Reflective essay ♡♡♡
Before I attended the Alameda Community Learning Center, I attended Chipman Middle school which is now known as The Academy of Alameda. I felt very lost at Chipman, barely passing all my classes. My habit there was terrible. I was pretty much unable to always have my homework completed. It was definitely a huge step from elementary school, there was barely any encouragement. I had no friends and the worst part is that I didn’t feel safe in that community. Then in 7th grade, I was finally accepted into ACLC. Everything that I negatively felt at Chipman slowly started to fade. I felt more confident, open, and content. My grades eventually improved and it gave me confidence and the ability to keep achieving good grades. The support that I had from facilitators allowed me to feel comfortable. I felt safe to joke around and approach them when I needed help. I also grew more sociable, and the community inspired me to different things. The one thing that helped was that I could communicate with the older learners. Community bonding events was what connected us. The relationships that were built were truly amazing, I felt that I could walk through the doors of ACLC with no hesitation.
I had a daily routine at Chipman. Core classes everyday in the morning, science class, math, then orchestra. At ACLC, I came to all my classes expecting something new and exciting every day. It felt great to have English class three times a week, instead of attending core class every single morning. I didn't have to do homework all the time, there were group projects like building a catapult. ACLC is more project based, and I felt that this helped me understand the subject better. There were a lot of presentations and communication which is great because it gives us the ability to inform others about what we learned.
Aclc has expanded my creativity and instead of doing projects on a piece of paper, I can use Prezi or Powerpoint to convey my project more creatively. I love that the school has creative bonding events like the gingerbread house or pumpkin carving. I feel that it's impacted the way that I present myself and where ever I go, I use similar activities to be creative. ACLC has inspired me to think outside the box and I'm really thankful for that.
CCC gave me the opportunity to feel as if I’m part of the community. The activities that happened every Wednesday allowed me to work as a team with my group. I was also able to voice my opinions even if I wasn't in leadership. I worked with groups who had different backgrounds, and it did feel intimidating working with older learners. But I eventually grew out of my shell and enjoyed experiencing CCC with all different grades and people.
The first time that I ever opened power point was at Summer Bridge. I was terrible with technology; it took me the longest time to type anything up. ACLC has helped improve my computer skills to another level. Since we are given the ability to use computers for projects, I knew how to use power point. I improved in my ability to type and to research things up on the internet. This came in extremely handy because I worked for Kaiser Permanente as an intern and all the projects were on power point or on word. It was the first time that I ever thanked school for educating me in an important skill.
I had a daily routine at Chipman. Core classes everyday in the morning, science class, math, then orchestra. At ACLC, I came to all my classes expecting something new and exciting every day. It felt great to have English class three times a week, instead of attending core class every single morning. I didn't have to do homework all the time, there were group projects like building a catapult. ACLC is more project based, and I felt that this helped me understand the subject better. There were a lot of presentations and communication which is great because it gives us the ability to inform others about what we learned.
Aclc has expanded my creativity and instead of doing projects on a piece of paper, I can use Prezi or Powerpoint to convey my project more creatively. I love that the school has creative bonding events like the gingerbread house or pumpkin carving. I feel that it's impacted the way that I present myself and where ever I go, I use similar activities to be creative. ACLC has inspired me to think outside the box and I'm really thankful for that.
CCC gave me the opportunity to feel as if I’m part of the community. The activities that happened every Wednesday allowed me to work as a team with my group. I was also able to voice my opinions even if I wasn't in leadership. I worked with groups who had different backgrounds, and it did feel intimidating working with older learners. But I eventually grew out of my shell and enjoyed experiencing CCC with all different grades and people.
The first time that I ever opened power point was at Summer Bridge. I was terrible with technology; it took me the longest time to type anything up. ACLC has helped improve my computer skills to another level. Since we are given the ability to use computers for projects, I knew how to use power point. I improved in my ability to type and to research things up on the internet. This came in extremely handy because I worked for Kaiser Permanente as an intern and all the projects were on power point or on word. It was the first time that I ever thanked school for educating me in an important skill.