Ruth Washburn Nursery School

Growing up in Chicago, I attended a neighborhood school from preschool through first grade. Although it was an exceptional school for elementary kids, the education for middle school and high school students was not as adequate. Seeking a better place to raise their children, my parents were faced with a tough choice. When I was in 2nd grade, our family made the decision to move to the suburbs. On July 3rd, we all packed into our Honda minivan and drove 45 minutes to a new home in the town of Winnetka. Within my first year at Crow Island, my new school, I learned so many new things. I started playing the violin and speaking Spanish, neither of which were offered at my old school. I met my best friends that I'm still close with now. Over the

At the end of my first grade year, I moved away from the small, rural town near Vienna where I had lived since I was born. On my first day of school at Lincoln Elementary, I quickly made friends with two girls in my class named Pam and Kelly. Pam and Kelly introduced me to their group of friends that were all in our second grade class. For the rest of the school year, this group of friends was who I played on the playground with everyday and talked to in the classroom. After a great first year of school in Marion, the time came for my third grade year. Every year at Lincoln, there is a day that is close to the beginning of the school year where the students can come to the school to meet their new teacher and look at the class list to see which of their friends is in their class. On that morning, I went to Lincoln to find out who my new teacher was. To my dismay, I found out that all of my friends from second grade had a different teacher than I did. After finding out that I was not in class with any of my friends, I knew that I would have to find a new friend to talk to in my third grade class in addition to having all of my friends from second grade. At the beginning of my third grade year, I hung out with two friends I met named Phyllis and Erin. As the year progressed, I started to hang out with Angela who would soon become one of my best

I started out in Lindbergh at the age of three where I went to preschool for two years. I remember taking naps, playing on the playground, and snacking the most. After I finished preschool I went on to kindergarten. My first year riding a big school bus vs the small they use to pick us up in for preschool. I remember my kindergarten teacher Ms. Dorn who taught me the alphabet and how to count. My first grade teacher Ms. Hansen taught me how to read, write, add, and subtract. I remember my second grade teacher Ms. Welinski who help me further my education in the world of history, math, reading, and writing. My third grade teacher Ms. Cox retired my third grade year, but her lasted year she taught me how to write in cursive and to multiply.

Fitzgerald and Ms. Mendoza, Ms. Fitzgerald taught Launguage arts, and writing, then we would go across the bathrooms and Ms. Mendoza would teach us everything else. In 2nd grade I was in a class with on best friend Maddison, but somewhere in 2nd grade we weren’t friends anymore and I still have no clue why. My other best friends were Holly, Alex, Ashely, Grace, and McKenzie. During math class one day I began a weird habit where I chew on the side of my check, I thought I had stopped but it came back this year. I learned how to multiply big letters and write big words. I loved going to dance, hanging with family, being with friends, and going to b-day parties, I hated speech

Again, I was that silent kid. I took speech classes because I couldn’t pronounce my R's. Mrs. Christensen was my teacher. She was the best because she was funny, kind, and helpful. She helped me get into C.M.L and G.A.T.E.S again. She also helped me enjoy math and science enormously. C.M.L was really fun. In C.M.L, we celebrated Pi day by eating pies, and on the last day of C.M.L, I ate pizza and cupcakes. I remember that my best friend, Katelyn, and I would always swing on the swings every single day. I said, “I’m bored.” Katelyn replied, “Well, you can play with me.” That was how Katelyn and I met. She understands me better than any other person. My favorite field trips were going to Crystal Cave, the Bakken Museum, and on a boat with our kindergarten buddies, which were super fun. I hoped 5th grade could top 4th

Soon enough preschool was over and here came our elementary school days. Everyone met many people in kindergarten. Many will be my friends throughout high school and beyond. Kindergarten was filled with arts and crafts, my portfolio, 2008 handprints, and stamped tee shirts. Suddenly kindergarten graduation was here, everyone was paired up and danced with a partner. First grade flew by and then came second grade with Ms. Foisy and Ms. Okabioshi. Ms. Okabioshi was one of the best teacher assistance we have ever had. Third and fourth grade with Mrs. Schuler and Ms. Ittes. These years were filled with warm fuzzies, a lot of reading and writing, and a lot of fun playing on the playground. The class watched Shilo and everyone hated the evil father. After that came fifth grade with Mr. Sifferman, also known as Millie’s cousin, he gave the hardest tests we have ever taken, but the most fun and memorable times we have had. After that year many people changed schools, I moved to California.

In 6th grade, I was so excited, I was so ready for the future. I couldn't wait to grow up. I had a group of friends who I followed around. I was on Team Cornell. Mr. Gratzick was the best science teacher I had my entire middle school career. That’s not saying much considering my other teachers but Mr. Gratzick was great. He always made sure we were having

The school I was in for kindergarten to 5th grade there was only one class I stayed in for the entire day. My mom was little upset because her final child was starting school. When I hear “kindergarten” I think of Mrs. Otteson. She has been a great teacher who cared about my grades and wanted me to do my best. My first friend was Andrew Escamilla. We met in kindergarten and became friends from then on. We really didn’t see each other that often, because we both had different transportation to school. My teachers were Mrs. Otteson, Mrs. Blesie, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Rotoli, Mrs. Lacy and Mrs. Monnahan, Mr. Charnesky and Mrs. Blehm. Seven of eight of them cared about my grades and helped me get to the place I am at to this day.

Public school systems need to be more sensitive to their students. Parents play the major role in determining a child’s academic outcome, but the school system needs to notice children who don’t necessarily acknowledge their gift. These children need guidance -- I believe it is the schools’ responsibility to provide it to them. I have been through a situation that makes me feel strongly about the subject. My example is an indisputable case in point.

I started my educational career in John F. Kennedy Elementary. I don’t really remember my years there because I only went there for Kindergarten and 1st grade. After that, I went to Sepulveda Elementary. That was a learning experience because I had to basically be on my own for a couple of days since I was the new

When I was a kid, school for me was waking up early in the morning. I also have to study a lot in school, then after school I have to do homework. I remember my first day at school. My mom and dad, both were so happy and prepared but I was so nervous and cheerless. I didn’t like to wake up early in the morning for school , but as time flew by I started loving school which made me wake up with energy instead of tiredness. I began to enjoy the school as I made new friends and I got to know how it is like when you meet people out of your neighborhood. With my friends I had lunch together and study together. I started to understand what the purpose of the education system. Based on what I understood I think the purpose of education is really aimed at helping students get to the point where they can learn to be on their own. In this journey of education I had a lot of positive and few negative experiences,but the negative experiences also helped me growing. Positive experiences are my teachers helping me improve, and I improved more when I moved to the United States.

This story has to begin in my middle school years. At this age, I was already being tested annually amongst my peers. My parents had already received grades from the prior year letting them know that I was excelling in math and science. This year was different, this year they kept emphasizing on how it counts. And how it did. The grade I had received on these standardized tests statewide were enough to push me to the next level.

I began my journey of writing on May 7, 2017 when I began taking English 1301 at Texas State Technical College. When entering the course, I did not feel that the course was relevant to complete my educational journey. Writing was not one of my strongest points, so this journey was a difficult one. During the course I learned how to better prepare myself for writing and composing assignments, how to construct an outline, proper sentence structure, and punctuation. I feel this journey will better prepare me for continuing my education and help me to communicate better as a professional.

Elementary school started out as a bore but moved on to eventually being fun and enjoyable. I grew to love school and learning during my fourth and fifth grade years at Zia elementary school. My teacher taught me the value of history and American History

When I was a child I had many happy memories. I was born and raised in Lowell, Michigan. A small, rural town with very little diversity. I attended schools in the Lowell Area School District from kindergarten through 12th grade. As I sit and reflect on my elementary school years, I have many happy memories. I had positive relationships with many of my teachers; especially in my K-4 years. Mrs. Pomper always made me feel welcomed and always greet me with a smile. Mrs. Sterly taught me to read and Mrs. Ham always had confidence in me. These are three of my teachers in my early years I will never forget. My grades were good and I was motivated to try my best in everything I did in school; even if it was playing soccer and volleyball which were definitely not in my skills set. My view of school was positive, I loved going. I had friends, great teachers,