“Bottom Of the Barrel”
When I first moved to the US, I remember going to school for the first time, I was able to meet my teacher and the principal. I remember them saying to my mom that I would be placed into a class that had academically advanced kids, and kids who struggled academically placed into the same class in hopes that the kids that did better would push those who were not so fortunate. Unfortunately, I was put into the latter category.
The transition was overwhelming, especially in the terms of the school system, I did not understand certain things such as how they wrote, the writing was completely different from what I had learned formatting was different even the way they solved math problems were different and so I really struggled. Everything I knew was different.
It was not easy, I did a lot of things wrong, and I was not succeeding as I was used to. I remember someone saying to me that I was in the bottom of the barrel. There was nothing more I wanted to do but prove them wrong through hard work and determination, and a great support system from my family. I was able to overcome those challenges because not only did I catch up to the other kids. I excelled being in the top five in the school and received the New York State leadership award that year, and it goes to show that you should not let words hurt you let them help you grow.
This is a good story of being resilient! I like that you triumphed! You might even use this as a title for a story “Bottom of the Barrel.”
NOW — In what grade did this happen? Is there a memory that stands out of a time when you felt you were “overwhelm[ed]” or that you were not “understanding what [the teachers] wrote”? IS there a memory of a particular day in that class when you were lost and “really struggling”? What was the lesson? Can you give CSD concrete specific details of the classroom where this happened? What were the others students like? HOw did you know some were excellent students and others were not? How did their English sound to you?
RLW and look back at how Santiago showed us being in Ms. Brown’s Learning Disabled class.
Can you SHOW us how you felt different or in a different language speaking world?
What were the steps you took to improve because you certainly were victorious.
Hello there Elaine, your story reminded me of the story we read in our last class. I couldn’t imagine moving to a new country and being in the same class with academically advanced kids especially when everything is different for you. But I loved how you didn’t let that get into your head and even proved to the person who said you’re at the bottom of the barrel. I can see you’re very tenacious, it’s almost palpable!