Introduction
My ACLC journey began in seventh grade when I transferred in at the beginning of November. Though I was very anxious and nervous when I first learned that I got accepted, I knew that academic-wise, attending ACLC would be the right decision to make; therefore, I did. From the first steps I took on campus for the first time, I knew that ACLC was different from a traditional high school. We didn’t have events such as a homecoming or powderpuff football games, considering we didn’t have high school sports, let alone a football team. Instead, ACLC has its own Judicial Committee, ran by students who are voted on; this represents the responsibility of self-management, which each learner demonstrates. I remember shadowing a learner to get a feeling for the school and more so to help me become more comfortable with the environment, considering it is a bit more different from your usual high school. Attending ACLC has been by far the best learning experience and choice I have made.
Personal Qualities, Work Habits, and Attitude
Being responsible for my education and educational needs was not something I was used to doing because of my past schools, but I had to learn quickly. Although it was a bit difficult initially, I got the hang of it fairly quickly and had no problem with it. My time management skills were not the best either, and I would always run into issues with the “procrastination monster.” Although it is something that I have been working on up until my senior year, I still am not perfect at avoiding procrastination, but I am better than what it used to be. At ACLC is crucial that the school runs off of a democratic society. I would say I am an honest person because I speak up when something is wrong and let it be known. ACLC also encourages its learners to take college courses at the Peralta District Community Colleges, which I am grateful for. All of this reflects on ACLC’s Mission Statement, which states, “The Alameda Community Learning Center is an educational model that empowers all youth to take ownership of their educational experience, to celebrate their diverse community, and to participate as members in a democratic society actively.”
New Basics
English, reading, and writing have never been my favorite subject, but the older I get, the more I recognize that it is a vital part of life. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to advance from a sophomore to a senior, but because I took the initiative of my learning and enrolled in an English course at the College of Alameda, I could do so. Mathematics has always played a significant role in my life and has been my favorite subject, hands down. In my sophomore year of high school, instead of just taking one math course, I ended up doubling up so that my senior year, I could voluntarily take pre-calculus. As I decided to skip a school year, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Stressful and overwhelmed couldn’t even describe how I felt through the first semester, it was worse than that, but ultimately I am glad I did it. Chemistry and Biology is a class that I enjoyed. Chemistry I enjoyed it because of the different experiments we conducted and Biology. I enjoyed it because we learned about life and the various evolutions with plants and humans. Considering that I would like to pursue a career in the medical field as a pediatrician, I will put my favorite subjects and the knowledge to fair use.
Thinking and Reasoning Skills
I can say that at ACLC, I have discovered myself to be more creative than I would have ever considered myself to be. Because ACLC is a project-based school, the projects that I was assigned always had something to do with creativity. The Romeo and Juliet Play my freshman year with Lynn, the different graffiti artwork with David, and the boat race project in Marina’s class are examples of projects that I enjoyed and helped me bring out my creative side. Being creative also allows you to problem-solve and develop the correct solution when needed to. When my ninth-grade English class played our spin on Romeo and Juliet, everyone had received their parts. Once show day came around, multiple learners didn’t show up, putting everyone else in an unpredicted bind. We had to problem solve correctly and in no time did we have the show on the road.
Interpersonal Abilities
Meeting new people and just being social overall has always been nerve-racking for me, but coming to ACLC changed that. Since ACLC is a smaller school than my previous schools, it didn't take long for me to get comfortable with the people there. ACLC taught me to become more teamwork friendly, even though I have never been a fan of it, and now that I am about to graduate high school, I have seen and experienced different events where teamwork came in handy.
Technology
One thing that I like about ACLC is how tech-savvy it is. ACLC provides computers and printers to their learners for their school work during project periods, which helped me accomplish my academic goals. These resources allowed me to complete my homework due during project periods instead of waiting until I get home. This way, I finished my homework before I got home in the afternoon, which allowed me to spend time with my family and friends. If something came up where I forgot to submit something or had to touch an assignment up, having access to the computers allowed me to make those changes in a pinch.
Conclusion
Wow! My time at ACLC is coming to an end here shortly. Never did I think it would go by this quick! I am glad I can say that my time here at ACLC has been by far the best years of my life and education. I learned so much and strengthened various skills, and although my time at ACLC is coming to an end, I can say that my preparedness for college is on point. Being able to take college classes introduced me and prepared me for the college experience. I will always be grateful for the pleasant facilitators that helped me get through my stressful years of high school, to my friends who had my back through everything and who helped me keep sane during the Covid-19 pandemic.
My ACLC journey began in seventh grade when I transferred in at the beginning of November. Though I was very anxious and nervous when I first learned that I got accepted, I knew that academic-wise, attending ACLC would be the right decision to make; therefore, I did. From the first steps I took on campus for the first time, I knew that ACLC was different from a traditional high school. We didn’t have events such as a homecoming or powderpuff football games, considering we didn’t have high school sports, let alone a football team. Instead, ACLC has its own Judicial Committee, ran by students who are voted on; this represents the responsibility of self-management, which each learner demonstrates. I remember shadowing a learner to get a feeling for the school and more so to help me become more comfortable with the environment, considering it is a bit more different from your usual high school. Attending ACLC has been by far the best learning experience and choice I have made.
Personal Qualities, Work Habits, and Attitude
Being responsible for my education and educational needs was not something I was used to doing because of my past schools, but I had to learn quickly. Although it was a bit difficult initially, I got the hang of it fairly quickly and had no problem with it. My time management skills were not the best either, and I would always run into issues with the “procrastination monster.” Although it is something that I have been working on up until my senior year, I still am not perfect at avoiding procrastination, but I am better than what it used to be. At ACLC is crucial that the school runs off of a democratic society. I would say I am an honest person because I speak up when something is wrong and let it be known. ACLC also encourages its learners to take college courses at the Peralta District Community Colleges, which I am grateful for. All of this reflects on ACLC’s Mission Statement, which states, “The Alameda Community Learning Center is an educational model that empowers all youth to take ownership of their educational experience, to celebrate their diverse community, and to participate as members in a democratic society actively.”
New Basics
English, reading, and writing have never been my favorite subject, but the older I get, the more I recognize that it is a vital part of life. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to advance from a sophomore to a senior, but because I took the initiative of my learning and enrolled in an English course at the College of Alameda, I could do so. Mathematics has always played a significant role in my life and has been my favorite subject, hands down. In my sophomore year of high school, instead of just taking one math course, I ended up doubling up so that my senior year, I could voluntarily take pre-calculus. As I decided to skip a school year, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Stressful and overwhelmed couldn’t even describe how I felt through the first semester, it was worse than that, but ultimately I am glad I did it. Chemistry and Biology is a class that I enjoyed. Chemistry I enjoyed it because of the different experiments we conducted and Biology. I enjoyed it because we learned about life and the various evolutions with plants and humans. Considering that I would like to pursue a career in the medical field as a pediatrician, I will put my favorite subjects and the knowledge to fair use.
Thinking and Reasoning Skills
I can say that at ACLC, I have discovered myself to be more creative than I would have ever considered myself to be. Because ACLC is a project-based school, the projects that I was assigned always had something to do with creativity. The Romeo and Juliet Play my freshman year with Lynn, the different graffiti artwork with David, and the boat race project in Marina’s class are examples of projects that I enjoyed and helped me bring out my creative side. Being creative also allows you to problem-solve and develop the correct solution when needed to. When my ninth-grade English class played our spin on Romeo and Juliet, everyone had received their parts. Once show day came around, multiple learners didn’t show up, putting everyone else in an unpredicted bind. We had to problem solve correctly and in no time did we have the show on the road.
Interpersonal Abilities
Meeting new people and just being social overall has always been nerve-racking for me, but coming to ACLC changed that. Since ACLC is a smaller school than my previous schools, it didn't take long for me to get comfortable with the people there. ACLC taught me to become more teamwork friendly, even though I have never been a fan of it, and now that I am about to graduate high school, I have seen and experienced different events where teamwork came in handy.
Technology
One thing that I like about ACLC is how tech-savvy it is. ACLC provides computers and printers to their learners for their school work during project periods, which helped me accomplish my academic goals. These resources allowed me to complete my homework due during project periods instead of waiting until I get home. This way, I finished my homework before I got home in the afternoon, which allowed me to spend time with my family and friends. If something came up where I forgot to submit something or had to touch an assignment up, having access to the computers allowed me to make those changes in a pinch.
Conclusion
Wow! My time at ACLC is coming to an end here shortly. Never did I think it would go by this quick! I am glad I can say that my time here at ACLC has been by far the best years of my life and education. I learned so much and strengthened various skills, and although my time at ACLC is coming to an end, I can say that my preparedness for college is on point. Being able to take college classes introduced me and prepared me for the college experience. I will always be grateful for the pleasant facilitators that helped me get through my stressful years of high school, to my friends who had my back through everything and who helped me keep sane during the Covid-19 pandemic.