With the upcoming assignment of the education narrative coming up it forces me to be a lot more reflective of the many years passed. It is a bit hard for me to really try and pull out anything that seems too relevant to my view of education. I remember times of when I would mess around with my friends in middle school during what we had as a club period. It was a photography club where hanging out in open areas of the school came before the actual photography portion of the club. There was a really cool time where I was a part of a group project where we conceptualized a mobile app that we would present in a competition. We spent a day in an office building and we sat in a small office brainstorming which felt almost genuine in the setting.
There is one event I remember that stuck with me even to now though. I had been in the same school from kindergarten to 8th grade as the elementary and middle school was integrated. I don’t really know how this was, but I had managed to establish myself as one of the smartest students in my grade. I was even well known by the staff and students around the school too whether it was because I had been in a class with them or participated in a school event that exposed me to more people. Essentially, I was known as THE smart kid and one of the best. Although all throughout my life I never felt too special, more like I’m just doing what I’m told and taught just somehow better than others. I just saw myself as mediocre.
One time in 8th grade however, this one thing happened that I still don’t know how to feel about. It was the first day in my math class and we were doing a fundamentals check of simple math except there was a curveball thrown in. I can’t say I really remember what it was in particular, but what had happened was that no one knew how to get it or at least was unsure. Me on the other hand, I got it and I knew exactly how as well. When the teacher sat and asked me how it was I got it I simply answered how. Now this teacher had my sister and brother in his class before and was expecting to see me sooner or later, but what he did was so strange to me. He actually took my paper and went to the door and yelled into the hallway that I was a star. I had done the same thing so many times before, but this time I was quite literally being called out because of it. I don’t know how I was supposed to take it, it was embarrassment of course, but more than that confusion. Was it really so special, how was I so special? I found myself in high school to be exceedingly mediocre as I had always seen myself, but I couldn’t help feel like I was sort of letting myself go to waste. I’ve come to a realization over time though that no one can just stand out and I think that I have sufficiently accepted mediocrity in it all
