Reflective Essay
I have been at ACLC for six years now, and although I left, I think I have learned greatly from my time here. ACLC allows me to take responsibility for my own education and encourages me to learn inside and outside of the classroom. During my year away from ACLC I realized the incredible opportunities that were not available at other schools. Such as JC, college classes, proposals, and much more, all of which I have taken advantage of over the course of my time here.
Personal Qualities, Work Habits And Attitudes
A positive self-image and self-esteem are crucial to learning. These attributes determine goals, behaviors, and responses to others. Furthermore, people depend on and influence one another. Therefore, it is important that students take responsibility for their lives and set appropriate goals for themselves. In doing so, they develop lifelong attitudes. It is inappropriate to deny the critical importance of these factors as preconditions to learning, as consequences of the teaching of all disciplines, and as desired outcomes for all students.
Everyone who knew me could attest that I was not confident in my own abilities. However, through my time at ACLC I have developed pride in my work and a more positive view of myself. One of the most obvious examples of my low self-esteem presented itself in 7th grade when I would probingly ask “Where are you in the CC3 book (the math textbook of the next grade up)?” Then I would respond in a boastful manner by saying what problem I was on. I look back on these moments and cringe because not only was I being insufferable to the people around me but also because my value relied so heavily on the shock or annoyance of my peers. However now, although I am quite accomplished in math, I do not search for the acknowledgment of other learners. I am proud of where I have gotten because of my love of learning and drive to succeed not because I wished others to be jealous.
I have never and probably will never be the self-management god that I dream of becoming; however, I have developed useful tools to become more productive. Continually I will lose focus or, like everyone, procrastinate on work. To combat this I have three systems I use simultaneously to keep track of work. I have little note cards that I will put down daily goals, a mini notebook for weekly goals, and lastly a month white board for more long term things. When I am especially unfocused I will even plan specific days out on a separate whiteboard with exact times when I should be working. Separate from these methods I have also changed my ideas about “wasted time.” Now when I have extra time in class or more commonly during free periods instead of socializing I will chip away at homework. This allows me to slowly complete work over the day when I otherwise would have been doing nothing better than staring at a wall.
New Basics
I have always loved math because the right answer is always right. This brings me comfort and security, when I turn something in I know what grade I got and why. ACLC did not have to do much to continue this love of math but they still honed it. I can easily sign up for college math courses and am encouraged to do so. This has led me to completing linear algebra and Calc III this senior year. I am incredibly proud of where I have gotten and the work I put in to get there. ACLC has helped me by having free periods to do my work and a more free learning environment.
During my time at ACLC my love of civics and the governmental process has grown. When I first arrived here I would only reluctantly go to JC for the grade. However, one of my friends convinced me to join leadership and from there my enjoyment and involvement has only increased. My first year in leadership I quietly observed the processes taking place and thought how it might change when we would be in person. When we got back I had the opportunity to run for Robert's ruler and I immediately got up. I knew I wanted to learn more about how leadership ran and this was the perfect opportunity. I won! I read the Roberts rules book and enforced and educated people about them. I gained confidence in my gavaling ability and now have the strive to take part in the larger democratic process in the real political world.
Thinking and Reasoning Skills
I take many online college classes and this forces me to learn many methods on how to teach myself. Sometimes I need more explanation than the teacher gave which presents me with a choice: I could go to office hours, post on the forms, look over the book again, or maybe do my own research offline. The important information here is that I can analyze which might be best in each situation. Mostly I would do my own research or read the book but I can access any of these options if I think it best. I have learned how to use efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills. I am aware of different learning styles and strategies and can use them when I believe them to be the best.
This might sound stupid but one of my favorite things is making plans for the future, even if I know they will never come true. Some examples would be planning to take four college classes in one semester, this is obviously a bit extreme. However, this planning helps me because I set unreasonable goals for myself but since I realize they are insane I do not feel bad if I ‘fail’. Inserted I take about two classes which is a much more reasonable reality. This system challenges me to improve myself and take responsibility for my future.
Interpersonal Abilities
I have greatly excelled at math which gives me the opportunity to help others I know also understand the concepts. I might explain it in a different way from their teacher showing how I thought through the problem. Helping others with calculus also helped me review and better understand each topic which in turn gave me a deeper knowledge of what I was doing at my level. Almost like watching a movie or show for the second time I noticed patterns and tricks. I would tell each person I was helping of these new things I learned, so they would not miss them.
I exercise leadership through being the president of my school's red cross club. I organize events, gather information and volunteer. I convince members to participate in events such as card making, blood drives, and the food bank. I build a club community and a positive environment through fun games.
Technology
I never had much issue when using technology. I have always been easily acquainted with new systems and understand how to accomplish what I want. ACLC has introduced to me a wide variety of possible applications that I can put into use. I can assess the project and apply the most effective application that I can easily use to accomplish my goal.
Although I do not deal much with physical technology I have had to troubleshoot when it comes to programming. I remember when I was working on my science fair projects where I created a website. This application would take in numbers put in by the user then numbers would go through a complicated formula and then the answer would be displayed on screen. The problem I encountered was this answer would flash on screen and then quickly disappear. I tried looking through my code trying random stuff out looking online but still the problem persisted. Until this one website came up that said to put a comma or period or something at the end of the line. I thought sure, why not, it doesn't hurt to try. This worked! It actually worked just one simple little thing that can completely change the result.