My Times Here
Since my introduction to the Alameda Community Learning Center all those years ago, I have watched myself develop into the person I am today, garnering and honing the skills I've picked up along the way in order to get myself ready for life after high school.
On my path to today, I believe that the biggest contribution the Center has made in my life is helping me find out what I bring to the table as a person or in other words, my approach to "personal qualities, work habits and attitudes." While I've always had a sort of pessimistic undertone, I've always maintained the belief that if I genuinely dedicate myself, I can do whatever I need to do. The Center has helped facilitate growth in that area, as well as improvement in responsibility and self-management through all of the group projects I've had to do in my time here. When I first joined ACLC, I hadn't made the connection that less class time meant relatively larger homework assignments, that more free time alongside classmates meant a perfect environment for group work. My "can-do" attitude helped me out but at the same time, it pushed me to almost-always unofficially assign myself to be the team leader and make sure everyone was doing their part. I've grasp (or at least started to) grasp a real sense of leadership, which along with being a role model for other learners, is the overlying idea behind this standard. For example, I had to work with a pair of guys for a World War II presentation. Our schedules didn't match up very well; we only had 2 or 3 periods to work together before the deadline came. I admittedly had frustrating people to work with so I can't exaggerate by saying that I was completely nice about the entire thing but I did eventually get everyone on track; the project was finished on time and our presentation went splendidly.
Luckily, I've always had the "new basics" with me; thankfully, the competitive environment I found in the Center allowed me to improve and strengthen the foundations of those basics. My essays have improved, I've read more books than my hate towards reading told me I could and I've attained a stronger understanding of the use of the English language. Taking courses like Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, then Calculus and Statistics, as well as studying for the SAT and SAT II's has driven me to become a sold mathematician. I've become more mature since first coming here; this has changed me from the disruptive, naive kid in 8th grade to someone who knows when to mess around, when to be serious, how to understand others and how to reciprocate with messages that are thoughtful and that matter. I've become more involved in society around me due to classes like Current-Life and Gov't - ones that frequently reference the big national and international issues we see in our world today. Similarly, classes like Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Visual Communication taught me to expand into and appreciate areas that I'm unfamiliar with as well. Overall, I feel as though I have benefited a great deal from the New Basics the center has had to offer.
Although I never took Learning-to-Learn, I believe the rest of my experience here has given me the necessary thinking and reasoning skills piece by piece. in fact, I would argue that everyone enrolled here is taking Learning-to-Learn their entire time here; we are all learning how to succeed both at ACLC and beyond every step of the way. From Lynn's chapter symbols to Dave Dilworth's far-out nature assignments, I feel that my creativity muscle has been flexed more than the average high school student. Biology was full of work that had us gathering date, considering risks and payoffs, choosing the best solution or if none existed, then coming up with an alternative and then finally analyzing results and jotting them down; we even had a rubric for all these things. The multitude of group projects I've done has forced me to be more creative and resourceful, in other words, a better problem solver. FLI helped me visualize my goals and then present them in a dazzling, comprehensive final project. That project alone can encompass all the standards here: creativity, decisiveness, critical thinking, problem-solving, clear reasoning, and contemplating how everything works in the real world and taking all that into account.
Interpersonal Abilities ties into Personal Qualities and Attitudes fairly well; my positive character and personality have grown as a result of my interpersonal abilities blossoming and expanding. In any group I've been in, I've always at least attempt to strive towards team unity by presenting relevant suggestions, a positive attitude and a willingness to work as hard as necessary to get things done. I, out of confidence and sometimes arrogance, have always assumed a full or at least co-leader position among the teams to exercise my abilities as a leader - I believe I have a lot to offer from that standpoint. Although I've usually been the head of a group, I've striven to be a good role model for the rest of my team; if I can't work hard to meet their expectations, how can I expect them to follow me? I've always been fine with negotiations; even if I'm the leader, I've learned through a lot of humbling experiences that there are a ton of people in our school who are smart and have an equally numerous amount of ideas that should be heard and taken into consideration. With this in mind, being willing to listen to others to develop a single piece of work forces you in a good way to cooperate and find common ground with all the types of people out there. Being at ACLC has given me many more interpersonal skills than I would expect to find elsewhere.
When I originally walked into the Center, I was overwhelmed by the computers, the equipment like the flat-screen, the printers, the projectors, the DVS and the Electronic Music room all being in, essentially, the same place. I was so awe-struck but just as equally excited to get to sit down to a computer at school and just sort-of make myself at home. I immediately began to use the school technology as an extension of my personal computer but I also soon got to work applying the technology in order for class assignments. I learned a ton about Word, Excel and Powerpoint; in fact, I had only used Powerpoint once before so having to use it again within the first two weeks of school for one of Lynn's partner projects made it a necessity to master how to use it.
That's one way to describe my scholastic education here; I needed to be pushed and motivated to learn, either by my own needs or the needs of my teachers and peers. I feel like the independent factor of our school helped me do this and that I wouldn't have gotten the same experience at another school. I did get a dose of it when I took AP Euro at Encinal but even at that point, I was being babied through the class and there wasn't a lot of room for self-improvement. Not to mention, that was one of Encinal's more rigorous courses while we here, experience self-education, self-everything on a regular day-to-day basis. I'm glad to say that I have evolved as a person, a learner and into a small success story during my time here.
On my path to today, I believe that the biggest contribution the Center has made in my life is helping me find out what I bring to the table as a person or in other words, my approach to "personal qualities, work habits and attitudes." While I've always had a sort of pessimistic undertone, I've always maintained the belief that if I genuinely dedicate myself, I can do whatever I need to do. The Center has helped facilitate growth in that area, as well as improvement in responsibility and self-management through all of the group projects I've had to do in my time here. When I first joined ACLC, I hadn't made the connection that less class time meant relatively larger homework assignments, that more free time alongside classmates meant a perfect environment for group work. My "can-do" attitude helped me out but at the same time, it pushed me to almost-always unofficially assign myself to be the team leader and make sure everyone was doing their part. I've grasp (or at least started to) grasp a real sense of leadership, which along with being a role model for other learners, is the overlying idea behind this standard. For example, I had to work with a pair of guys for a World War II presentation. Our schedules didn't match up very well; we only had 2 or 3 periods to work together before the deadline came. I admittedly had frustrating people to work with so I can't exaggerate by saying that I was completely nice about the entire thing but I did eventually get everyone on track; the project was finished on time and our presentation went splendidly.
Luckily, I've always had the "new basics" with me; thankfully, the competitive environment I found in the Center allowed me to improve and strengthen the foundations of those basics. My essays have improved, I've read more books than my hate towards reading told me I could and I've attained a stronger understanding of the use of the English language. Taking courses like Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, then Calculus and Statistics, as well as studying for the SAT and SAT II's has driven me to become a sold mathematician. I've become more mature since first coming here; this has changed me from the disruptive, naive kid in 8th grade to someone who knows when to mess around, when to be serious, how to understand others and how to reciprocate with messages that are thoughtful and that matter. I've become more involved in society around me due to classes like Current-Life and Gov't - ones that frequently reference the big national and international issues we see in our world today. Similarly, classes like Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Visual Communication taught me to expand into and appreciate areas that I'm unfamiliar with as well. Overall, I feel as though I have benefited a great deal from the New Basics the center has had to offer.
Although I never took Learning-to-Learn, I believe the rest of my experience here has given me the necessary thinking and reasoning skills piece by piece. in fact, I would argue that everyone enrolled here is taking Learning-to-Learn their entire time here; we are all learning how to succeed both at ACLC and beyond every step of the way. From Lynn's chapter symbols to Dave Dilworth's far-out nature assignments, I feel that my creativity muscle has been flexed more than the average high school student. Biology was full of work that had us gathering date, considering risks and payoffs, choosing the best solution or if none existed, then coming up with an alternative and then finally analyzing results and jotting them down; we even had a rubric for all these things. The multitude of group projects I've done has forced me to be more creative and resourceful, in other words, a better problem solver. FLI helped me visualize my goals and then present them in a dazzling, comprehensive final project. That project alone can encompass all the standards here: creativity, decisiveness, critical thinking, problem-solving, clear reasoning, and contemplating how everything works in the real world and taking all that into account.
Interpersonal Abilities ties into Personal Qualities and Attitudes fairly well; my positive character and personality have grown as a result of my interpersonal abilities blossoming and expanding. In any group I've been in, I've always at least attempt to strive towards team unity by presenting relevant suggestions, a positive attitude and a willingness to work as hard as necessary to get things done. I, out of confidence and sometimes arrogance, have always assumed a full or at least co-leader position among the teams to exercise my abilities as a leader - I believe I have a lot to offer from that standpoint. Although I've usually been the head of a group, I've striven to be a good role model for the rest of my team; if I can't work hard to meet their expectations, how can I expect them to follow me? I've always been fine with negotiations; even if I'm the leader, I've learned through a lot of humbling experiences that there are a ton of people in our school who are smart and have an equally numerous amount of ideas that should be heard and taken into consideration. With this in mind, being willing to listen to others to develop a single piece of work forces you in a good way to cooperate and find common ground with all the types of people out there. Being at ACLC has given me many more interpersonal skills than I would expect to find elsewhere.
When I originally walked into the Center, I was overwhelmed by the computers, the equipment like the flat-screen, the printers, the projectors, the DVS and the Electronic Music room all being in, essentially, the same place. I was so awe-struck but just as equally excited to get to sit down to a computer at school and just sort-of make myself at home. I immediately began to use the school technology as an extension of my personal computer but I also soon got to work applying the technology in order for class assignments. I learned a ton about Word, Excel and Powerpoint; in fact, I had only used Powerpoint once before so having to use it again within the first two weeks of school for one of Lynn's partner projects made it a necessity to master how to use it.
That's one way to describe my scholastic education here; I needed to be pushed and motivated to learn, either by my own needs or the needs of my teachers and peers. I feel like the independent factor of our school helped me do this and that I wouldn't have gotten the same experience at another school. I did get a dose of it when I took AP Euro at Encinal but even at that point, I was being babied through the class and there wasn't a lot of room for self-improvement. Not to mention, that was one of Encinal's more rigorous courses while we here, experience self-education, self-everything on a regular day-to-day basis. I'm glad to say that I have evolved as a person, a learner and into a small success story during my time here.
