Entering my freshman year of highschool, I was already in a program called RV Scholars. RV Scholars is a program that requires students to take advanced courses in order to exhibit their academic abilities. The summer prior to my freshmen year, we were required to take an introductory course to an AP class as well as a full health course that we would have taken during the school year otherwise. The program is beneficial since it provides a track of AP, honors level, and college prep courses that will be of advantage in the future. Although rigorous, I feel like these classes bring good preparation for college. I have seen myself grow in terms of being able to handle these classes. This is not to say that these courses were lenient, because
they do require a lot of dedication. To be truthful, I found myself on the verge of various breakdowns because of the amount of pressure I would put on myself but never got to that point. I always strived to do my best and succeed without necessarily losing sight of what was important. The hardest part is having to balance so much homework with all the activities I do inside and outside of school without losing sleep. Moreover, I was junior representative and am currently vice president my senior year. Even though the program’s top priority is academic based, we still try and make it so students are succeeding and not suffering in it. I helped plan activities like mentor days, secret santa exchanges and banquets to ease the stress the program can bring. Nonetheless, my time managing skills have gradually improved with the more time I have spent in the program. I am also appreciative because the program has made me take courses like AP chemistry and AP biology. Although intense courses, these have really taken my interest. Because I have taken so much interest in them, I have pushed myself harder to try and understand them better. I would not say I am particularly great at these subjects, but motivation is never absent.
The Distinguished Scholar Program is a strict and difficult program. It encourages students to challenge themselves and reach their full potential. Altering a few rules and parts, such as lowering the required grade point average (GPA) and dropping some of the more rigorous classes, such as Honors Chemistry can truly make it a beneficial and successful program in the regular educational system. Not to mention the great improvement in students test scores and overall take on education. Distinguished Scholars is a curriculum unique to Wilson Classical High School in the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD). It is a combination of advanced placement (A.P.) classes, honors courses and students must take eight classes instead of the five through seven classes required by other schools. Many students in this program deal with an extra struggle and pressure that came with the program. While other teenagers are getting out at 1:10 and having fun after school these students wait until 2:50 or some even until 4:00 during internships. This program would be very beneficial if given with a few adjustments in order to be given to the regular educational system.
Meanwhile, at Great Oak High School, I have been busy with my classes and extracurriculars. Academically, I try to challenge myself and go outside my comfort zone by taking 3 rigorous AP classes. Moreover, I have a great passion for learning especially math and science. In the Deerfield Daily Bulletin, I read about an interesting summer research program called Research Science Institute (RSI) at MIT, where Deerfield students go to study over the summer. I wish to go to that program too. For extracurriculars, I love to do community service because I love to help people. ...
My main issue with each of these courses is the relevancy. We would discuss certain beliefs and theories that often felt distant from my current reality. The lack of connection between the material and its effect on my life always seemed to hinder my ability to absorb the different theories. As I found myself in another philosophy class, I began to worry that I would encounter the same problem. Therefore, as we poured through the writings of Socrates and Aristotle and my understanding and attention began to decrease, I worried that I would be unable to make that connection between the material and its impact on my life. Some days I would leave class unfazed, completely forgetting the discussion and the importance of a theory. However, on certain occasions, I found myself consumed with certain philosophies. For example, Mill’s Utilitarism theory, which evaluates right or wrong based on the amount of happiness that benefits society rather than the individual, left me completely perplexed. It forced me to consider how much I value my own happiness and affirmed that self-preservation is highly important to
Taking seemingly unrelated classes present great opportunities to learn and surpass what ever limits, goals, or expectations of education a person sets for himself. Taking these classes lead to a better understanding and outlook of different ideas, ways of thinking as well as situations in the work field and in life. Being required to participate in courses outside of one's major can really develop a person and help them better understand themselves and the world around them. Taking extra classes in college would inevitably help an individual in the future regardless if he or she believes it is of no advantage at the moment. It can also increase employment opportunities once a student finishes college.
AP classes are offered throughout the nation and taken by students that are eager to challenge themselves. The opportunity for a high school student to earn college credit is unbeatable. The money used to be able to pay for education in college is mind blowing, in high school I am able to get my education for nearly no money taken out of mine or my parents pocket. The dual grad program put on by Scott Community College is a way for high school students to earn their associate’s degree when they graduate from high school. “Credit transfer policies vary by university and can even vary by department within a single school” (Snider). The concurrent enrollment programs in high school are a great way for students to earn college credit and should
Upon entering this class, I was uncertain of what would be expected of me. The text book for the class is very through and professional while maintaining a fairly easy readability. I felt a little less secure as I began reading the text because it is so concise. Did this mean I should already have some of the material covered down pact or was what I knew enough and the rest would come? The syllabus did not make things too much easier with all the competencies listed, at least not until I attended orientation on campus to discover the value of this list. The assignments that are mentioned in the syllabus also seemed to overwhelm me a bit until we started to discuss them in class. I guess in part I have a fear of the unknown and that makes me anxious.
I have been attending Virginia State University for one semester now, and ever since I came here I have learned more than I imagined imaginable. Since I have taken an English class every year in my life since the age of five, I believed I knew exactly what to expect. I was definitely wrong. When I began at Virginia State University, I assumed all my English classes would only consist of reading, discussing and then writing about “Old English”. Since that was what all my English classes consisted of in high school, I did not believe there would be huge difference at Virginia State University. I quickly discovered that there was much more to it.
You never really know how much impact a simple class may have on you until you really take it. I have taken enough classes all of which gave me the same outcome, which is a step closer to my degree however; there are some classes that you will always remember. Most of the time the classes that you should remember are the ones that teach about the ins and outs of the specific career you wish to pursue. Sometimes those classes are not even the ones that stick to you. Sometimes the classes that you will always remember are those easy electives that you sign up for in hopes of getting an easy A. I remember signing up for one class thinking that it would be a breeze to take, but my predictions were definitely wrong. From taking a simple Spanish
To conclude, I have enjoyed this course very much. I think I may have benefited personally by taking this course at this point in my career path with Hope. I understand why it’s the first course in the program, but for me starting the third semester, I have had some background and instead of this course wetting my appetite, I was able to dine on the content.
When I first started the semester, I had absolute no Idea of what major I wanted to do. Now after taking this course I have been able to narrow it down to 2 majors that I am interested in taking. I had no idea that there was even a sports administration major. If the class never brought in the sports administration presenter I would have never known about the major. In this course I have learned more about my transferable skills, personality type, academic interests, personal values, skills and strengths.
I also like the way the course is structured. You learn a concept that will help you undrstand and utilize the next concept better. So you are going through the material in a logical way that will build up new awareness and techniques to give you that limitless mindset.
Wow! I have a personal learning style! If I had given any thought to my learning style prior to this course, I would have said simply, “Some things are easy for me to learn, and some things are not.” Now I can say, “I am a grouper, a top-down learner, an owl, in the C-D quadrants, and my strong intelligences are linguistic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal”. What all this means, still, is some things are easy for me to learn, and some things are not. But there I go again, simplifying the matter.
Before I start my final paper I would like to first take a minute and say that a lot of this class was review of different courses I have already taken. There are also different areas of the course that I am very familiar with because of personal experiences. However, there were a few areas that were very new to me and honestly helped me understand pervious classes. With that being said I with first talk about the teaching or instructional methods.
I found this class interesting, being it wasn’t just about reading about boring topics. I also found ways to draw myself in assignments when I could to help me complete them. I am a bit sad that there weren’t many classes were we could share our opinions more. But, in the end the experience was good and I learned a lot.
As much as I liked this class, I felt some of the assignments were n...