For most of my life, I’ve always dreamt of telling fictional stories in various different kinds of mediums. Yet, through all of high school, not once was I able to learn the basics of writing fiction or really anything regarding storytelling. That was, until the first time I assisted film camp. It was there that I finally learned what goes into making a story. The three act structure, character, dialogue, a sense of purpose. For the first time, I was actually paying very close attention to what the teachers were saying. And the filmmakers giving these classes always had this enthusiasm to everything they said, you could tell they were super passionate about their job and wanted to share it with everyone else. I’ll never forget this experience as in a sense it put me on the path, I’m on today, and without it, I might not have been able to fully explore my passion for storytelling. - Adrian Jimenez
When I was a small kid, probably around 6 years, I dominated English more than Spanish due to the influence of English during my early years. I always watched movies in English and my first grade teacher had the habit of singing us in English. That same teacher noticed that I couldn`t learn very well the grammatical rules of Spanish, and she prioritized making me learn those rules. As time passed, I could finally recall those grammatical rules and by seventh grade, I could easily write essays in Spanish. Thanks to that teacher, I could easily pass that class during middle and high school and now I`m where she wanted all her students to be right now. Thanks to her, I also love Spanish literature. If she didn`t care, I would probably be struggling with Spanish. It`s really life changing when a teacher notices a deficit that you have and look for ways to solve it.
As long as I can remember academics have been a big part of my life. Being pushed academically was something I always felt that helped me grow. When I was a freshman in highschool I switched schools and acclimatizing was one of the hardest things I had to do. I started seeing that my performance was deteriorating and I felt the urgent need and want to leave the school and try something "easier". Around mid school year I noticed my algebra teacher started helping me more every time she noticed I started putting effort into passing the class. It started giving me a boost of confidence that was very much needed. My algebra teacher kept pushing me and challenging me to give my all. By the end of the first semester my parents met up with my algebra teacher and what she told them has stuck with me even up until now in the best way possible. Because of that person having hope in me and helping me every day to do well, I found a new academic version of myself. My teacher taught me what perseverance is and how rewarding it feels. That whole school year filled with that teacher's help and support helped me overcome every obstacle that had been put in front of me and helped me face things in a whole different way from that moment on.
When I was in 5th grade a new boy from China came into my school and he did not know any Spanish at all, only English and Chinese. When we were in Spanish class he sat on a corner and played on his Nintendo the entire class. Then when we were in Math, he also sat on a corner and played on his Nintendo the entire lecture because he took Math with the 10th graders. He was very nice, fun, and humble with everyone and was so smart he started talking with us in Spanish in less than three months. When I was in 9th grade two twins from Jamaica came new into the school not knowing any Spanish. They were amazing runners and got our school a lot of medals, which made us very proud. The twins were also very kindhearted, intelligent and became very good friends of mine. Furthermore, in all my years in school I met people from all around the world with different cultures, languages, and traditions. Being in an environment of laic education for me was very life changing because I learned new things from every person I met from China, Jamaica, India, Islam, among others. I also learned from a very young age to respect other cultures and educate myself about them. Finally, this experience was very powerful and useful for me because I got to learn more about other cultures, beyond my own. -Valeria Reyes
During high school, I was in the agricultural program and a member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) organization. Every year, the FFA offered a national convention in which students could go and participate in competitive agricultural knowledge events. The moment I heard from my agriculture teacher that he would be making tryouts to form teams for these events, I felt intimidated and had no interest in participating. But my teacher told me that he believed that I had the potential to land on one of the teams and convinced me to get out of my comfort zone and give it a try. I spent weeks studying for the tryout and managed to land a spot on the Nursery and Landscape team. My teacher, even though he kept monitoring our progress, made it clear that he wanted us to be in charge of preparing ourselves for nationals. Therefore, my teammates and I had to prepare the study materials and do our own research. This experience taught me a lot about independence and about trusting myself and my abilities. Never the less, we won a bronze medal at nationals and the trip became one of my favorite memories from high school, all thanks to my teacher, who helped me get out of my comfort zone. - Alondra Acevedo Ortiz
My level of knowledge in English has increased significantly in the past 5 years. It could be said that before I started high school, I didn’t have a good quality of understanding in the language; I’ve always had problems whether it was writing it, reading it and even speaking it. But this all changed when I started in ninth grade. My teacher that year, Professor Rivera, made many changes in my way of thinking about English, both personally and in the workplace. Having knowledge of a language besides your native one, offers you many opportunities and open for you many doors. In addition to being the main language of communication worldwide, it allows you to learn new things and expand your vocabulary. Additionally, it lets you to share ideas and even get better opportunities. All of this with just understanding and comprehending the dialect. This teacher also helped me implement techniques for my vocabulary and understanding expansion. From the most basic things like watching all my entertainment series in English; to even more complex things like having a complete conversation just using this language. Till this day I still use the tips and tricks that she ones gave me. And even though I am not the best writing or understanding the readings, these are some of the things that I will always remember to apply and that I will always try to improve.
Before high school, I never studied when it came to school. I would get straight A's and do all of my homework like it was a joke. Then I got my first F in high school and after that one, another F. I couldn't believe it, but I'm glad it happened. Ever since then I started studying and working hard, I would have classmates that were very happy when they got a better grade than me. That made me want to study even more, I didn't want to be number one, I just wanted to be happy with my hard work. After those two F's in a row, I got a 100%. Not even my teacher could believe it but I felt so accomplished. I continued to work hard every single day and will continue even today and every other day. In the end, hard work always pays off.
I remember in High School I took my worst two classes one after another, and in the beginning of the semester I wasn't studying but I thought I was doing good in those two classes. As it turns out, I was failing them both because I was using the same studying method as my other friends that didn't study much. They used to get good grades in those classes, but I didn't, so I had to come up with another way to get good grades, if not I would've failed both classes. The thing was every time there was an exam, they would both coordinate it the same day, thus making it harder to study the day before like I used to. I started putting in the work and effort before the report card came in, and started getting A's in every test and homework assigned. I managed to go from failing to passing both classes, and I'm glad I started putting in the work because that has taught me not to leave things for the last second and led me to study beforehand. If someone doesn't work hard, it's difficult for them to get what they want in life.
My first language is English so to this day most of the media I consume is in English, whether it be movies, series, music or books. I’ve always had a love for writing, and of course, that was done in English as well. It wasn’t until 11th grade that I was able to find a love for Latin American literature. I had an amazing teacher, who had originally studied philosophy and gave his class from a very analytical point of view. I love history and I love learning history through literature whether that be autobiographies, biographies, or historical fiction. Given that most of this literature was in Spanish, and I prefer to read things in its original language if I can, I saw myself enjoying literature in Spanish more and more. It is thanks to this teacher and his amazing teaching tactics that I was able to broaden my literary knowledge.
Since, elemantary I was part of the student council. When I was in fifth, sixth and seventh grade I was treasurer. Then, in eight grade I was representative of my class. In ninth, tenth and eleventh grade I was vocal of the High School Student Council directive. Finally, in twelfth grade I was vicepresident of the Student Council directive. Thanks to this experience I got the opportunity to go to a leadership conference called NASC, where they took place in different states of the United States. Throughout the years I got the opportunity to learn from other people, even better because it was international. You could see how people bonded and how it benefited your leadership skills. We had conference after conference and a chance to get to know each other, It was only five days, but I know those days were one of the most amazing educational experience I’ve had. Everytime you try something new and put yourself out there, you will have a greater outcome.
Since I have been in middle school, I have been a member of the National Honor Society. I have always wanted to be a member of this association since it attracted my attention to be part of the activities and programs that they offer. When I entered highschool I could not enter the Senior Honor Society because I did not have the required grades. That same year I decided to get more shaggy so that the year after I could enter the honor. I did it and in grade 11 I was able to participate in this activity called coexistence. It is a weekend where most of the schools that have NHS go to a retreat, but to coexist together. We were divided into groups depending on the theme of the year, that year was about lines, so each group was a different continent. In this activity I met people from Mayaguez, Arecibo, Ponce, Fajardo, Cidra, Maricao. It is actually kind of intersting because we all had different lifestyles even though we all live on a little island where we literally all know each other in some way. the moderator or manager of this program was actually my English teacher, whom I thank for so many teachings, experiences and opportunities. For my senior year, I was more involved in what was the capitular directive and it was a daring because we were already in a virtual way. That year was a bit challenging and with many changes, but that's how life is constantly we go through changes. -Alanis Roque
When I was in 10th grade, my English teacher created a hashtag that went viral. It all started with a video, which also went viral, showing a teacher arguing with a student because the student disobeyed his orders and wanted to leave the classroom in the middle of class. This student started yelling and being disrespectful, which the teacher did not tolerate. In the video the teacher told the student to sit down and get settled, and at the same time tried to prevent the student from leaving the classroom, to which the student responded with more insults and physical violence. The teacher became exasperated and began to defend himself from the student's attacks, which resulted in the teacher's suspension. This video was circulating around the social platforms and everyone commented on the situation. This certain popularity gave my teacher the idea to bring out something good and educational, that's when it occurred to her to bring us what happened as a lesson. We talked about the importance of respect between students and teachers, and we came to the conclusion that we should somehow share our opinion and try to raise awareness. From that we came up with the hashtag, #yomesientoymehubico. We created banners explaining why we behaved in the classroom. Our photos and our message went viral on social media. So much so that our action was featured in a news article and we even appeared on a news television program. Through this I realized the power and influence that can be had on social networks, as our message reached 2 thousand likes. I also learned that respect is the basis of any good relationship and without it there are no possibilities of good relationships in the future.
Well, if you are interested I leave here the link to the article. https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2018/10/18/estudiantes-corozal-pancartas-yomesientoymeubico.html
In seventh grade, I entered a Specialized Bilingual school. I had to take two English classes: a regular one and English as a Second Language (ESL). Back then, I barely spoke, read, write, and understand English. I was anxious and nervous about taking two English at the same time. The regular English class was great because sometimes the teacher would speak Spanish. Also, the teacher let us talk in Spanish when we didn't know how to say some things in English. However, when I took to the ESL class, things got complicated because the teacher only spoke in English and, she didn't want us to talk in Spanish. Unfortunately, my 7th and 8th grade ESL experience was not the best. Nevertheless, I knew more English than before. In ninth grade, Mr. Carlos, my ESL teacher, changed my life forever because, unlike the other teacher, he wanted students to learn and be confident while speaking, writing, reading, and listening to English. Thanks to him, I graduated from high school knowing English, although I still have a lot to learn. He used to say: “It does not matter if your pronunciation is perfect, or if it sounds like you are speaking in gibberish. What matters is that you have confidence in what you are saying and that you are open to growing in the language”. Those words that he said to me, I will always carry with me. –Onaydely Rivera Vera
When I was in 8th grade, I was switched to an advanced group. Everything was going well until minutes before entering the English class. I remember while we were waiting in the hall, some of my classmates were telling me that the teacher was the devil, and when she came out of the classroom to greet us, she was checking if we all had our shirts inside and if we didn't have gum in our mouths, in that moment I thought it was going to be a long and difficult year. It turns out that the teacher was serious, but she was a very good teacher and person. Besides the class, she reminded me that discipline is very important academically and in other ways. She also thought me the importance of the brainstorming and how useful it can be. Since then, she was my teacher until I graduated and honestly it was a great experience to have her as a teacher.
It' s quite normal for high school students to have no idea of what they want to study until they get to college. A year ago, in my junior year, I was one of those students. I liked so many subjects and professions, I didn't know which one to choose or which one I would be successful with. One day, my science teacher recommended me this summer program that would be held for the first time in summer of that same year. It' s the Sacred-MIT Neuroscience Pre-College Program (SNPP), a virtual ( due to the COVID-19 pandemic) summer program that seeks to teach and guide its students into the Neuroscience and research area. One of the best decisions I ever made was to apply to that program. With them I was able to develop as a young scientist, I learned about the struggles that women scientists face, I made important connections that will help me in the future, and most importantly, I gained knowledge in the most interesting and beautiful science, the science that studies our brains. It was a powerful and useful educational experience for me because I fell in love with Neuroscience. Thanks to SNPP I knew that this amazing area of science is what I am passionate about and what I want for my future as a professional.
By: Pennélope Alers A few years ago, I realized I have a passion for recreational writing. My vision of recreational writing entails works of fiction and argumentation. I developed my writing skills all throughout high school, but specifically, for this exercise, I’d like to focus on a piece I have been working on for almost 2 years and its impact on my academic and personal life. It all started in January 2019, when the news headlines where all about the Australian wildfires and how climate change activists reacted to the tragedy. A few months later, I was introduced to Greta Thunberg’s UN Speech, and I would say that it was enlightening and a significant turning point that led to finally write the story. Although, it wasn’t until a month later (October 2019) when I took a moment to reflect if Earth had feelings, how must it feel right now? I entitled my short story: “A Cry for Help.” It explores the suffering from Earth’s point of view. The process of writing and editing it was definitely a powerful and useful educational experience. It improved my research skills. I practiced how to take on constructive criticism and how to apply it in my writing effectively and positively. It created a sense of comfort when exploring and writing from someone or something else’s point of view. The most important lesson I will forever hold on to: I realized that writing became my safe space to vent and verbalize my feelings towards a topic.
I haven’t had the opportunity to publish it, but someday I’d like to share it with all of you!
An educational experience that was very useful to me was a simple recommendation from a professor named Freddy Acevedo, he said to research words you do not fully understand or have the certainty of, to learn the etymology of it. This tip was very impactful for me because I've always loved to study the origin of something, including words as a reader and writer. However, I wouldn't often look up these words unless I had absolutely no clue what they meant. Now I sresearch almost any word I come across that stands out to me even if i have a basic understanding of it. -Genesis Nicole Esquilin Cortes
The school is a place where one as a student is in constant development and evolution. Therefore, the school environment is full of challenges. Throughout my academic experience in elementary and middle school my grades were the least of my concerns. However, when I reached high school, it was a completely different story: the grades counted for the entrance to university, my friends got good grades and thanks to my study practice, I was behind. This led to the people around me doubting my intellectuality and to me not being able to enjoy the same experiences they had for having good grades, as it was to be part of the National Honor Society. Therefore, it was my goal to prove to both myself and the people who doubted in me that I was capable of that and much more. In tenth grade I worked hard until in the eleventh grade when I reached the goal of having all straight A’s and being able to be part of the organization mentioned above. Thanks to the support of my friends and teachers, I am where I am today.
When I was in tenth grade, I was undecided of what I was going to study at college. So I decided to join the Summer Camp of the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. In the camp, we visited the different faculties and learned about what they are about. We also needed to take a 3 hour class, which counted as 3 credits when you arrived in college. My class was Ceramics, and it help me a lot to get used to how a college class is like. The camp was definitely a good experience, because even though I was still undecided, it gave me an idea to go in the direction that I needed. I also learned what I do not want to study, and that help me to discard faculties until having the one that I decided to go. Finally, I encourage people to go to college camps before going to college because you can start to develop a perspective of how it is and to be prepared when you get to.
When I was a kid , I didn’t like being in a classroom or anything that had to do with the classes that I had to take because I always been more interest in sports and art. Years went by and I started to take biology, chemistry and physics and that built a motivation within me to learn more about science and being more focused on what I want for my future. Also, the teachers were super good and they pushed me to be more focused on my future. They included me in the process of teaching so I could maintain being active in the class because they noticed that I was super imperactive and I was more interested in doing things than just seeing them, so they helped me develop this way of studying and it made me learn a lot of great things, and it helped me grow to the person I am today.
First grade was really difficult for me due tu my ADHD. I had problems concentrating, staying in my seat and it was really frustrating for me because I was always in “time out” looking at the wall and I felt like no one understood me. When I finished first grade things changed. My mom was a teacher herself because of that she took the decision and decided to put me in homeschool to help me with my academic difficulties and to help me achieve my educational goal. Homeschool helped me because of the flexibilities I was able to have and the individualized help I was getting. I say homeschool was a blessing because it helped me be the person I am today and given me strategies and helped me cope with the academic challenges I had.
All my life I have been in a bilingual school so my English was really good except when I had to speak. Later on, I transferred to another school and met new friends that spoke a lot in English so I had to adapt, not only to communicate better with them but also to improve my English, this was one of the factors that helped me improve. Another factor that helped me improve my English was the teacher. As we know, COVID forced us to do almost everything from our home so this teacher made us do a lot of oral presentations which helped me improve a lot. Thanks to all those oral presentations I had to do I feel confident in my pronunciation and I hope that I can keep improving it.
I've had many educational experiences along my entire life, but two of my most powerful educational experiences were in 10th grade and 11th grade with my History teachers, Mr. Rivera and Mr. Cardona. During my live I've been throught the learning process with different educators and many of them never gave me the sensation of desiring to learn something new everyday. In fact, on occasions I had this idea that teachers were only doing their job for the necessity of money and not beacuse they wanted to make us citizens of the world by teaching us things that we would most probably use in our daily lives and to build us as human beings with own ways of thinking and knowledge, until I had the chance of being instructed by Mr. Cardona and Mr. Rivera. On their classes I felt like they really wanted us as students to know our true history as puertoricans and to value the knowledge from the past. They used to teach us with such passion and excitment and interest while sharing their knowledge and that made me want to learn more and more every single day. That's why I completely agree with Dana Goldstein when she says in her essay "Why kids can't write" that part of the problem about the writing skills of the youth is the fact that some teachers don't even like to write or read and, because of that, the excitment and love for the writing proccess isn't in most students. I think that the teaching and learning proccess is, in fact, about how a teacher share ot his/her knowledge to the student body instead of just expecting them to do the job by themselves.
Dariel Ruiz Nunez - Honestly, I felt that every year, before transferring to my new school at 11th grade, it was the same material, that's why actually i can speak almost fluently, but don't have an abundant vocabulary. By the time i went to the new school, everything was so different, the way they teach, the way the homework and grades were sent before the pandemic, by then, I felt like an outcast, but learned to be a quick learner, or tried to, by pressure, because everything was so advance, and i was so slow. but I made some good classmates there, who are all my friends now, and they helped my through. by second and last year, I was as if I was already part of the family of LaSallians (yes, La Salle de Bayamon). the English there was different, the grammar, literature, so much more complicated, but at the same time, it was somewhat better.
My educational experience that i carry through life started out In 10th grade Homeroom to Spanish class. My spanish teacher always started out the class with a life quote. He said that teachers are one of the most important thing in life. I was like what??? Teachers?? no way, but then he started talking about how they would no be any professionals without teachers and i started understanding. Without teacher there would not be any doctors, pediatritians, mechanics or any sort of professionals. In fact i wouldn't know half the things i know by now if it wasn't for some teachers. Not just school teacher, but soccer coaches, people who gave you advice and people that gave you a life lesson can also be consider teachers. From that point on my perspective on teaching changed, i realize that teachers deserve a lot more than what they actually get and get paid. Obviously sometimes teachers can be a pain you know where, but they're just trying to teach you someway. I now value respect a lot more and teachers as well, because you can never stop learning, maybe school isn't the best way, but life for sure will put some great teachers in our paths.
And that is my educational experience that change my way of seeing things.
When I was in high school I belonged in a program called the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps). Where I learned so many things from discipline and how to control my actions and treat others well. It helped me understand how the outside world works and I met a lot of people in that program. I learned how to communicate with people and how to see the world from another angle. The values and life lessons I learned will always be within me and it was such an important moment in my life because it taught me how to become a better citizen. This program is truly something that helped me with my educational experience in my high school years and it forever will.
I can not remember an educational experience that was powerful or useful to me. My years of high school was a little neutral to not say completely. But for me it is because of the education system and the teachers. First, I felt like the teachers limited my education just because other classmates could not keep up nor understand the material, by limited I mean that the final topics from the syllabus was not even touched because teachers spend more time trying to teach a subject (another thing is the way of teaching something) rather than going on with the calendar established. I know that some students have difficulty learning but that’s where the specialized educators come in. So that is why I do not have a good education experience that was useful overall, I was basically bored. Also, that I did not have much conversations with teachers regarding education or something I could learn. Another thing is that in school is difficult to learn topics and subjects that can be used for life since most requirements are general studies, but things like investment, ethics, among other are not given or it is give in some schools. Maybe I could have a useful or powerful education if I tried some classes outside of high school, but I did not have the opportunity to take them.
From seventh through twelfth grade I studied in a school specializing in fine arts, my specialty was theater. I can say that I had many experiences that were powerful for me. I remember that when I was in ninth grade a new drama teacher came to the school, Ms. Ortíz. We had never done physical theater, it was something completely new for us. She began to teach us what physical theater was and the theoretical basis of it. Then we put it into practice. We did a lot of group trust exercises. We also did exercises on how to handle and accept our body as the main working tool, as well as the bodies of others. We challenged our bodies and tried things we had never practiced before. I was one of the shortest, skinniest, and riskiest students in the group, so many of the lifting exercises were with me. We performed a piece of physical theater using only our bodies, fabrics and instrumental music. We performed this piece at the Braulio Castillo Theater in Bayamón. It was a unique learning experience for me and my classmates. Although many years have passed I still remember that moment.
The most powerful educational experience I ever went through had to be after I transferred schools from Boneville to Wesleyan Academy year 9th. Right before then I had this math teacher who said I wouldn’t amount to anything in the world, so I wanted to prove her wrong eventually. I was used to not putting any effort and still being rewarded in my old school so when I moved and saw everything I had built collapse in front of me I knew what had to be done. I started working harder than I ever had, studying, practicing in order to prove her wrong and show her how I can achieve better heights. I’d say this transitioning period was what sparked a fire in me which had been long extinguished due to my old school’s educational system or at least how they handled it. Was my old teacher horrible? Yes. Did I improve because of her indirect actions? Definitely. I wouldn’t say it was a positive experience due to all the things I had to sacrifice at the moment, but the outcome was good at the very least.
For most of my life, I’ve always dreamt of telling fictional stories in various different kinds of mediums. Yet, through all of high school, not once was I able to learn the basics of writing fiction or really anything regarding storytelling. That was, until the first time I assisted film camp. It was there that I finally learned what goes into making a story. The three act structure, character, dialogue, a sense of purpose. For the first time, I was actually paying very close attention to what the teachers were saying. And the filmmakers giving these classes always had this enthusiasm to everything they said, you could tell they were super passionate about their job and wanted to share it with everyone else. I’ll never forget this experience as in a sense it put me on the path, I’m on today, and without it, I might not have been able to fully explore my passion for storytelling. - Adrian Jimenez
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a small kid, probably around 6 years, I dominated English more than Spanish due to the influence of English during my early years. I always watched movies in English and my first grade teacher had the habit of singing us in English. That same teacher noticed that I couldn`t learn very well the grammatical rules of Spanish, and she prioritized making me learn those rules. As time passed, I could finally recall those grammatical rules and by seventh grade, I could easily write essays in Spanish. Thanks to that teacher, I could easily pass that class during middle and high school and now I`m where she wanted all her students to be right now. Thanks to her, I also love Spanish literature. If she didn`t care, I would probably be struggling with Spanish. It`s really life changing when a teacher notices a deficit that you have and look for ways to solve it.
ReplyDeleteAs long as I can remember academics have been a big part of my life. Being pushed academically was something I always felt that helped me grow. When I was a freshman in highschool I switched schools and acclimatizing was one of the hardest things I had to do. I started seeing that my performance was deteriorating and I felt the urgent need and want to leave the school and try something "easier". Around mid school year I noticed my algebra teacher started helping me more every time she noticed I started putting effort into passing the class. It started giving me a boost of confidence that was very much needed. My algebra teacher kept pushing me and challenging me to give my all. By the end of the first semester my parents met up with my algebra teacher and what she told them has stuck with me even up until now in the best way possible. Because of that person having hope in me and helping me every day to do well, I found a new academic version of myself. My teacher taught me what perseverance is and how rewarding it feels. That whole school year filled with that teacher's help and support helped me overcome every obstacle that had been put in front of me and helped me face things in a whole different way from that moment on.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in 5th grade a new boy from China came into my school and he did not know any Spanish at all, only English and Chinese. When we were in Spanish class he sat on a corner and played on his Nintendo the entire class. Then when we were in Math, he also sat on a corner and played on his Nintendo the entire lecture because he took Math with the 10th graders. He was very nice, fun, and humble with everyone and was so smart he started talking with us in Spanish in less than three months. When I was in 9th grade two twins from Jamaica came new into the school not knowing any Spanish. They were amazing runners and got our school a lot of medals, which made us very proud. The twins were also very kindhearted, intelligent and became very good friends of mine. Furthermore, in all my years in school I met people from all around the world with different cultures, languages, and traditions. Being in an environment of laic education for me was very life changing because I learned new things from every person I met from China, Jamaica, India, Islam, among others. I also learned from a very young age to respect other cultures and educate myself about them. Finally, this experience was very powerful and useful for me because I got to learn more about other cultures, beyond my own. -Valeria Reyes
ReplyDeleteDuring high school, I was in the agricultural program and a member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) organization. Every year, the FFA offered a national convention in which students could go and participate in competitive agricultural knowledge events. The moment I heard from my agriculture teacher that he would be making tryouts to form teams for these events, I felt intimidated and had no interest in participating. But my teacher told me that he believed that I had the potential to land on one of the teams and convinced me to get out of my comfort zone and give it a try. I spent weeks studying for the tryout and managed to land a spot on the Nursery and Landscape team. My teacher, even though he kept monitoring our progress, made it clear that he wanted us to be in charge of preparing ourselves for nationals. Therefore, my teammates and I had to prepare the study materials and do our own research. This experience taught me a lot about independence and about trusting myself and my abilities. Never the less, we won a bronze medal at nationals and the trip became one of my favorite memories from high school, all thanks to my teacher, who helped me get out of my comfort zone. - Alondra Acevedo Ortiz
ReplyDeleteWhy Kids can’t write
ReplyDeleteMy level of knowledge in English has increased significantly in the past 5 years. It could be said that before I started high school, I didn’t have a good quality of understanding in the language; I’ve always had problems whether it was writing it, reading it and even speaking it. But this all changed when I started in ninth grade. My teacher that year, Professor Rivera, made many changes in my way of thinking about English, both personally and in the workplace. Having knowledge of a language besides your native one, offers you many opportunities and open for you many doors. In addition to being the main language of communication worldwide, it allows you to learn new things and expand your vocabulary. Additionally, it lets you to share ideas and even get better opportunities. All of this with just understanding and comprehending the dialect. This teacher also helped me implement techniques for my vocabulary and understanding expansion. From the most basic things like watching all my entertainment series in English; to even more complex things like having a complete conversation just using this language. Till this day I still use the tips and tricks that she ones gave me. And even though I am not the best writing or understanding the readings, these are some of the things that I will always remember to apply and that I will always try to improve.
Before high school, I never studied when it came to school. I would get straight A's and do all of my homework like it was a joke. Then I got my first F in high school and after that one, another F. I couldn't believe it, but I'm glad it happened. Ever since then I started studying and working hard, I would have classmates that were very happy when they got a better grade than me. That made me want to study even more, I didn't want to be number one, I just wanted to be happy with my hard work. After those two F's in a row, I got a 100%. Not even my teacher could believe it but I felt so accomplished. I continued to work hard every single day and will continue even today and every other day. In the end, hard work always pays off.
ReplyDeleteI remember in High School I took my worst two classes one after another, and in the beginning of the semester I wasn't studying but I thought I was doing good in those two classes. As it turns out, I was failing them both because I was using the same studying method as my other friends that didn't study much. They used to get good grades in those classes, but I didn't, so I had to come up with another way to get good grades, if not I would've failed both classes. The thing was every time there was an exam, they would both coordinate it the same day, thus making it harder to study the day before like I used to. I started putting in the work and effort before the report card came in, and started getting A's in every test and homework assigned. I managed to go from failing to passing both classes, and I'm glad I started putting in the work because that has taught me not to leave things for the last second and led me to study beforehand. If someone doesn't work hard, it's difficult for them to get what they want in life.
ReplyDeleteMy first language is English so to this day most of the media I consume is in English, whether it be movies, series, music or books. I’ve always had a love for writing, and of course, that was done in English as well. It wasn’t until 11th grade that I was able to find a love for Latin American literature. I had an amazing teacher, who had originally studied philosophy and gave his class from a very analytical point of view. I love history and I love learning history through literature whether that be autobiographies, biographies, or historical fiction. Given that most of this literature was in Spanish, and I prefer to read things in its original language if I can, I saw myself enjoying literature in Spanish more and more. It is thanks to this teacher and his amazing teaching tactics that I was able to broaden my literary knowledge.
ReplyDeleteSince, elemantary I was part of the student council. When I was in fifth, sixth and seventh grade I was treasurer. Then, in eight grade I was representative of my class. In ninth, tenth and eleventh grade I was vocal of the High School Student Council directive. Finally, in twelfth grade I was vicepresident of the Student Council directive. Thanks to this experience I got the opportunity to go to a leadership conference called NASC, where they took place in different states of the United States. Throughout the years I got the opportunity to learn from other people, even better because it was international. You could see how people bonded and how it benefited your leadership skills. We had conference after conference and a chance to get to know each other, It was only five days, but I know those days were one of the most amazing educational experience I’ve had. Everytime you try something new and put yourself out there, you will have a greater outcome.
ReplyDeleteSince I have been in middle school, I have been a member of the National Honor Society. I have always wanted to be a member of this association since it attracted my attention to be part of the activities and programs that they offer. When I entered highschool I could not enter the Senior Honor Society because I did not have the required grades. That same year I decided to get more shaggy so that the year after I could enter the honor. I did it and in grade 11 I was able to participate in this activity called coexistence. It is a weekend where most of the schools that have NHS go to a retreat, but to coexist together. We were divided into groups depending on the theme of the year, that year was about lines, so each group was a different continent. In this activity I met people from Mayaguez, Arecibo, Ponce, Fajardo, Cidra, Maricao. It is actually kind of intersting because we all had different lifestyles even though we all live on a little island where we literally all know each other in some way. the moderator or manager of this program was actually my English teacher, whom I thank for so many teachings, experiences and opportunities. For my senior year, I was more involved in what was the capitular directive and it was a daring because we were already in a virtual way. That year was a bit challenging and with many changes, but that's how life is constantly we go through changes. -Alanis Roque
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in 10th grade, my English teacher created a hashtag that went viral. It all started with a video, which also went viral, showing a teacher arguing with a student because the student disobeyed his orders and wanted to leave the classroom in the middle of class. This student started yelling and being disrespectful, which the teacher did not tolerate. In the video the teacher told the student to sit down and get settled, and at the same time tried to prevent the student from leaving the classroom, to which the student responded with more insults and physical violence. The teacher became exasperated and began to defend himself from the student's attacks, which resulted in the teacher's suspension. This video was circulating around the social platforms and everyone commented on the situation. This certain popularity gave my teacher the idea to bring out something good and educational, that's when it occurred to her to bring us what happened as a lesson. We talked about the importance of respect between students and teachers, and we came to the conclusion that we should somehow share our opinion and try to raise awareness. From that we came up with the hashtag, #yomesientoymehubico. We created banners explaining why we behaved in the classroom. Our photos and our message went viral on social media. So much so that our action was featured in a news article and we even appeared on a news television program. Through this I realized the power and influence that can be had on social networks, as our message reached 2 thousand likes. I also learned that respect is the basis of any good relationship and without it there are no possibilities of good relationships in the future.
ReplyDeleteWell, if you are interested I leave here the link to the article.
https://www.metro.pr/pr/noticias/2018/10/18/estudiantes-corozal-pancartas-yomesientoymeubico.html
In seventh grade, I entered a Specialized Bilingual school. I had to take two English classes: a regular one and English as a Second Language (ESL). Back then, I barely spoke, read, write, and understand English. I was anxious and nervous about taking two English at the same time. The regular English class was great because sometimes the teacher would speak Spanish. Also, the teacher let us talk in Spanish when we didn't know how to say some things in English. However, when I took to the ESL class, things got complicated because the teacher only spoke in English and, she didn't want us to talk in Spanish. Unfortunately, my 7th and 8th grade ESL experience was not the best. Nevertheless, I knew more English than before. In ninth grade, Mr. Carlos, my ESL teacher, changed my life forever because, unlike the other teacher, he wanted students to learn and be confident while speaking, writing, reading, and listening to English. Thanks to him, I graduated from high school knowing English, although I still have a lot to learn. He used to say: “It does not matter if your pronunciation is perfect, or if it sounds like you are speaking in gibberish. What matters is that you have confidence in what you are saying and that you are open to growing in the language”. Those words that he said to me, I will always carry with me. –Onaydely Rivera Vera
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in 8th grade, I was switched to an advanced group. Everything was going well until minutes before entering the English class. I remember while we were waiting in the hall, some of my classmates were telling me that the teacher was the devil, and when she came out of the classroom to greet us, she was checking if we all had our shirts inside and if we didn't have gum in our mouths, in that moment I thought it was going to be a long and difficult year. It turns out that the teacher was serious, but she was a very good teacher and person. Besides the class, she reminded me that discipline is very important academically and in other ways. She also thought me the importance of the brainstorming and how useful it can be. Since then, she was my teacher until I graduated and honestly it was a great experience to have her as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteIt' s quite normal for high school students to have no idea of what they want to study until they get to college. A year ago, in my junior year, I was one of those students. I liked so many subjects and professions, I didn't know which one to choose or which one I would be successful with. One day, my science teacher recommended me this summer program that would be held for the first time in summer of that same year. It' s the Sacred-MIT Neuroscience Pre-College Program (SNPP), a virtual ( due to the COVID-19 pandemic) summer program that seeks to teach and guide its students into the Neuroscience and research area. One of the best decisions I ever made was to apply to that program. With them I was able to develop as a young scientist, I learned about the struggles that women scientists face, I made important connections that will help me in the future, and most importantly, I gained knowledge in the most interesting and beautiful science, the science that studies our brains. It was a powerful and useful educational experience for me because I fell in love with Neuroscience. Thanks to SNPP I knew that this amazing area of science is what I am passionate about and what I want for my future as a professional.
ReplyDelete-Angelys Rivera Hernández
23/aug/21
By: Pennélope Alers
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, I realized I have a passion for recreational writing. My vision of recreational writing entails works of fiction and argumentation. I developed my writing skills all throughout high school, but specifically, for this exercise, I’d like to focus on a piece I have been working on for almost 2 years and its impact on my academic and personal life. It all started in January 2019, when the news headlines where all about the Australian wildfires and how climate change activists reacted to the tragedy. A few months later, I was introduced to Greta Thunberg’s UN Speech, and I would say that it was enlightening and a significant turning point that led to finally write the story. Although, it wasn’t until a month later (October 2019) when I took a moment to reflect if Earth had feelings, how must it feel right now? I entitled my short story: “A Cry for Help.” It explores the suffering from Earth’s point of view. The process of writing and editing it was definitely a powerful and useful educational experience. It improved my research skills. I practiced how to take on constructive criticism and how to apply it in my writing effectively and positively. It created a sense of comfort when exploring and writing from someone or something else’s point of view. The most important lesson I will forever hold on to: I realized that writing became my safe space to vent and verbalize my feelings towards a topic.
I haven’t had the opportunity to publish it, but someday I’d like to share it with all of you!
An educational experience that was very useful to me was a simple recommendation from a professor named Freddy Acevedo, he said to research words you do not fully understand or have the certainty of, to learn the etymology of it. This tip was very impactful for me because I've always loved to study the origin of something, including words as a reader and writer. However, I wouldn't often look up these words unless I had absolutely no clue what they meant. Now I sresearch almost any word I come across that stands out to me even if i have a basic understanding of it.
ReplyDelete-Genesis Nicole Esquilin Cortes
The school is a place where one as a student is in constant development and evolution. Therefore, the school environment is full of challenges. Throughout my academic experience in elementary and middle school my grades were the least of my concerns. However, when I reached high school, it was a completely different story: the grades counted for the entrance to university, my friends got good grades and thanks to my study practice, I was behind. This led to the people around me doubting my intellectuality and to me not being able to enjoy the same experiences they had for having good grades, as it was to be part of the National Honor Society. Therefore, it was my goal to prove to both myself and the people who doubted in me that I was capable of that and much more. In tenth grade I worked hard until in the eleventh grade when I reached the goal of having all straight A’s and being able to be part of the organization mentioned above. Thanks to the support of my friends and teachers, I am where I am today.
ReplyDeleteLuis Defilló Rivera:
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in tenth grade, I was undecided of what I was going to study at college. So I decided to join the Summer Camp of the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. In the camp, we visited the different faculties and learned about what they are about. We also needed to take a 3 hour class, which counted as 3 credits when you arrived in college. My class was Ceramics, and it help me a lot to get used to how a college class is like. The camp was definitely a good experience, because even though I was still undecided, it gave me an idea to go in the direction that I needed. I also learned what I do not want to study, and that help me to discard faculties until having the one that I decided to go. Finally, I encourage people to go to college camps before going to college because you can start to develop a perspective of how it is and to be prepared when you get to.
When I was a kid , I didn’t like being in a classroom or anything that had to do with the classes that I had to take because I always been more interest in sports and art. Years went by and I started to take biology, chemistry and physics and that built a motivation within me to learn more about science and being more focused on what I want for my future. Also, the teachers were super good and they pushed me to be more focused on my future. They included me in the process of teaching so I could maintain being active in the class because they noticed that I was super imperactive and I was more interested in doing things than just seeing them, so they helped me develop this way of studying and it made me learn a lot of great things, and it helped me grow to the person I am today.
ReplyDeleteFirst grade was really difficult for me due tu my ADHD. I had problems concentrating, staying in my seat and it was really frustrating for me because I was always in “time out” looking at the wall and I felt like no one understood me. When I finished first grade things changed. My mom was a teacher herself because of that she took the decision and decided to put me in homeschool to help me with my academic difficulties and to help me achieve my educational goal. Homeschool helped me because of the flexibilities I was able to have and the individualized help I was getting. I say homeschool was a blessing because it helped me be the person I am today and given me strategies and helped me cope with the academic challenges I had.
ReplyDelete-Adriel De Jesus
All my life I have been in a bilingual school so my English was really good except when I had to speak. Later on, I transferred to another school and met new friends that spoke a lot in English so I had to adapt, not only to communicate better with them but also to improve my English, this was one of the factors that helped me improve. Another factor that helped me improve my English was the teacher. As we know, COVID forced us to do almost everything from our home so this teacher made us do a lot of oral presentations which helped me improve a lot. Thanks to all those oral presentations I had to do I feel confident in my pronunciation and I hope that I can keep improving it.
ReplyDeleteI've had many educational experiences along my entire life, but two of my most powerful educational experiences were in 10th grade and 11th grade with my History teachers, Mr. Rivera and Mr. Cardona. During my live I've been throught the learning process with different educators and many of them never gave me the sensation of desiring to learn something new everyday. In fact, on occasions I had this idea that teachers were only doing their job for the necessity of money and not beacuse they wanted to make us citizens of the world by teaching us things that we would most probably use in our daily lives and to build us as human beings with own ways of thinking and knowledge, until I had the chance of being instructed by Mr. Cardona and Mr. Rivera. On their classes I felt like they really wanted us as students to know our true history as puertoricans and to value the knowledge from the past. They used to teach us with such passion and excitment and interest while sharing their knowledge and that made me want to learn more and more every single day. That's why I completely agree with Dana Goldstein when she says in her essay "Why kids can't write" that part of the problem about the writing skills of the youth is the fact that some teachers don't even like to write or read and, because of that, the excitment and love for the writing proccess isn't in most students. I think that the teaching and learning proccess is, in fact, about how a teacher share ot his/her knowledge to the student body instead of just expecting them to do the job by themselves.
ReplyDeleteBy: Sailet Gomera
Dariel Ruiz Nunez -
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I felt that every year, before transferring to my new school at 11th grade, it was the same material, that's why actually i can speak almost fluently, but don't have an abundant vocabulary. By the time i went to the new school, everything was so different, the way they teach, the way the homework and grades were sent before the pandemic, by then, I felt like an outcast, but learned to be a quick learner, or tried to, by pressure, because everything was so advance, and i was so slow. but I made some good classmates there, who are all my friends now, and they helped my through. by second and last year, I was as if I was already part of the family of LaSallians (yes, La Salle de Bayamon). the English there was different, the grammar, literature, so much more complicated, but at the same time, it was somewhat better.
My educational experience that i carry through life started out In 10th grade Homeroom to Spanish class. My spanish teacher always started out the class with a life quote. He said that teachers are one of the most important thing in life. I was like what??? Teachers?? no way, but then he started talking about how they would no be any professionals without teachers and i started understanding. Without teacher there would not be any doctors, pediatritians, mechanics or any sort of professionals. In fact i wouldn't know half the things i know by now if it wasn't for some teachers. Not just school teacher, but soccer coaches, people who gave you advice and people that gave you a life lesson can also be consider teachers. From that point on my perspective on teaching changed, i realize that teachers deserve a lot more than what they actually get and get paid. Obviously sometimes teachers can be a pain you know where, but they're just trying to teach you someway. I now value respect a lot more and teachers as well, because you can never stop learning, maybe school isn't the best way, but life for sure will put some great teachers in our paths.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is my educational experience that change my way of seeing things.
-Luis R Santiago Del Valle #2119
When I was in high school I belonged in a program called the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps). Where I learned so many things from discipline and how to control my actions and treat others well. It helped me understand how the outside world works and I met a lot of people in that program. I learned how to communicate with people and how to see the world from another angle. The values and life lessons I learned will always be within me and it was such an important moment in my life because it taught me how to become a better citizen. This program is truly something that helped me with my educational experience in my high school years and it forever will.
ReplyDeleteI can not remember an educational experience that was powerful or useful to me. My years of high school was a little neutral to not say completely. But for me it is because of the education system and the teachers. First, I felt like the teachers limited my education just because other classmates could not keep up nor understand the material, by limited I mean that the final topics from the syllabus was not even touched because teachers spend more time trying to teach a subject (another thing is the way of teaching something) rather than going on with the calendar established. I know that some students have difficulty learning but that’s where the specialized educators come in. So that is why I do not have a good education experience that was useful overall, I was basically bored. Also, that I did not have much conversations with teachers regarding education or something I could learn. Another thing is that in school is difficult to learn topics and subjects that can be used for life since most requirements are general studies, but things like investment, ethics, among other are not given or it is give in some schools. Maybe I could have a useful or powerful education if I tried some classes outside of high school, but I did not have the opportunity to take them.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteFrom seventh through twelfth grade I studied in a school specializing in fine arts, my specialty was theater. I can say that I had many experiences that were powerful for me. I remember that when I was in ninth grade a new drama teacher came to the school, Ms. Ortíz. We had never done physical theater, it was something completely new for us. She began to teach us what physical theater was and the theoretical basis of it. Then we put it into practice. We did a lot of group trust exercises. We also did exercises on how to handle and accept our body as the main working tool, as well as the bodies of others. We challenged our bodies and tried things we had never practiced before. I was one of the shortest, skinniest, and riskiest students in the group, so many of the lifting exercises were with me. We performed a piece of physical theater using only our bodies, fabrics and instrumental music. We performed this piece at the Braulio Castillo Theater in Bayamón. It was a unique learning experience for me and my classmates. Although many years have passed I still remember that moment.
The most powerful educational experience I ever went through had to be after I transferred
ReplyDeleteschools from Boneville to Wesleyan Academy year 9th. Right before then I had this math teacher who said I wouldn’t amount to anything in the world, so I wanted to prove her wrong eventually. I was used to not putting any effort and still being rewarded in my old school so when I moved and saw everything I had built collapse in front of me I knew what had to be done. I started working harder than I ever had, studying, practicing in order to prove her wrong and show her how I can achieve better heights. I’d say this transitioning period was what sparked a fire in me which had been long extinguished due to my old school’s educational system or at least how they handled it. Was my old teacher horrible? Yes. Did I improve because of her indirect actions? Definitely. I wouldn’t say it was a positive experience due to all the things I had to sacrifice at the moment, but the outcome was good at the very least.