Category: Unit 1

Draft

Post author By Asset
Post date March 8, 2021
1 Comment on Draft

My perspective of education has changed over the years .

Learning new languages, adapting to a new curriculum was not always as easy.
My emotions in middle school to beginning of high school were feeling scared of embarrassing myself or frustrated because I was doing something simpler than other kids.

Being someone that doesn’t like asking for help or even asking twice when I didn’t understand made me work harder as soon as I got home I would be trying to figure out what the words meant ,I would only watch tv ,read books in Spanish till I spoke it but when I was studying in Switzerland ,I realize that it’s easier and faster to learn languages when your communicating and letting yourself make mistakes.

In terms of grades and getting my work done I always tried my best ,as I got older I started adapting quicker enabling me to fully learn and feel more comfortable as when I was growing up even when I spoke the language, I was very shy, specially back in Spain, one of the things teacher would always say that I would never put my hand up despite knowing the answer or having finished earlier than the rest and barely talked.

I actually did enjoy learning when I was young but when I moved high schools to the UK I started falling behind ,at first I always kept to myself trying to adapt but in high school everything was different.

Between lack of motivation and being distracted I limited myself from learning and it did not help that I didn’t really like the school, at that point I was only looking forward to the fun at lunch time and after school rather than how to get good grades. I left with 3 Gcse which according to my school I wouldn’t be able to “move forward “.

My college experience it’s what made me focus back in school, this one particular teacher really helped me ,she made sure me and my friends always completed our work at the best possible ,she would tell us to stay over and review what we done so far to help us even though we wasn’t the best students but she always looked out for us and kept us from getting in trouble and excluded as schools in UK are very strict ,as well the course I was doing was art and travel and tourism, getting to go out and travel every now and then was a nice experience which made us enjoy the course more and kept us motivated to pass the class. The qualification from this school and my high school is what brought me here today as this is what got me into this university/college and opened many opportunities for me.

In conclusion at this present day I believe education is very important and that my experience has helped shape me into the person that I am as to me this was more than just education ,this is something that plays a big part in my personal life, it didn’t only give me qualifications but also is the reason why I am able to speak 4 languages fluently, and able to adapt quickly not to mention the knowledge it gave me.

Unit 1

Draft

Personal Education Narrative

Sweaty palms, stuttering, and shame were common in my English class. The fear of learning a new language extended to the class setting and was a major impediment to my expected progress. Learning from the beginning and hesitation in speaking also impeded my progress while learning a new language. I had to start with the basics, such as the alphabet, which made me feel stupid. Greetings and everyday phrases were also a challenge that significantly impeded my learning. Although I had significant proficiencies in my native language as a new language, I discovered learning from the beginning, hesitation, poor vocabulary, grammar challenges, thinking in another language, and attitude were major impediments.

Learning English is a challenging aspect, especially for international students. From personal experiences, learning new alphabets and greetings made me feel stupid, especially due to my level of proficiency in my native language. I would describe the experience as learning from scratch. Although I could fluently speak and connect with others, putting my thoughts on paper was a significant obstacle. Observing others in my class gave me some hope and highlighted the primary challenges that English learners go through. I remember seeing my friends hesitate to create sentences and express themselves fully in written language, although they had little challenges speaking.

I was ashamed to make mistakes when speaking, leading to hesitation, and stuttering, despite significant proficiencies in speaking English. Reminiscing on my experiences, I would hesitate to talk to others, owing to the fear of shame. Questions like, “why are you so quiet?” significantly and adversely affected my confidence, resulting in hesitation and stuttering. I would choose to remain quiet, other than speak and embarrass myself in front of peers. However, personal experiences with friends were encouraging and played a vital role in increasing my confidence.

Reading newspapers, blogs, and watching movies helped develop proficiency in English. Although I made considerable effort to increase and expand my vocabulary, speaking the words and relating them with others was not easy. A crucial lesson from my experiences was the need for consistency, despite the numerous setbacks that may occur. I was self-conscious about my grammar, although I later discovered it was not a critical part of learning spoken language. My challenges in the area included talking about my deficiencies with friends and asking for help when necessary.

In conclusion, despite a person’s level of proficiency, learning a new language can be challenging for most individuals. Various issues, such as the need to learn from the beginning, hesitation to speak, and struggling with poor vocabulary, are prominent. Self-motivation is a vital component that increases competency, although learners should be ready to address such challenges with little outside help. Self-awareness and the readiness to ask for help are crucial when learning a new language. In such a case, vital lessons encompass persistence, understanding the self, and developing a precise vision of where the learner wants to be or attain in a provided timeline.

Unit 1

Education narrative rough draft

Post author By Robin Perez
Post date March 8, 2021
No Comments on Education narrative rough draft

Is mediocrity a bad thing? Is accepting mediocrity a bad thing? Throughout our lives we are always trying to do our best to get something that we want. I feel like this was especially true for many when it came to their time in school. To me I feel that generally you do not need to go out of your way though, especially with school (unless of course you have some really big career plans down the line). That’s why accepting mediocrity rather than going out of your way for being exceptional is acceptable. I believe this because I have been in the position before. I have known what going out of my way felt like and keeping in the middle ground is not such a bad place. Above all that, I also learned that some things you can’t change no matter how hard you try.

I have been on both sides of the equation and it has let me understand what both sides offer you at the very least. From as early as 1st grade up until 8th grade I had held the top position of the class for the sake of making my parents and myself proud. I was always on top of my assignments and while my friends goofed around in class I was attentive and ignorant of the kind of distractions that would either get me in trouble or hinder my progress. Years in and by around 6th grade I had noticed that I wasn’t even trying to do well yet I was still just a model student. I began to notice how much freedom I truly had to do what I wanted. Things got a little complicated going forward especially in 8th grade, but that’s another point to be made. After a while of me easing up it began to be a normal thing and I subconsciously dropped myself down in standing as it is still to be expected. It included my lowest point academically and my climb back to an acceptable level with me emerging as I am today. In it all I have learned a few things. From my years of trying my best, I would only impress the teachers, other students on an academic level, and my parents. To anyone that exists out of that spectrum they see me as just me, unless of course the me they see is some sort of doctor, engineer, rocket scientist, etc. I never had those intentions with a career anyway so it was pointless to go beyond what I’m capable at a comfortable level.

My biggest take away in all my academic years so far has been how much not trying as hard made part of my life that much better. I was aware of positions like honor roll and Valedictorian/Salutatorian, but those things kind of fell away from me. Instead of working my way (at least I still got honor roll) towards the higher positions, Instead I used my time to hang out with friends and generally mess around. I have so many fond memories in high school from playing sports with my friends, walking around Manhattan, playing video games with them, and generally just living in the moment. My father always used to say to live the present too and though it is a one track mindset I can agree. For what it is that I want to be (a programmer to make video games) studying and focusing on work primarily would have meant I didn’t have the kinds of experiences that I had in the past few years. Trying to do your best kind of makes you miss out on some of the simpler things in the moment. Of course for some people they can’t afford to do that and it’s understandable, but for those who can, I see no reason why if you can help it.

The thing is, it isn’t to an innate lack of motivation to try that alone led me the path that I have traveled to reach this point. A lot of it was circumstantial and has led me to my third point. You just can’t change some things. My lowest points came in the period of 8th to 9th grade. To that I have to blame my home situation. It pretty much became such a toxic environment for me and I couldn’t simply focus on school, I had given myself an escape in video games at first mostly as 8th grade didn’t give me many other options than go to school then go home since it was a few blocks away. It wasn’t until 9th grade that I could just roam Manhattan with a friend of mine if I didn’t just cut school to stay in my room and play games feigning sickness. By 10th I moved out to my eldest sister in Long Island where I could start anew. I actually tried again contrary to what I have been saying, sitting with a 3.5 gpa. I even got a part time job and still I had time for things like video games. It was great until due to unfortunate circumstances I found myself back in the apartment that I had moved from initially to escape and it was somehow worse. I had to transfer back to my old high school and all, but something had happened that just shattered my state of being. My hard work was all washed away to just show transfer credits, in fact I got to take back my old gpa with attendance and all from 9th grade (the beauty that is the New York City DOE). It was a huge blow, but at that point I became numb to it because I realized then that it didn’t matter because I could do nothing about it. From there on I simply went with the motions of normality where in my last 2 and a half years (I transferred halfway into 10th grade) it ended up being some of the best years I have consciously had. Sometimes life is just unfair and you can’t do anything about it. The best you can do is tough it out and make the most of things. In my case, the friends and the time that I had on hand was what I made the most of and I don’t regret the attention I gave towards them rather than my academic life.

Accepting mediocrity rather than going out of your way for being exceptional is acceptable. Having experienced all spectrums of what you could be academically I have realized that mediocre stands to be my favored point and even the most desirable if life has it out for you. Because nothing stings more than to lose what you worked so hard for to something you had no control over. So what is it to take away from this? If you want to be known by many and achieve your biggest of dreams then ignore this. This wouldn’t apply to you rather than just give you the satisfaction of having read this. For everyone else, you can’t win everything. If you know what you want and you are prepared and able to do what you need to do that, then just do that. Nothing more and nothing less.

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