kindergarten my mother, a college dropout, always told me that “honor roll wasn’t an option” and that I would be attending college in the future and achieving a degree. Most of the time I made these requirements. Most of the time I was awarded honor roll or had a newly edited list of colleges to attend, but sometimes life got in the way of my dreams of achieving success.