Reflective Essay
ACLC was most certainly not what I originally expected it to be. I expected there to be no “free periods” that I heard multiple rumors about. Also, the fact I knew only one friend from Elementary school certainly did not help with my severe social anxiety. Those first few days melted into weeks, months, and eventually whole years. Something happened in those few years. Not something sudden, but rather gradual. I became more socially comfortable and academically advanced, something I never dreamed of accomplishing during my Elementary school years. Now, nearly seven years, I have gained so many unique experiences and accomplished so many assignments that I can’t even count them all. I will never regret the day I started going to this school. I owe ACLC so much more than I can ever give back.
The skills that I have learned at ACLC has taught me have proved to be invaluable, and should be taught to all students everywhere. Two of the worst problems I had in Elementary school remained when I got to ACLC. My inability to do math was most certainly the greater of those two problems. ACLC math classes, though difficult, proved to have a very unique quality to them, which was not what was taught, but how it was taught. It wasn’t robotic or scary like I thought high and middle math would be. It was nicely and humorously taught by my amazing math teacher. The fact I got through math and started getting decent math grades for once in my life was amazing enough. ACLC also told me how to not abuse my free periods, and instead do some kind of work. Often times, work was more interesting than having a social life! My second problem was that I was not socially outgoing. I made friends in Elementary school, but that wasn’t really until 3rd grade. At ACLC, I made friends almost immediately. Since ACLC encourages social activities, it is no wonder that I became less shy and more social.
Thinking differently is another core aspect of ACLC that sets it apart from other schools. Having an open minded way of thinking is one important thing I learned, especially on divisive issues that people feel strongly about. For example, in Government class, we had several class discussions about whether or not we were going to bomb Syria to retaliate for chemical attacks used in the civil war. Unlike many average high school classes, I felt like I had a good understanding of both sides of the issue, and not just one side. ACLC is all about personal empowerment, and this type of open thinking is a great example.
The idea of group projects was never something I liked before visiting ACLC. I was always afraid of collaboration with people who I didn't know very well. At ACLC, that idea of "getting into a group with all your friends" didn't really work, because teams were randomly assigned. Every student was encouraged to communicate and socialize in order to get their team members organized and prepared for the upcoming assignment. I remember having a huge group assignment in Science during my Eighth Grade year where I was partnered up with no one I knew. From the start, I did not expect us to work together as a team. But instead of simply letting us go our separate ways, I decided to assign everyone on my team something to do, so that I would feel better knowing I wasn't the only one in the group doing work. We ended up getting an A-, thanks to our ability to work together. From that point on, I never loathed group assignments, and managed to excel at them throughout the years.
One of the key aspects to how ACLC functions is the extensive use of technology for homework and communication. I used to think I knew everything about most kinds of technology. Never have I been so wrong. I never really knew how homework was done online, because my old school never provided many online assignments. I was also inept at figuring out good passwords to use, simply using easy passwords like 56789, (which led to my account getting hacked). As the years progressed, I became more familiar with how to use the school technology. Now I can use computers and printers effectively (aside from slow Internet). Online homework websites like Mathxl and Edmodo are websites that I use in order to accomplish many assignments.
Something that ACLC has also given me was the ability to do presentations without making them sound incredibly bad . As you probably have already read, I wasn't exactly the most confident or social person ever. I used to hate doing these oral assignments because all I would do would read the words on the screen, and it would sound excessively boring. Over time though, I had to do more and more of these presentations and I realized I had to do more than the bare minimum like I had been doing. I feel a lot more confident now that I can speak loudly and clearly without looking back at the screen or even looking at my notes. In college, I know that you have to do quite a few of these assignments, so ACLC clearly wanted me to be prepared for these kind of assignments.
The skills I've acquired from ACLC in the past seven years will be immeasurably useful in the future. ACLC continues to define how I, as a person, understand the world beyond the classroom door. When my first year at college begins, I know how well prepared I will be. Skills like good work ethics and technological experience are ones that are necessary for me to succeed in college. Without the skills ACLC has given me, I wouldn't know what to do. I've never been more thankful for this school, its facilitators, and its lessons.