Personal Narrative My Education Public school systems need to be more sensitive to their students. Parents play the major role in determining a child’s academic outcome, but the school system needs to notice children who don’t necessarily acknowledge their gift. These children need guidance -- I believe it is the schools’ responsibility to provide it to them. I have been through a situation that makes me feel strongly about the subject. My example is an indisputable case in point. Math is my forte. By the time I was six or seven, I fully comprehended the concept of variables and algebraic expressions. Its fascinating to me that when I pick up a math text book, as long as I can pick up on a concept that I have already seen, I can read and absorb all the material, even if the text is explaining concepts I haven’t yet been introduced to. Math is the language you use to talk to computers. My father raised me as a computer user. He taught me about the hardware inside the computer and he taught me how to write software. He knew that knowing how a computer thinks was big. Unfortunately, he never looked to them as a career. He would always tell me, though, that people were making fortunes with them, which is true. The average computer science degree pays $45,000.00 per year first year out of school. That’s bachelor’s, guaranteed, as long as you put together impressive software or technology while in school. Anyone, even a child, equipped with that insight should be able to find, if only abstractly, their purpose in life. What could go wrong? Thinking back to my compulsory education career, I remember having a discussion with my eighth grade math teacher. I asked him, "Do you think I can handle algebra?" His reply was, "You’re... ... middle of paper ... ...ed his advice. I had never watched a person sit in an office and figure out how many radians were in a 250-degree arc, but they do it. I don’t know what my teenage mind was thinking, but I didn’t realize it. Suggesting what schools should do to accommodate students like me is beyond the scope of this essay, but I will do my part to get in these high schools and find kids I can relate to. This is a goal in my life. Even if I help just one, it will be worth it. I hate to think that some bright child would loose out on their opportunity to achieve what they want from life just because nobody told them how to do it. I am going to make sure I take a piece of my time and bump as many kids as I can out of the path I was headed down. Based on the probability of me being here in school, six years after high school, I have to be luckier than 98.8 percent of the population.
The curriculum implies that teachers will teach students the skills they need for the future. Valley View’s High School math department announces, “Students will learn how to use mathematics to analyze and respond to real-world issues and challenges, as they will be expected to do college and the workplace.” Also, the new integrates math class allows students to distinguish the relationship between algebra and geometry. Although students are not being instructed a mathematical issue in depth, they are rapidly going through all the different topics in an integrated math class. Nowadays, students are too worried to pass the course to acquire a problem-solving mind. Paul Lockhart proclaims the entire problem of high school students saying, “I do not see how it's doing society any good to have its members walking around with vague memories of algebraic formulas and geometric diagrams and dear memories of hating them.” A mathematics class should not be intended to make a student weep from complicated equations, but it should encourage them to seek the numbers surrounding
As parents and students navigate the road to adulthood, schools must provide options and support to assist along the way.
In my household, from the time I was in Kindergarten, my mother expected academic excellence and nothing less. With her help I was an A student, Science fair grand champion, Young authors winner, Community helpers member, Young academic role model and more. At the age of eleven I lost my mother to Invasive Breast Cancer. Being academically successful was her goal for me and up to that point in her life she instilled the values of education and hard work ethic into me. At that young age I had to decide how I was going to continue being academically successful in school and what were my educational goals for myself. Since that day every school year I ask myself that same question,and this year being my senior year it’s more prominent than ever. My short term educational goals are: to apply and be admitted to 4 universities, maintain a 3.7 gpa, pass AP calc and English exam’s with a score of 4 or higher, and graduate with honors.
If the messages I get at home and in the community second my adolescent thoughts on algebra, it is an easy path to forego it. And if I don’t pass it, maybe I’m held back and begin that downward spiral of underachievement.
I hate math; there is no way around this fact. From the onset of my re-entry into the world of academia and learning, it has weighed heavily upon my mind and I had buried this trepidation deep in my subconscious. I began my college career just before I turned 40 with grand aspirations of becoming an architect. At age 45 plus, the projected age I would earn my bachelor’s degree in architecture, time would be my enemy; it is generally a field populated by much younger, spry individuals. Upon further exploration though, it turns out that with my current educational plans, I would be closer to 50 by the time I earned that degree. On top of that, there is entirely too much pesky math! I would have to contend with Algebra, Calculus, and Physics; algebraic algorithms, matrix multiplication, and fundamental frequency be damned! Simply put, my mind does not live in that world. Do not get me wrong, I love to create; the idea of building something, formulated within my mind and realized into a tangible object really affords me a great deal of satisfaction. But I also know myself and remember vividly how much I struggled in the arena of math, so my college career path arrived at fork in the road; thankfully, I have not remained stranded on this diverging path long, as earlier this semester I was privileged enough to partake in a writing experience that solidified my decision to abandon my quest for an architecture degree and instead, pursue one in fictional writing.
There is a quote, of contested origins, having no rightful owner. That quote is recited as follows: "Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” While we stand in hindsight, we often look back upon where we came and what experiences brought us to the point we are now. I think of this quote often as I reflect upon my intellectual growth. I wonder how my life might have been different had I not been told I was stupid. I sat depressed thinking of the intellectual challenges that will face Shane and how those same challenges adversely affected my will to learn. In that moment, I faced a monumental question: If we are comparable thinkers, are we compare
Most of the lessons I have learned since getting to college have been the result of pretty strong wake up calls. As far as classes go, I have yet to fail a test but I have come fairly close. I am quickly realizing that I cannot just coast through school at this level. I cannot settle for average grades if I want to get into any sort of physical therapy program. Social aspects have resulted in much more obvious wake up calls. Getting caught drinking was far from ideal. The police making us run was one hell of a lesson. I do not know if it will be enough to make me stop drinking entirely but it will definitely stop me for the foreseeable future. I will also make sure to be a lot more careful about it. A huge lesson I learned from all of that is do not let idiots bring you down with their mistakes.
The decision to transfer wasn’t easy for me. I didn’t consider it at first because I was already adjusted and somewhat comfortable, and I thought it would be easier to just stay put. When I was originally looking at colleges, I had no idea what I wanted to major in. I figured a small liberal arts college would be a good choice because I would be able to figure out my interests and have some time to do so. Once I got to school, I realized that I was unhappy there, but I found one thing I really enjoyed. The horseback riding class I was taking inspired me to pursue a career with horses, or animals in general. It was something I really enjoyed and thought it could be fun. Unfortunately, my current school doesn’t offer a major that would let me
Math has always been one of my biggest struggles in school. Eighth Grade Math was probably the worst year of my Math career. Solving for “x” was tough, but I didn't give up and now it is much easier. Problems that require several steps sometimes takes longer than
I have never really been a traditional learner. Since around 1st grade I was in accelerated classes with 7th and 8th graders, and I loved the feeling of being in a more mature place of learning. I think being around people much older my whole life, being on my actual academic level seems slow and easy to me. This past year, I thought the solution to this would be to do online school full time, however I've come to miss the feeling of an actual classroom setting because I want to be a teacher in the future. Being in a class room setting and interacting with teachers furthers my career goals because I feel like I'm constantly gaining information on what I do and do not want to do as a teacher.
My enthusiasm and the strongly committed teachers I have encountered in my life have attributed to my success in math and science. Prior to going onto ninth grade, my Math classes dating back from middle school were never mentally straining. Math appealed to me because in eighth grade, my math teacher, Dr. Christopher, would encourage her class by recognizing our achievements with small rewards such as candies and ice cream passes during lunch. Her actions sparked my interest in math. I have a natural regard for math and science. By breaking down math problems step by step, I can better understand them. ...
I remember staying after classes in Elementary school to get help from a teacher because I couldn’t get the material. I remember the countless days in my teacher’s classroom going over math trying to wrap my head around something others perceived to be so simple yet so complex in my mind. At a young age, my mindset was “I hate math and math hates me so why do I even try”. I also preferred to be only taught math when it was hands on. I hated when my teacher would tell me to read a chapter from my math book and learn the information through reading instead of doing the work on the board.
S. Gudder once wisely stated, “The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.” Many people have different views of mathematics and the role it plays in their life. There are some students who believe that learning mathematics is useless and is not a necessity for their major, and there are others who find math, arithmetic, and numbers easier to process. I find Gudder’s thoughts to be true based on my upbringings and recent experience in my Math 110 course. I used to be one of those students who believed that math was difficult, and I couldn’t understand the logic behind certain problems. My perspective on mathematics has completely changed since I have been in enrolled in this course. I understand now how I can use certain lessons I learn in math in
Thinking back about my experiences when it came to learning math, I didn’t have the best experiences because I struggled to understand the different techniques and tools that are used when solving different equations. I do remember having a good experience when I was in elementary school because my teacher made my experience a fun experience by doing a
Throughout out this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to gain a better understanding when it comes to teaching Mathematics in the classroom. During the course of this semester, EDEL 440 has showed my classmates and myself the appropriate ways mathematics can be taught in an elementary classroom and how the students in the classroom may retrieve the information. During my years of school, mathematics has been my favorite subject. Over the years, math has challenged me on so many different levels. Having the opportunity to see the appropriate ways math should be taught in an Elementary classroom has giving me a