My Education Background

In order to get the help I needed, my mom had to pick me up two hours early from school every day and bring me to Anderson Elementary, where the speech therapist was located. Being forced to leave school early didn't help my social issues. The friends I had turned on me, and I became the weird girl. I no longer had people to eat lunch with, and invitations to birthday parties stopped arriving in the mail. I was mocked on a daily basis by people I had previously considered to be friends. Everyone had their own conspiracy theories about me; it hurt. Along with my new-found social struggles, my grades began to drop and I knew I had to make a

Throughout my life I have struggled when it came to the education system and learning itself. I have had highs and lows; I have been through several tutors, and have spent a lot of money in attempting to learn certain concepts and subjects. Although school has not come as easy to me as it does to others, I have not let that stop me from developing a mind of my own and self-educating myself. I never failed school, but I always struggled through most subjects. I would be the girl who tutors other students in Chemistry, but would then fail a test on the same subject matter that I just taught to the students I tutored. This took a toll on me mentally; it creates a sense of anger and a

Ever since I was a little girl I didn't like reading, doing homework or taking exams. I only enjoyed lunch time, gym time and after school programs. I was always in the top classes because of my mother's connection with teachers in the school until I got into the third grade. That's when you start to take a state exam test and if you failed you either get left back or get put in a class based on your grade score. That's when I went from being in top classes to the bottom classes and realized I had to get it together in school because I didn't want to look like a fool or be a fool. That all changed in middle school, I was always put in programs that helped students who wasn't on top of their work and I started to see my name on the honor roll

I was a first grader at Esqueda Elementary School. I had a mean teacher that never let you go to the restroom no matter how many times you asked. Would call your parents if you didn't finish your homework. I would get distracted easily and would never comprehend what I read and when she would ask me a question about a page we read and I would never give her an answer because I was not paying attention. Because of that, she flunked me and while everyone else got moved up to 2nd grade. I was still stuck in the first grade and had to meet new friends. I did not repeat the same grade with the same teacher, I had a nicer teacher and she did not flunk me. I did not go to the second grade there. I was transferred into a different school which is Eisenhower

In the First Grade I had Mrs. Stevens as a teacher. Ms. Stevens was about 35 or 40 at the time, 2002, in Alba Michigan. Ms. Stevens had grown up and went to the same school her entire life. This school was very very small, an average of 12 students per graduating class it was a K-12Th. The county was a population was about 1000 and less than 150 kids in the school. In 2000 my mom fought for Asperger diagnosis and the school at the time did not have a single teacher who was certified in special education. Along with this diagnosis came with an ADD diagnosis. The class was small, there was 7 kids in the class and my friend Jahkaya and I were the only girls in the class. Jahkaya was also the only person of color in the entire school.

Teacher didn’t try to help me. All they seen when they saw me was a misbehaved little girl that couldn’t read. My mother was too scared to ask for any help; because the one time she did they told her that she would have to put her children in foster care. So, she made it work at any cost. That cost at the cost of my education. I thought this was life. You live hard and you work hard. I had no self-esteem, no communication skills, we didn’t always have something to eat, our health was at risk, our house used to get broken into a lot. My behavior in school was terrible and my mental state of mind was really messed-up.

Growing up, I was the short skinny kid who played all of the sports and was always surprisingly better than I was supposed to be. I went to an elementary school of five guys in my grade and were nothing like me in any way. School has always been hard for me, even in elementary school because all of the teachers treated me like the kid with a disability. They always put me in the “slower” groups for all of my subjects except for Physical Education, which was the only class that I excelled in for all of elementary school. But, even in sports like basketball and baseball, I was always put on the B team because I was too small and not strong enough. I didn’t have anything going for me at all. I had braces 2nd-6th grade, hit puberty before everyone else so I had bad acne as a 3rd grader, got a 0/20 on my adding simple fractions test, and was in the Cow group for English(The slowest group possible). I took elementary school as motivation for who I am now as a senior in high school to better myself and prove everyone I

6th grade became the worst year of my life. My step-dad called me a piece of shit that year. I had maybe 5, 6 friends. 7th grade was a great year for me, which allowed me to become more vulnerable and naive than I already was. Then came 8th grade, which became(very quickly) a year worse than 6th grade. Not only did I have the same amount of friends as 6th grade, my teachers treated me like I was an abomination, a retard. Well, not all the teachers, just the male teachers. All of my female teachers treated me nicer by comparison, although one lost my homework and blamed it on me even though I handed it in on time and where the homework was supposed to go. I still won’t get credit for it. Once, a teacher assumed I made myself sick and leave home early to avoid a test and called me dumb. As the class ended we were supposed to finish writing in class. He took away some of the time I needed to make up that same test to finish it. When I finished it, he yelled at me calling me stupid and let me leave to make up that test. As I was taking it, he tried talking to my science teacher to prevent me from making it

When I was in second grade, my teacher ignored me and didn't let me join reading groups. Literally I asked to join reading groups and she said “no”. She didn't teach me or help me learn to read. She ignored me and focused on all the other kids. When all the kids were reading, she had me color or gave me a baby book. Why? Because I have epilepsy and she labeled me as "stupid" and "dumb". It was almost like she was afraid of me. She told my parents that I belonged in special education classes. According to her my “bright” future would include working in a fast food joint or retail store. My teacher thought I wouldn't grow up to be anything special. I always told her my dreams of being a teacher or doctor. But, she told me some people are just not

It was a few weeks ago when I realized I was misjudged by not only by my classmates but one of my teachers. I had been missing classes for a few weeks now… coming late in the morning to my first block and leaving in the middle of day. Everyone thought I was just leaving. Thought I was slacking, Thought they knew what was going on. Their thoughts on me changed from me being a good student to me missing school and not caring and not doing on homework assignments. I would come to school later in the day I would be scolded from people I thought were my friends, my peers, my classmates. They interrogated me, asking how was your nap? How was Netflix? How was going out for lunch? Assuming I went home during the day and relaxed. If only they knew what I was going through. If only they knew how much pain I was in. If only they knew I was spending days stuck in a doctor’s office. Getting MRI’s done. Getting excessive amounts of blood drawn. Going through hard tests. If only they truly looked at me and realized my life is being turned around. I never shared with my teacher or classmates why I was

Last year, I decided that I was going to take a major step towards adulthood and independence. During this time, conflict was constant in my household, and was typically left unresolved. This caused tension between my parents and I, which lead to an unhappy family. Thus, it was my choice to leave the home that I had, and to move in with my sister and my brother in law. This house was located in Albany which was a massive change from the small town of Wingdale that I had previously lived in. The Shaker school district, which I now was enrolled in, was approximately 600 people per grade, rather than the miniscule amount of 100 individuals that I was accustomed to. However, through this decision to leave home, I learned vital lessons and skills

At the time I was in eighth grade, I had just successfully completed my first semester of the 2014-2015 school year. Everything in my academic career was good, the high tide had finally gone down and the waters leveled. See I was a blue student, I maintained my studies. My Power school report reads all A’s, except for math. In which I fought and fought for a higher mark, but proudly accepted the B+ my teacher thought I deserved. I saw my studies as something important, but (naive of me) my social life was equally as important. I have always been so caught up in what other people thought of me and whether or not I was worthy enough. My days at Roosevelt (Junior High) were so black and white. One moment I was on top of the world, the next I couldn't

As the first child/grandchild in my family, I was let loose, free to do whatever I felt like doing since my family had no experience. My parents, who met right out of high school, barely made it through school and were not ready to have me at such a young age. They split only months after I was born and passed me between the two every few days. Never being around other children, they assumed I was on the “right path” when it came to my education or just general knowledge of the world around me. However, as I entered first grade, realization struck my family after the first parent teacher conference. During which, Mrs. Hunter explained that I was far behind the rest of the class and was in utter shock of how I passed kindergarten. After hearing this, my aunt stepped in and, although she

The months of hard work I had to put in to pass 3rd grade is a memory I will never forget. My teacher, Mrs. Nelson, told my parents that she thought it was best if I were to repeat 3rd grade because I was struggling in every subject, writing too big or small, not speaking English properly, and taking too much time to do simple assignments. I felt stupid and not good enough after hearing my teacher say that because I really was trying in school. I did all my homework and assignments, was respectful, never skipped class, and participated, yet it still wasn’t good enough. But in the end, my parents said no. After that horrible day, it was the start of a long, grueling journey of self-improvement. I started attending speech therapy and tutoring for math.

My academic background has been quite different from most individuals. It is common to grow up in the same school district and only change schools when you enter middle school and high school. The consistency of being in the same school district does benefit one because you are constantly learning new material. Also, the benefit of staying in the same district is that everyone in your grade takes similar or even the same classes to meet the requirements to graduate at the same time. However, I have had a non-traditional academic background, which consists of nine schools. The longest duration I have attended a single school was three years. Although I have gone through many struggles of adapting to each new school, I believe that my academic background has not only taught me academics but also life skills. I have been fortunate enough to attend all types of schools, including public, private, international, and Catholic school. Each school has contributed to my academic success. I believe that academic success is knowing that you tried your best and fulfilling your potential to receive the grades that come from your efforts.