Reflective Essay: The Ridgewood Middle School Story

I have a personal connection with the children in these areas because I am too come from a low income, impoverished, rural area. I understand the hardships that many kids will face because of the lack of educational resources and quality teachers. I believe that many of the obstacles can be abstained if each student is able to be impacted by a teacher who is resilient and passionate as I was impacted by Ms. Gloria Brantley. As a child growing up in rural Georgia I had no aspirations in furthering my education. I did not dream of being a doctor, teacher or lawyer because I did not have the encouragement from my family or other teachers. It was not until I met my sixth grade English teacher Ms. Brantley that I started to believe that I could actually do something with myself and that I did not have settle for the life that I was accustomed to. She saw the determination

My desire was to challenge myself and pursue my belief in life-long learning. And yes, the last eight weeks have definitely been a challenge intellectually in IDS 101. After the first two weeks of school, I seriously questioned why I would go back to school at fifty-one years of age for personal satisfaction. The days were long and I wasn’t sure I still had the self-discipline and determination that would be needed to finish. Over the last eight weeks, this class gave me numerous opportunities to hone my skills in critical thinking, research, and writing. This class has given me the necessary skills to continue toward completing my degree.

To know how lead, first you got to learn how to follow. Knowing that quote help me understand my mentor Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was my coach at first when I started Middle School at Paul Public Charter School. Mr. Smith had taught me to not put sports over education and to respect others.

At a school in Texas called Hickory Hills middle school in 1999.It was a normal day for Timothy John he was stealing a nerds lunch.

Out of the 19 years I have been blessed to be on this earth, I can honestly say that my most rewarding moment was the day graduated Mansfield Timberview High School. Hearing my family cheer me on, getting my diploma and shaking hands with the board of administration, and beating our class statistics, is what this day a very memorable day.

I, currently as a student at Ruth Thompson Middle School, have contributed to the community around me in many ways. In my school, as of now, I have been part of the RTMS Tech Team, which includes in helping students with technology, helping teachers set up with assemblies, open houses, replacing PC monitors, and a lot more. As part of tech team, I have also helped with things that are relatively tedious, like sorting out a whole room of cables. Yes, I will do it again at JFSS if I’m assigned or have the opportunity to. Also, I have helped with jobs that may require a little more skill. In my school, I have tried, along with a team of other students, try to install Chrome OS on unsupported hardware, which if succeeds, will be installed on more

Ever since this kid was in second grade, he always wanted to be in band. I was there when he heard the Keller Middle School band play for his school, and even though he didn’t get to high-five Frosty the Snowman I knew he was excited. In fact, he was so excited that he threw me off and I was shipped off to the lost and found for a day, until he got me because there’s no doubt he was cold without me. Anyway, Shane always had his heart set on being in band. The band director, Mr. Maus, had told everyone to tell him if they wanted to be in band once they got to Bear Creek Intermediate, and that’s exactly what he did. Shane was determined to do exactly what he wanted this time.

I went to Ebenezer Middle School in Rincon Georgia for all three years. By the time I had made it to middle school I had adjusted to uniforms and the new people in a new district.I was upset that the uniform shirts were now green, and I had grown used to the navy blue shirts from fifth grade. I was very excited to start switching classes more and I was ready to start playing an instrument. In middle school we had A days and B days. Everyday it switched between the two. Everyday you would still go to your main classes, but the fifth class would switch everyday. That fifth class was an elective, and I had band as one of them all four years. In eighth grade I had the option to do band everyday so obviously I chose to do that.

When I entered Glenbrook South High School for my first day of freshman year, I was not excited to be back in school and I was definitely not ready to learn again. I remember the first class I had was English. As I sat in English, I recognized some people from middle school, but most of the faces were new to me. The teacher, I forgot her name, was very nice and welcoming. She asked us to pull out our “Of Mice And Men” books and asked someone to read the first page out loud. One of the students began to read out loud, and I followed along. After the first page was completed, she asked for a volunteer to summarize the page. No one volunteered so she picked from the attendance sheet. She picked me. I got nervous because I had no clue what was

“First in State and District, the Lone Star Academic Challenge Champion is….Richland Elementary School!” Cheers and claps erupt through the crowd and I feel my heart pound. A ringing resounds through my head as everything slows down. I feel my body being dragged up the stairs by my teacher. A gold medal is placed on my head and rests on my shoulder, my hands are shook and I read the words “Congratulations” on the announcer’s lips. Speed returns to normal and it dawns on me: we won. My team won first place. I let out my delayed reaction of jumping up and down, screaming in delight as a smile graces my face. I feel a tap on my shoulder and my head turns so fast, I think I got whiplash. A Texas-shaped trophy is handed to me and my smile grows bigger as I rip the trophy from the announcer’s hands and wave it around, yelling, “We won!” over and over again.

I wait in the lobby of Edinboro Elementary for my younger brother, surrounded by vibrant colors, and drawings of what the children who attend there want to be when they grow up, coupled with adorably misspelled descriptions underneath. I walk over to glance at one, depicted is a squiggly-drawn superhero and underneath it reads“Wen i grow up i want to be A superhero.” It reminds me of how innocent and simple life is when you are young. Before I managed to read another poster I notice my brother running down the hall in his blue, Pokémon shirt, with a smile that spans from ear to ear, which could only mean that it is Friday. When we entered my car I ask him the usual, “How was your day? Did you have fun at school today? Did you learn anything

“So I started this new diet, and I can’t drink wine. These kids are making it very hard to keep that up,” the Rosehill Elementary School librarian, Mrs. Harrington, siad to me in passing. I paused my book shelving and gave her a quiet chuckle while she went to go teach the kindergarten class that recently arrived. For the next thirty minutes I heard screaming and shouting about sharing crayons while students ran up and down the shelves, nearly running into me in the process. Once the kindergarteners left, Mrs. Harrington was making her way back to her desk, but whispered to me, “You know what? I’m going to have a glass tonight. I deserve it.”

Going to a new school has its ups and its downs, there are many struggles. There are also many things that are good that I like about Laurel Ridge. I am also having trouble academically.

This was my childhood dream come true starting on Tuesday September 8, 2015. As I finished my required field experience hours on Thursday the 10th, I couldn’t resist and had to return back to my new set of children. Immediately within the first few minute of me being there I built such great relationships with these loving and adorable children. Mrs. Poland the teacher I had the honors to observe was an amazing role model for me. She modeled extremely well what a teacher should be especially working with ESE students. Approximately three of them were in the process of mainstream but on a trial and error basis. I decided to complete my observation hours at Lewis E. Wadsworth Elementary School here in Palm Coast. According to Old.flaglerlschools,

As a young black woman I have known that odds are stacked against me for most of my life, I have seen how my identity itself is a triple negative, but despite the obvious mathematical solution to a triple negative I am determined to turn it into a positive. And I believe that this summer program at Spelman can definitely help me do it. I have set myself up for succes in every way I can, including involving myself in as many leadership opportunities as possible and doing community service ever since I was in a kid. I was teaching karate two days a week in 8th grade in order to pay for my classes, chosen to be the keynote speaker at the beginning of the year convocation going in to my freshman year, first chair in my high school Wind Ensemble