The Famil Algebra Changed My Life

Our tutoring program is a big success as it pairs NHS members with students who are struggling in certain subject areas. As scholarship is another pillar of NHS, our members take their schoolwork very seriously and they are some of the brightest students in their classes. This tutoring program allows them to give back to our Holmdel High School community by imparting some of their knowledge to struggling students. Their service and time does not go unnoticed as they often have to give up their free time during study hall, lunch, or even after school. One of my fondest memories while being a tutor was when I had to help a younger student study for an Algebra test. I was a bit nervous before our session that I wouldn’t be able to help her understand the subject matter, but we went through her review packet question by question and to my relief I was able to explain the material to her with ease and give her advice on how to solve them, as well as testing tips and strategies that she could use. After our session was over I was glad I was able to help her, but really didn’t think anything of it. I had kind of forgot about our tutoring session when two weeks later, the girl I tutored came up to me with a huge smile on her face telling me she got a 100 on her test and told me she couldn’t have done it without

To my surprise, my brash behavior changed the conversation. I had their attention. The administration responded that there could be an alternative. For this option to work, I would have to sacrifice my free time to instead dedicate myself to school and to follow a strict academic plan. I fought for this second chance and seized it as quickly as I could. At that moment, I learned the value of self-advocacy. It would be my light guiding me out of the deep hole of failure and self-doubt I had created. It was my way to move

From ages 6 to 12, I suffered from epilepsy, contributing to my phobia of public places and anxiety. At 14, I was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and needed corrective surgery, which still affects my back to this day. From age 13 to now, I have experienced (in order) gastritis, gallstones, pancreatitis, gallbladder removal and have been diagnosed with a genetic mutation in my liver that causes stones to form. Needless to say, this has affected my diet and requires me to take medication. I have been hospitalized many times for treatment of my illnesses, the longest and most excruciating being three weeks for pancreatitis. Everyday, I wonder what it would’ve been like to have grown up healthy and lived without the constant stresses my conditions put on my body, my mind, and my family. As I got older, I only developed more problems as my personal life took a bad turn. The transition from one school to another in the eighth grade was incredibly difficult and my memories of the isolation and pain I felt are still deeply upsetting. It took me years to get accustomed to my new school and finally find myself in a place where I have made many good friends and feel comfortable with who and where I

From a very young age, I contended with countless setbacks, but the vitality placed on our income at home was the leading factor to my family’s problems. I remember when my parents chose to buy me a new pair of running shoes over paying the electricity bill or when they stayed up all night making tamales to sell so they could afford to pay for medical bills. There never went a month without my parents constantly arguing over the monthly rent or not having enough to buy groceries for the family. I grew up with five siblings in addition to two cousins who were sent from Mexico by their parents and placed under the legal guardianship of my parents. Naturally, learning to adapt to unfortunate circumstances was not rare and I quickly understood

Throughout the seventeen years that I’ve been alive I have witnessed all the sacrifices my parents have gone through ensuring I have a better future than they did. I come from immigrant parents that weren’t fortunate enough to continue studying. I myself was brought into the country when I was two years old so I could build a different path than the one my parents had to take due to financial reasons. Short after, my sister was born my mom got remarkably ill with Diabetes. I would watch in terror as my mother would lay in bed barely able to move. I held her hand, wiped her forehead, with a cool wet towel, and longed she would get all better. Being the oldest in the

Little did I know that it was a trip to a tutoring hall? I looked at her “surprise” as an offense. I was not so unfortified that I needed someone to help me, I thought. Although I was a bit naïve and put up an impressive show to shrug off going to the tutoring hall. In the long run, I came around and decided to give this aid a try. Later that day, it came to be that I was introduced to the most extraordinary people that I have ever met. Not only were they friendly, they assisted and heard my struggles, and provided actual useful techniques that I can easily get accustomed to. Within weeks, I was reading far better than I have ever been. I was writing and reading more than I usually did. The confused and jealous looks of my peers powered my desire to keep practicing my literal skills. Things carried on like this for a while throughout the year, we were given assignments, essays, book reviews, things of that sort; nothing I couldn’t handle. Around the end is where things got really interesting.

The classroom set up was very different than what I was used to back in Nepal. I didn’t know anyone in there. I didn’t know what to do, so I just managed to sit in the chair that was nearby the door. All the other students were staring at me like something was wrong with me. In reality, everything felt wrong to me when I was in the situation where it felt so bad that I just wanted to quit. It seemed like I was on a one-way street, and I couldn’t figure out what I should do and how I would get out from it. It was almost the end of that class. The time passed just by watching a documentary on the literature’s time period. After the bell rang, all the students left the classroom; then I walked to my teacher with the problem I was having. I was lost in every other class as the hallways get crowded and the buildings were huge. He helped me solve the problems that I had, and my first day of the new school passed in the same way as it did first three hours of that

Suddenly all her imparted knowledge became a significant influence on my decision making process. I became more self-aware, specifically regarding how my goals and accomplishments could actually align with what I wanted instead of letting other people’s wishes and achievements control mine. Since middle school, I had always wanted to take AP US History. AP US History had an impressive standing as one of the hardest classes at Paly and those who came out of the class with a good grade came out triumphant. Although I had created intricate plans revolving around taking that course and being one of those champions, upon realising that other subjects just had more appeal to me, I knew I had to drop the class. In conclusion, it wasn’t so much the uncomplicated action of dropping a course but the deeper implication of finally swallowing my pride and my previously ingrained highly competitive mentality in order to develop a better mindset to grow in a far more fitting

In 2011, my brother was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which affected my entire family including myself. He went through many surgeries, many of which made it quite impossible for me to see him given that I was only 11 years old, and everything on that level in that hospital was contagious. Throughout, this period in my life my mother was always busy and I learned to slowly do my things on my own. Although it sounds crucial, I didn’t expect much from my mother given that she basically lived in the hospital. I fell into depression because my brother was my best friend and I couldn’t accept that he was in so much pain. I learned to overcome depression and slowly learned that life shouldn’t be taken for granted and I should believe in myself.

Before the summer, we had been given the option to take a regular or advanced math class. The first day of school in this advanced math class, we had been given a pretest to assess our prior knowledge of material we should have learned the year before. Although we knew most of the material, I, as well as the other students who had been my class the year before, had been baffled by some of the things were were supposed to have been taught. Nearly all the knowledge we had was what we had learned through RenMath. My new teacher, exasperated, asked how on Earth we all made it into the advanced math class. One student, a friend of mine, pointed to me and said, “She taught us.” I’ll never forget how in that moment, I realized I had been a leader to my classmates, helping them to succeed and achieve more than they would have

At least I wasn’t alone in my frustration of trying to find something to do to make it through the painful moments of the class. Finally, my list of numbers was dwindling as the clock ticked ever closer to the magic moment when the bell would finally ring. It was with great anticipation that I waited to make the final mark. When the bell

The first day of school is nerve-wracking for most people, for me, the first day was especially terrifying. The first day of a college class is probably more crazy than all others. My mom and younger sister, Michaela, were busy taking pictures as I attempted to run out of the door. After being homeschooled for the last six years, I knew it would be a much different experience. I had been in my room alone doing school; I was content with where I was. The morning of the first day of class, I was so busy that I didn’t have time to be nervous. However, as I ran out the door, my heart rate elevated to a pace of 138 bpm. I felt older, nervous, excited, and anxious as I left for Pellissippi. Although it had been six years since I had been in a classroom, I realized that all of my worry was for nothing once I walked into Ms. Brown’s class.

When I arrived to school, the brisk air immediately shook me from my sleepy state as I strutted towards the school entrance. Once I stepped foot in Clover Hill, my mission became to find out the results of my latest calculus test with the hopes that I at least earned a B. The closer I came to my teacher’s Cav Morning classroom, the more anxious I became; my stomach twisted and turned like a cart on a roller coaster. Finally, I approached the classroom and timidly stepped into the room, capturing the attention of my calculus teacher, Mrs. Rose.

Maths is ubiquitous in our lives, but depending on the learning received as a child it could inspire or frighten. If a child has a negative experience in mathematics, that experience has the ability to affect his/her attitude toward mathematics as an adult. Solso (2009) explains that math has the ability to confuse, frighten, and frustrate learners of all ages; Math also has the ability to inspire, encourage and achieve. Almost all daily activities include some form of mathematical procedure, whether people are aware of it or not. Possessing a solid learning foundation for math is vital to ensure a lifelong understanding of math. This essay will discuss why it is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence (Anghileri, 2006, p. 2) and why mathematics has changed from careful rehearsal of standard procedures to a focus on mathematical thinking and communication to prepare them for the world of tomorrow (Anghileri).

On the first day to the academy, my nerves were shot to pieces due to concerns about the subway. To get onto the subway, I had to buy a ticket first. I inserted the money that my mom had prepared into the machine. The machine sucked the money with a bizarre sound. At that moment, even this weird sound made me nervous. After my struggle with the ticketing machine, I followed the route drawn on the