A Reflection On My Time At ACLC
My 7th Grade Self
When I graduate in June 2010, I will have spent six full years at the Center, one third of my life so far. My time at ACLC has covered some of the most formative years of my life, which is why I can confidently say that the Center played a key role in shaping who I am and what I want to become. It’s funny to look back and see how much I have changed. In fact, I can still remember my first day, in late August of 2004, when I first walked into ACLC.
I was moving to Alameda from Charlottesville, Virginia. It wasn’t an entirely new town, because I’d spent part of elementary school in Alameda, but I hadn’t kept in touch with most of my friends, and many had moved away. I’d never heard of ACLC, besides the tidbits my parents told me about it, but they had secured me a spot. Before school started, my mom and I set up a meeting with Mike De Sousa so that I could see the school and have some idea of what I was getting myself into. I remember walking onto the big high school campus of Encinal, very nervous and worried because I couldn’t even find ACLC. I was extremely shy and disinclined to venture outside my shell, and needless to say, terrified of starting at a new school.
I remember first walking into Room 603, awed that it was actually a school. After all, it was a large open space filled with all sorts of colorful projects. There were several couches and graffiti art covered the walls. Even in the summer I thought it was disorganized, but I could have never imagined what it would be like full of students. Loud and messy, ACLC doesn’t always have the greatest reputation, but it’s the chaotic energy of our school that helps to make it so unique. Learners, of all ages, are everywhere, all the time, doing projects, talking, studying, knitting, hanging out, etc. While initially overwhelming, another exceptional aspect of ACLC is its ability to pull students into the community. I made friends quickly, not just new seventh graders, but also people older and younger than me. I quickly adapted to structure and foundation of my new school, and became part of the Center myself.
When I came to ACLC, I already had strong work habits. I’ve always been able to manage my time well, get things done, work hard, etc, but I think my character has developed tremendously. Initially very timid, I’ve become a strong and confident person. I remember presenting a project in seventh grade and trying desperately to control my shaky voice, clammy hands, and extreme nerves. Now, I’m able to deliver presentations with ease, and while I still do have the occasional butterflies in my stomach, I’ve overcome my fears of public speaking. This has also helped me to become more sociable. I believe I’m a very thoughtful and friendly person; I get along with everyone and at the very least, I’m civil with everyone. From the slightly introverted girl I was, I’ve developed into a people-person. I love to help people, both on a small scale, like making new students feel more comfortable, or on a larger scale, through doing community service and volunteering at the Alameda Food Bank or as a health worker in Latin America. This work has been especially central to empowering me and helping me realize that I am capable of anything.
I’ve worked hard my entire time at ACLC. I have always challenged myself and taken advanced classes, and as such I’ve also learned a great deal academically. I’m especially proud of my proficiency in the Spanish language, which I began studying freshman year. I chose to learn Spanish, not just because it’s a requirement, but because I find it beautiful and it’s a useful skill. Four years ago, the extent of my knowledge was counting to ten and I couldn’t even introduce myself. This past summer however, I lived in Paraguay and spoke Spanish practically the entire time, proving that I’m very competent in communicating and also allowing me to practice and improve.
I’ve always really enjoyed reading and writing, both as hobbies and in my classes. I often challenge myself with harder texts and I’ve developed a basic and fundamental understanding of literature. My writing has very much evolved, especially over the last two years. I’ve become much better at defining a thesis, providing supporting points, writing transitions, etc, and thanks to a better vocabulary my writing has also become more intellectual and fluid. For history and civics, I’ve taken both AP European History at Encinal High School and Political Theory at the College of Alameda, among my regular HP history classes at ACLC. These have helped me to become more globally aware and to understand basic political systems and ideologies. I’m also lucky enough to travel a lot, and those experiences have contributed to my sense of the world. My least favorite subjects have always been science and math, but even in them I’ve been successful. I went as far as taking Calculus 1 and Statistics at the College of Alameda. All of my science fair projects have placed, and I’ve taken both Physics HP and Biology HP. Overall, I think my test scores speak for themselves. I have consistently scored “above average” on the annual standardized testing, and I’ve scored well on various College Board tests. The key to my success is simply that I try, no matter how hard the subject matter is or how much I dislike the course. That is why I’m at least competent, if not adept, in all of the new basics.
Knowing how to learn and how I learn best has definitely helped me. I have developed strong thinking and reasoning skills, especially when it comes to creative thinking and problem solving. I especially love making skits or writing songs to present my material, like the Brown vs. Board of Education song I sang with my friends in seventh grade, or the Marianela skit I acted out with a partner in my Spanish class this year. I believe these creative presentations are more interesting and informative, both for myself and my audience. Teaching health classes in Paraguay forced me to evaluate how other people learn. Lecturing was not an option due to my language skills, and it wouldn’t have kept my young students engaged. My partner and I had to think of dances, activities, songs, art projects, and games that would help us to teach our students the material in a fun way that they would remember, while still actually learning the information. It was a challenge because I really had to think critically about different methods of learning.
Because I’ve always been a hard worker, I have also been a strong team member. However, I think I also have the tendency to take control and be a leader. While that’s certainly not a negative thing, I think I sometimes put the “I” in “team”. I haven’t always helped others to learn or allowed them to contribute much to a project because my main goal has been to get the project done in the best way I know how. Unfortunately, that has often left me with the bulk of the work. I’m still working on becoming a better team member by getting everyone on the same page before rushing ahead to complete the work, so that everyone benefits from the learning. I think I’m naturally a strong leader because I think critically and I take on challenges. I don’t discriminate and I’m a nice person, so I easily work well with all kinds of people, especially because I support compromise.
I had some experience with computers before coming to ACLC, so I was already competent with basic programs like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. In an environment like ACLC, with computers readily available, I’ve naturally advanced over the years. It all comes down to being able to really utilize my resources. I use the internet for almost all of my research, for homework and for personal interests. I’m also much more adept with PowerPoint, and I’ve learned how to add animations make my presentations more interesting. I’ve learned to use Excel, especially for organizational work and creating charts and graphs. This has been especially useful in my science fair projects, like last year’s “Where’s Waldo?” in which graphs were crucial to analyze my results. I’ve also learned how to use Publisher, which is fantastic for brochures (like the ones I created for chemistry elements, health topics, and more), resumes, flyers, and so much more. In sixth grade, I had to create a website for my math class. Not realizing there were much easier ways to do it, I actually taught myself HTML code and wrote an entire website. At ACLC, I’ve found much simpler ways, like using Word, PowerPoint or a hosting site. In my English classes in middle school, I created two very successful websites, one about Latino Rights and another about Helen Keller. With my group, I also created an interesting way to present my websites: through an information scavenger hunt, again demonstrating my creative thinking. I’m much better than I first was with solving basic problems on the computer. I remember how I couldn’t even attach a printer or print double sided and I had to ask for help constantly. Now, of course, I can do those things and more.
ACLC has prepared me for college and the world ahead. I’ve really grown up at this school, becoming a more intelligent, sociable, and overall better person. I really believe that I exemplify the graduate outcomes that ACLC hopes to achieve. I have strong personal qualities and work habits, I’m proficient in the new basics, I think and reason critically and creatively, I cooperate well, and I work well with technology.
I was moving to Alameda from Charlottesville, Virginia. It wasn’t an entirely new town, because I’d spent part of elementary school in Alameda, but I hadn’t kept in touch with most of my friends, and many had moved away. I’d never heard of ACLC, besides the tidbits my parents told me about it, but they had secured me a spot. Before school started, my mom and I set up a meeting with Mike De Sousa so that I could see the school and have some idea of what I was getting myself into. I remember walking onto the big high school campus of Encinal, very nervous and worried because I couldn’t even find ACLC. I was extremely shy and disinclined to venture outside my shell, and needless to say, terrified of starting at a new school.
I remember first walking into Room 603, awed that it was actually a school. After all, it was a large open space filled with all sorts of colorful projects. There were several couches and graffiti art covered the walls. Even in the summer I thought it was disorganized, but I could have never imagined what it would be like full of students. Loud and messy, ACLC doesn’t always have the greatest reputation, but it’s the chaotic energy of our school that helps to make it so unique. Learners, of all ages, are everywhere, all the time, doing projects, talking, studying, knitting, hanging out, etc. While initially overwhelming, another exceptional aspect of ACLC is its ability to pull students into the community. I made friends quickly, not just new seventh graders, but also people older and younger than me. I quickly adapted to structure and foundation of my new school, and became part of the Center myself.
When I came to ACLC, I already had strong work habits. I’ve always been able to manage my time well, get things done, work hard, etc, but I think my character has developed tremendously. Initially very timid, I’ve become a strong and confident person. I remember presenting a project in seventh grade and trying desperately to control my shaky voice, clammy hands, and extreme nerves. Now, I’m able to deliver presentations with ease, and while I still do have the occasional butterflies in my stomach, I’ve overcome my fears of public speaking. This has also helped me to become more sociable. I believe I’m a very thoughtful and friendly person; I get along with everyone and at the very least, I’m civil with everyone. From the slightly introverted girl I was, I’ve developed into a people-person. I love to help people, both on a small scale, like making new students feel more comfortable, or on a larger scale, through doing community service and volunteering at the Alameda Food Bank or as a health worker in Latin America. This work has been especially central to empowering me and helping me realize that I am capable of anything.
I’ve worked hard my entire time at ACLC. I have always challenged myself and taken advanced classes, and as such I’ve also learned a great deal academically. I’m especially proud of my proficiency in the Spanish language, which I began studying freshman year. I chose to learn Spanish, not just because it’s a requirement, but because I find it beautiful and it’s a useful skill. Four years ago, the extent of my knowledge was counting to ten and I couldn’t even introduce myself. This past summer however, I lived in Paraguay and spoke Spanish practically the entire time, proving that I’m very competent in communicating and also allowing me to practice and improve.
I’ve always really enjoyed reading and writing, both as hobbies and in my classes. I often challenge myself with harder texts and I’ve developed a basic and fundamental understanding of literature. My writing has very much evolved, especially over the last two years. I’ve become much better at defining a thesis, providing supporting points, writing transitions, etc, and thanks to a better vocabulary my writing has also become more intellectual and fluid. For history and civics, I’ve taken both AP European History at Encinal High School and Political Theory at the College of Alameda, among my regular HP history classes at ACLC. These have helped me to become more globally aware and to understand basic political systems and ideologies. I’m also lucky enough to travel a lot, and those experiences have contributed to my sense of the world. My least favorite subjects have always been science and math, but even in them I’ve been successful. I went as far as taking Calculus 1 and Statistics at the College of Alameda. All of my science fair projects have placed, and I’ve taken both Physics HP and Biology HP. Overall, I think my test scores speak for themselves. I have consistently scored “above average” on the annual standardized testing, and I’ve scored well on various College Board tests. The key to my success is simply that I try, no matter how hard the subject matter is or how much I dislike the course. That is why I’m at least competent, if not adept, in all of the new basics.
Knowing how to learn and how I learn best has definitely helped me. I have developed strong thinking and reasoning skills, especially when it comes to creative thinking and problem solving. I especially love making skits or writing songs to present my material, like the Brown vs. Board of Education song I sang with my friends in seventh grade, or the Marianela skit I acted out with a partner in my Spanish class this year. I believe these creative presentations are more interesting and informative, both for myself and my audience. Teaching health classes in Paraguay forced me to evaluate how other people learn. Lecturing was not an option due to my language skills, and it wouldn’t have kept my young students engaged. My partner and I had to think of dances, activities, songs, art projects, and games that would help us to teach our students the material in a fun way that they would remember, while still actually learning the information. It was a challenge because I really had to think critically about different methods of learning.
Because I’ve always been a hard worker, I have also been a strong team member. However, I think I also have the tendency to take control and be a leader. While that’s certainly not a negative thing, I think I sometimes put the “I” in “team”. I haven’t always helped others to learn or allowed them to contribute much to a project because my main goal has been to get the project done in the best way I know how. Unfortunately, that has often left me with the bulk of the work. I’m still working on becoming a better team member by getting everyone on the same page before rushing ahead to complete the work, so that everyone benefits from the learning. I think I’m naturally a strong leader because I think critically and I take on challenges. I don’t discriminate and I’m a nice person, so I easily work well with all kinds of people, especially because I support compromise.
I had some experience with computers before coming to ACLC, so I was already competent with basic programs like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. In an environment like ACLC, with computers readily available, I’ve naturally advanced over the years. It all comes down to being able to really utilize my resources. I use the internet for almost all of my research, for homework and for personal interests. I’m also much more adept with PowerPoint, and I’ve learned how to add animations make my presentations more interesting. I’ve learned to use Excel, especially for organizational work and creating charts and graphs. This has been especially useful in my science fair projects, like last year’s “Where’s Waldo?” in which graphs were crucial to analyze my results. I’ve also learned how to use Publisher, which is fantastic for brochures (like the ones I created for chemistry elements, health topics, and more), resumes, flyers, and so much more. In sixth grade, I had to create a website for my math class. Not realizing there were much easier ways to do it, I actually taught myself HTML code and wrote an entire website. At ACLC, I’ve found much simpler ways, like using Word, PowerPoint or a hosting site. In my English classes in middle school, I created two very successful websites, one about Latino Rights and another about Helen Keller. With my group, I also created an interesting way to present my websites: through an information scavenger hunt, again demonstrating my creative thinking. I’m much better than I first was with solving basic problems on the computer. I remember how I couldn’t even attach a printer or print double sided and I had to ask for help constantly. Now, of course, I can do those things and more.
ACLC has prepared me for college and the world ahead. I’ve really grown up at this school, becoming a more intelligent, sociable, and overall better person. I really believe that I exemplify the graduate outcomes that ACLC hopes to achieve. I have strong personal qualities and work habits, I’m proficient in the new basics, I think and reason critically and creatively, I cooperate well, and I work well with technology.