Reflection About Education

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” These are words spoken by Nelson Mandela that I strongly agree with.

On August 2nd, 1998; David and Christine Bouchard who are amazing parents gave birth to a pretty awesome daughter, myself: Alison Elaine Bouchard. I mean I must be awesome if they only needed one child. We lived in a small trailer in Oakland, Maine with a springer spaniel named Colbie who would soon become my best friend. At this time my dad was working long hard hours, the night shift at the local paper plate mill. My mom worked for the hospital at odd hours as well. They tried to go to college to better themselves and although they took an alternative path I am so proud of them for getting their degrees. I even got to attend their graduation ceremonies. This lead to my grandparents acting as my second set of parents since they took care of me so often. Both my parents and grandparents made me the young woman that I am today through many life skills that they taught me even if it was hard to learn. Although this is just the beginning of a lifelong story we are all faced with hardships just like the board game LIFE. From a young age to my current self I have had to work through the same disadvantages time after time. These disadvantages are generally based on things that I cannot change even if I tried because it is shown through sexisim against my gender, economic hardships, and even prejudice against my race.

The struggles I’ve had to see my parents face because they were never able to have the education they would have liked to have for themselves, as well as Booker T. Washington’s struggles and triumph make me value education more. So although you might not see education doing something for you in the long run trust me we all need it and without it you will never have the chance to see all the opportunities that are out there in store for each

As Nelson Mandela says: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Since a very young age I understood the importance of having an education. Growing up in a very poor and undereducated neighborhood, I saw education as a way out as opposed to a waste of time. In a community where the educated were poor and the criminals were rich it was very easy to become distracted. I grew up with neither my mother nor father to look up to, as I was raised solely by my grandparents. So many obstacles only pushes me harder. I always looked to myself to be an inspiration to both my family and community that completing college and having a career isn’t as difficult as it may seem.

I was born into a middle-class family in Morristown, Tennessee. My childhood was spent mostly living with my grandparents, whom I adore. I thrived when it was just my siblings and I in my grandparent’s house. However, during my middle school years things got derailed due to decisions of my biological parents and I was adopted into a wonderful family in Jonesborough in 2010. This was partly my decision, but mostly for the well-being of myself and my younger brother. Due to my background, I was exposed to drugs, alcoholism, and addiction at a young age. However, my past is not a bad thing. I am very grateful for it because it has made me stronger and more appreciative of the environment and community I am involved in now.

This semester felt shorter than the first semester, due to the fact, that we had different things apart from our routine lessons.

During my K-12 education I feel that it taught me how to fake it until I make it. You think school teaches you how to be an adult in the real world but it only teaches you how to be complaint. I never really thought about what I gained as a member of society. I think school tried to teach me where my place is. I learned how even though this is 2017 and women don’t have to sit and look pretty, students are expected to sit and look pretty so to speak. For 12 years to earn a piece of paper I learned that I am expected to follow traditional rules and methods. I am expected to do as my teacher says because their title is teacher that means according to society they are smarter and better than you. I learned that my opinion and my thoughts have no merit compared to people with more experience. So thank you to 12 years of sitting in a class for 8 hours everyday to learn how to fake compliance.

I transferred to Boise State in January of this year after completing one semester at an Institution in Utah. At this institution there is a program similar to the University foundations program, however they call it connections and it actually is only for freshmen, but my dual enrollment credits from High School made it so I did not have to take it. Furthermore, when I transferred to Boise State, the amount of credits I had accumulated made me exempt from taking UF 100. So, I truly had no idea what this class was about, and was just told that it was required for me to graduate. I also was hired by the university as a Learning Assistant a few days before the beginning of the term. Therefore, I had to completely change my schedule and I thank you Dr. Sass for giving me the permission number to get into this class. You are a lifesaver!

As I complete my final thoughts for this class, I have come to realize the importance of respecting others. As a future educator, its importance for me to understand the different social and culture values within the classroom. It’s my job to keep a positive environment that promotes learning for all (different ethnicities) students to success. There are plenty resources out there for teachers to utilize inside the classroom to incorporate different students’ cultures. For example, you can incorporate different books on different cultures inside your classroom library. As a teacher, it’s your job to make each child and family feel included. It’s our job to overcome those barriers and challenges that is associated with students who are immigrants. I’m willing to go the distance for my students, but first I need to understand and accept my own personal journey. It starts with understanding your own social identity; your social identity is how you establish yourself as a person.

My experiences with education have allowed me to witness disparities and challenges that underrepresented students face, as education systems are not designed to meet the needs of these scholars. Furthermore, these experiences have further motivated me to address these issues through research and community involvement. I hope to discover new ways in which underrepresented students can be assisted throughout their postsecondary educational journeys, through graduate research at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ultimately, with a Doctoral Degree focused on Education, I want to conduct transformative research and share this work as faculty at a research-intensive higher education institution.

After being in school for 14 years I have learned a lot about the world around me, myself, and other people. One of the more fascinating things about education is how it can make you more aware of yourself and the world around you. When I think of the word “education” my first thoughts are about math and science, but after I consider everything I have gained from my education I am more apt to think of how my education has molded my character and shaped my outlook on daily experiences.

In this class we have often talked about choices parents make, that affect their children. While I do not condone coming to America illegally, I do not believe that this would effect my teaching. Personally, as an educator, I do not think that it is my place to judge a child, or his family’s legal status. My main objective is to grow my students minds, and help them to be better people. I desire for my students to be knowledgeable, and kind. This vision expands across all races, and cultures. According to,THE HUMAN FACE OF IMMIGRATION,“It’s not long before their consensus is clear: Legal immigrants are good, model residents; “illegals” are very bad.” Most of the country has this belief now. I think that it is important as educators, to broaden our students minds, and help them see that all cultures, and races should be accepted not only in our school, but in our country. Even if you don’t support people coming into the country illegally, there should be a respect for all people. Additionally, EVERY STUDENT should feel safe, comfortable, and accepted in their school. I think this applies to the students, and teachers. I also think the term “illegals” definitely gives immigrants a bad connotation, but I do not think that the issue of people entering the country illegally should be ignored. I think that it is a lose, lose, situation. This issue needs to be discussed, and whatever being said is going to hurt, or offend, someone.

Words can carry the mind to many worlds, they form fears, excitement and make us think of what it can be. In a classroom full of five-year old’s, we were told that we were the future leaders of our country and even the world. Not sure of the others but for me that was a moment I can never forget. From my perspective people labeled me because of my color of skin and race. Sacrifices from my dad and myself also has shaped my education, it is what has kept me going. The pressure falls on each one of us differently. I was always being compared to my older siblings, not by my parents, by my educators. It was hard being the youngest, the bar was set high for me. Education has always been an enormous part in my life, no matter the seconds,

To me as a black woman. It's always tricky to distinguish the actions of an individual from the actions of their collective group. however, many likeminded people from varying cultural backgrounds who both share similar viewpoints and read the news constantly would agree.