October 2, 2020

My Experience With Education 

Growing up I didn’t care for school or an education. Which now thinking about it shouldn’t have been how I viewed education because my parents struggled to come to America.  They came for me to be able to have a better education than the one they had and be able to pursue a career which is something they didn’t have the chance of doing. I didn’t have a passion for education, I barley went to school. When I did go, I got into trouble often and mostly thought of school as a place to be able to see my friends and hang out. I partially viewed it that way because I had strict parents and I wasn’t really allowed out. Now looking back, I wish I would have taken education more seriously. 

Let me take you through my education journey. My elementary school experience was normal I think I mean I lived right up the block from my school so I would walk to school go to class and do my homework. For the most part though I gossiped with my friends in the back of the classroom. My teachers would move me to several different chairs in the classroom but that never really helped. If I didn’t know you, I somehow managed to make you my friend by the end of the day. Middle school I would say was when everything changed not just the way I viewed education but my life in general. There is a specific day in middle school that stands out to me. I was attending M.S 88 in Brooklyn NY going about my day gossiping with my friends in class the usual. When my English teacher pulled me out of the classroom and told me something that stayed with me through all my years in school. I remember her telling me ”you can’t just get by not putting in effort just because you’re smart doesn’t mean anything, I don’t see you even graduating from high school.” I remember me trying to brush it off and just walking right back into class like my teacher didn’t just tell me I was going to fail in my educational journey. After that day I just really stopped caring about school all together. Several weeks after that conversation with my teacher I got into a fight and ended up getting switched schools to a school that was closer to my house. I attended Montauk for my two remaining years of middle school. I went through something no child should ever really have to go through, and honestly it changed me as a person. I started hanging out with the wrong crowed and come high school I just continued the path I was going on. I barley attended class and when I did it was to hang out with my friends, I got into a lot of fights, and got into a couple of arguments with several of my teachers and staff at school that I ended up getting kicked out of 3 different high schools I attended. By then I decided to just drop out of school. 

I could blame it all on my teacher and say that because of what she said to me as a kid changed the way I viewed school but that’s not really the case. I could have chosen to prove her wrong, but I didn’t instead I proved her right in what she said. I can’t blame the way things turned out solely on what my teacher said but I can say the way some teachers teach is faulty. Reading the article “I Just Wanna Be Average” By Mike Rose he states “But mostly the teachers had no idea of how to engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond.” I’ve felt like this often in school with teachers a lot of them lack the ability to help engage kids’ interest. A lot of teachers I’ve had just read straight out of the textbook they lack the ability to interact with students. 

After dropping out of high school I started working, for a lousy salary that honestly wasn’t enough to cover my bills. I worked two jobs I ran from one job to the other with no days off the day I had off from one job I worked at the other. Not too long after I got married and had my son and my daughter. Now I’m going through a divorce and I solely proved for my kids. My mind on education changed when I realized my life wasn’t really going anywhere and I want to be able to provide a better life for my children, provide them with everything I didn’t have growing up. I knew I wanted to go back to school but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to pursue. I knew I always loved law maybe because of all the shows I watch like “ Law in Order Special Victims’ Unit” or “ For Life” or the fact that I like helping people. I thought about becoming a lawyer but felt like I was too old to pursue that career since it takes various years. One day in the hospital with my son I came to the realization that I should pursue paralegal studies to try to help make a difference. 

I remember this day like it was yesterday because thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes. It was August 17 a Friday I was at work when my phone kept ringing. I was a cashier and was busy ringing up customers so I couldn’t pick up. My phone was in my back pocket, so I kept feeling the vibration repeatedly. I wasn’t sure who was calling but I thought it must be important I asked to go use the bathroom and had someone cover me. When I stepped into the bathroom and took my phone out, I had 12 missed calls and 3 voicemails and about 25 texts from my sons’ father saying “ I’m fucken calling you, why can’t you pick up.” I didn’t even bother to hear the voicemails. I called him back and before I could explain that I was obviously at work he started yelling and I could hear my son in the background crying. He said, “ I’ve been fucken calling you, you couldn’t pick up this kid keeps crying and I don’t know what to do there is nothing wrong with him, come pick him!” I told him I was on my way I hung up and proceeded to leave the bathroom and locate my manager to explain to him that I had a family emergency and had to leave. He was very understanding and allowed me to leave I immediately clocked out and called my Uber. It came in less than 3 minutes and I got in and was on my way. As I got closer, I called my sons father to have him ready so I could pick him up and leave. I picked him up took him home and when I arrived, I changed him and realized he was crying this whole time because he had a bad diaper rash. My son has a very sensitive skin so anything can cause him a rash, but the rash was extremely bad it looked as if had not been changed in a couple of hours. I called my sons father to tell him why he was crying and ask why he hadn’t changed him for most of the day, I explained to him I was taking him to the doctors. I called an Uber to the hospital. When I arrived at the emergency room, they took my sons insurance and proceeded to ask me what was wrong. I then explained to them that he had a horrible diaper rash and that I was at work and had just picked him up from his father’s house. They placed us in a room for us to wait for the doctor. I remember sitting in the room holding my son trying to comfort him because he would not stop crying as I waited for the doctor. Right across from us was a mother and her son I could hear her crying. About 30 minutes went by when a nurse came in, he asked if my son was Jacob and if he was 7months I said yes. He proceeded to tell me that everything I said was confidential and I thought to myself why he is telling me this, but I said okay. He asked, “ so Jacob was in his father’s custody when this happened” I said “ yes, he was he called me while I was at work to pick him up and I brought him here”. He then proceeded to ask me “ Is this the first time his dad does this “, I answered ”yes because usually he only takes him for about 2 hours and then my mom picks him up and has him until I get out of work.” He then tells me “I’m sorry this happened to your son, I can’t imagine what you’re going through this shouldn’t happen to anyone especially a 7month old, to be molested by his father who is supposed to protect him is appalling, he said wait here the police will come in and you can give them your statement.” I was shocked and explained to him that he had the wrong room that my son was just here for a bad diaper rash. He looked shocked and confused and asked me for my son’s last name. He realized he had the wrong room and apologized and said he had gotten confused because the other boy had the same name and was the same age as my son. The room right in front of us was where the other Jacob was, I remember from earlier his mother crying. I saw the police officers go in and close the door behind them. I started to cry just thinking about how someone could do something like that to a child. I thank god it wasn’t my son and hoped that their family would be okay after all that. 

That day in the hospital determined what career I wanted to pursue which is paralegals studies helping put people like that behind bars. In the article “The Caged Bird Prevails” By Stephon Hobson he states “Ultimately, I believe that all things are destined. If not for the negative influences of my initial environment, I wouldn’t have the tools to think outside my community.” I can relate a lot to his statement, I think everything happens for a reason and everything I went through led me to city tech to pursue my career in paralegals studies. I’m excited to start this new journey and I am confident that my varied background has provided me with many skills that will help me succeed in college.