Category: Portfolio & Reflection

 

The education system is a cluster of information that can sometimes be displayed as a positive thing but more of the time it can be negative because the information sometimes will not be delivered in a way that everybody can understand d i see this form time to time on all levels of education its like the system almost doesn’t care if you really understand the information just the fact of the matter that they are giving it out to you . but other students learn at a different pace than others 

 

An experience that changed my views on education was my high school at this “milestone in life” everybody moved on to the next grade and i also realize that almost everybody graduated even the ones that did not show up to class and missed school for days so i feel like in school to they put so much pressure on you to be perfect not caring about mental health and then leave you very stressed in the regards to living up to the idea of being the perfect “A” student when the reality of it is if you do the bare minimum to past your gonna move on to the next level just like the person who went all out and got like  99 plus average. I feel like back in high school the teachers would make you feel so bad if you did the bare minimum to pass when you technically did your job you passed right?  Given this information that I figured out for myself I always maintained a 83- 85 average to get the honor roll cause I figured out that’s where the bare minimum requirements were if I wanted to have an okay looking transcript for colleges. The reality of the education system is that you have to find a way to work and interpret assignments in your own way while trying to keep a good mental health. You will be fine because I feel like if your mental health is not there you won’t learn anything.  

 

In the education system some kids don’t get equal opportunities as others too sometimes it’s a hit or miss for example i was on the other kids who had all the exposure to internships , jet blue job shadowing and also got to go to square headquarters along many more instances where i was handed a opportunity to be ahead of the her in many instances. With This being said I feel like the education system would be a better place if everybody got these as options at least like allow them to reject these opportunities rather than not give it to them in the first place. Because these programs helped me alot in the real world which is what it should all be about in the end because majority of the time the classes that you take in school you probably wont ever need to know that specific knowledge again outside that class because it does not pertain to your career field. The program I was participating in was the Build NYC program. This really helped me with my speaking skills and writing skills which a lot of kids could use rather than the manipulation they face in school for not getting an A average . know i mention this before but i think the sole reason for this whole levels in education k_12 is to toy with your mental construct and only the strong will survive cause the reality of it is you have to find a way to make the education system work for your         

 

The standard for success is a very broad spectrum meanwhile my pairs at school were learning about how Christopher Columbus stole america i was in these rooms job shadowing people at these high paying office jobs that never even went to college i even had met this one guy that read 3 books and taught himself how to code. Then boom there he was getting paid very well at this job with an apartment downtown and if you know anything about downtown nyc it’s very expensive to live in these buildings. I was shown that i can pass in school but at the end of the day i need to be exposed to real world experiences  because i was learning something new every time i went on these endeavors meanwhile in school the information was basically being repeated even in college too but t a extent i feel like the disguised it as new information by over complicating things that we already know so now it looks like Chinese . Instead of this they should incorporate some things that we can actually use in the real world like classes on taxes or tax write offs of even stocks.

 

The motive should be to teach things that can be translated to the real world. They should almost make it like a trade school or at least have one class like I did that would give internships or job shadowing, giving everybody some real exposure to the workforce. It almost seems like they abuse the big brother concept where they are just watching over you waiting for you to make a mistake. With this being said not every teacher is like this but the majority is for example the teachers that are willing to listen to your voice of opinions on certain topics are very minuscule compared to those who abused the big brother concept. The times are changing and with this the age of information soon kids will be telling teachers that they have already heard and seen what they are saying so probably that will bring about some positive changes.

 

 

Throughout all of the elementary, middle, and high school my experience with language and learning was not too good. I struggled with so many aspects of language to the point I thought I was dumb and not smart enough for my grade level. My anxiety was also the main reason why I did so poorly. I was never able to focus or even participate because of it. I had plenty of teachers to guide me and teach me more about English and help me face my fears, but I was still not meeting grade level. My mom decided to put me in an IEP class thinking it will be easier for me to see a teacher one on one. Being put in an IEP class has its pros and cons but the class is overall very beneficial for students that are struggling in any subject.  

I began to see two different teachers around 3rd grade, my main teacher and the teacher that would take me out of class for my daily services. I was expecting to be removed from the class which made me extremely annoyed. That meant I was not going to be working on lessons with my friends and sitting with them in class. Each class had a set of students that would need services, so we all gathered together in the 6th period to meet with our IEP teacher. I never made friends with kids from the other classes so I did not know how to approach anyone. Before class started, each morning I would be sent to my IEP teacher and be put on this computer program that would help me with my reading. It was extremely repetitive! My IEP teacher would also give us homework on top of the homework our main teacher gave us which was stressful on me and the others. Although I was having a hard time enjoying the class, I did learn a lot of important things from my teacher that still benefits me today. My experience with IEP in elementary school was difficult but it didn’t matter to me in the end because my teachers and my mom were seeing progress. Leading up to middle school, I chose to stay in IEP because I was getting the help I needed from my teacher and wanted to continue receiving the same services.   

Going into middle school with an IEP wasn’t easy because the teachers did not know where to place me. Each class was based on the students’ level of learning. I was removed from a class and put into another class because of my learning disability. It made me feel like it wasn’t good enough. I started to realize that the students would make fun of me or the other students that also had IEP. Bullying can become a problem when in an IEP. Some thought being in an IEP was for dumb students who were delayed, but they did not know that it helped plenty of students like me with my anxiety and schooling. Middle school really opened my eyes and made me realize that an IEP was only to benefit me and made me appreciate my teachers and peers even more. Not only was I gaining so much from it, but I also built a deeper relationship with my teachers. My IEP teacher towards my 8th grade left a long-lasting impression on me. She was not only my teacher but a really good role model. I enjoyed seeing her because she would give me advice on life which helped me through life struggles. I was sad that I was graduating because I knew I would miss my teacher, but she still kept in contact with me throughout high school. 

In high school, I began to notice that I no longer needed an IEP for my last few years. My overall performance in school was better than normal. My teachers began to suggest that I be removed from IEP so my mom did what she thought was best and removed me. Being without an IEP  started to become a problem for me when I began to take my regents or any AP exam. I was always so used to having extra time on my exams to the point I started to depend on it. I’m a slow test taker and I needed way more time to finish my tests than the other students. During my SAT I had only limited time to take my test which led to me not finishing it on time and getting a very poor score. I was extremely devastated by this outcome because I knew that the SAT was extremely important for college. Luckily for me, due to covid colleges were making SAT scores optional. My AP exams also became a problem because I would never finish them on time and questions would be left blank due to my slow pace. Losing that extra time did not prepare me for major exams in high school which led me to feel extremely regretful. 

 My problem with IEP was that I was relying on it too much towards the end. Having that extra time on tests was good but it never prepared me for when I won’t have extra time on tests, for example in college. Another major problem I faced throughout the middle, and high school was the stereotypes students were putting out about IEP. It wasn’t easy hearing other students make fun of me and others in the IEP class, saying that we were dumb and not fit for the school. Made me second guess myself and my ability to learn which prevented me from actually trying and gave me even worse anxiety. Even my friends would question me about the class and ask me why I was in it. They knew why but just wanted me to feel bad about myself. Overall my relationship with the educational system has taught me to embrace certain academic problems and learn from them. Learning from it has helped me be more prepared for advanced classes in the future.

 

Everyone has their own experiences with school, I personally did not like school growing up. Many people have very happy memories and enjoy pushing themselves to get good grades. My own experience was hard in the sense of me not getting good enough grades and disappointing my mother. Certain teachers also played a part in my disliking of school because instead of pushing me to do better they could care less about me or my struggles in their class. However, there was a pandemic that occurred and shut schools down for a year and a half. It played a huge part in changing my own views on education because it changed it completely.

Disappointing my mother was one of the saddest things I could do. My single mother, who works a 9 to 5 job every day to provide for me and my sister. My mom does whatever she needs to do in order for us to be healthy, happy, and successful. I would be having a hard time in my classes like English. I would not complete my assignments properly and fail tests and it would show in my grades and I would go home and get lectured of course but behind all the anger being shown, I knew that she was overwhelmed and sad for me. Every mother just wants her child to be amazing in this world and to be content and happy. My mother doesn’t ask me for much, she asks me for the bare minimum so it truly breaks me when I add on to her stress and overwhelming emotions. If the education system was more kind and understanding I would have been able to excel as a student.

Some teachers don’t deserve to teach. In middle school, my English teacher was very strict and I was failing the class and I needed to begin tutoring, and even with the extra time doing work I still had a very low grade. This was because my teacher didn’t put in the grades for extra work I had done to pass the marking period.  So even after all the work, I’d don’t I still failed the marking period. High school was a different experience I would say the worst experience. In my junior year of high school, the year the pandemic started but this was before the pandemic. My English teacher was very disliked by a lot of people. He would shame students for normal things in front of large groups of peers on purpose. This individual would find pleasure out of belittling his students and enjoying watching his students crumble and he would kick them while they were already down. However, my experience that really genuinely shocked me when it happened was the parent-teacher conference when he spoke to my mom. Before the conference, he had asked me to do a certain assignment to pass the marking period and I ended up not doing it, but he had entered the passing grade beforehand. Now although I was in the wrong in that situation during the conference he was asking me for a “thank you”, and just speaking directly to me when he was supposed to be speaking to the parent. My mom kept telling him to speak to her instead of me because she saw how he was just trying to get a reaction from me but I was composing myself and staying quiet because I was in the wrong. He just began bad-mouthing me to her and saying that I was his worst student just to spite her. It worked they were arguing during the conference and that had shown me that that man was not teaching material he couldn’t even be professional or respectful to a student’s parent let alone any of his students. I eventually got out of the class later on in the year.

In the first half of 2020, the coronavirus started infecting everyone It seemed to like it came out of nowhere and everything just got shut down and we were all put into what was supposed to be a short-lived quarantine. The regular school became a thing of the past and online was the only option. At first, I was stoked about just being home and not having to leave my house every morning for school. Being able to relax during classes and not have to take them seriously because the teachers were very lenient when it came to handing in work late or having incomplete assignments. The google meets would be filled with students that were either not paying attention or sleeping, I was also a part of this. Eventually, I started to miss what I used to dislike which was spending my days at school. I can say with utmost certainty that the pandemic changed my views on education for the better.