Reflective Essay
In a typical high school, students move like drones throughout the school day, their brains exhausted from having numbers, dates and grammar rules shoved down their throats hour after hour; but at ACLC I feel like I’ve been given the opportunities to be my best self through their innovative approach to education. Being a member of the ACLC community, I take great pride in the spectrum of skills I now possess and have gained as part of my “average” day-to-day experiences in the center. Ranging from personal development as I've interacted with my fellow learners, facilitators and other community members in the Center of the Center to the basics of education acquired in seminars and independent study, thinking and reasoning skills gained as progress is made on innovative and challenging projects or interpersonal/collaborative abilities, all while using the technology, ACLC has revolutionized the way I view education, learning, community, and myself.
My most recent years at the ACLC have greatly influenced the way I define “active community citizenship”. Now including more than just effective learning skills, good personal qualities such as: responsibility, sociability, self-management, integrity/honesty, selflessness/humanity and career “know how” are also things I think are important to have or to be developing as a member of any community. Although demonstrating these traits isn’t often easily measured, that doesn’t make them any less of a necessity and by meeting these standards of work habit and attitude I feel I am a citizen conscious of the relationship between the community and myself.
Although Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic are the standards of education for some schools, spending the last six years of my life as a part of the Center I have come to expect more from the way I approach problems. Called “New Basics” after the innovative educational format, the ACLC standards we adhere to go above and beyond societies call to public educators as it moves closer and closer to the AUSD graduation profile. Including communication and learning skills, reading, writing, arithmetic/mathematics, listening, speaking skills, historical, social, and global awareness, geography, civics, fitness and health, arts and sciences awareness, ACLC has taught me that just because society sets the bar low, doesn’t mean you have to settle for less. At ACLC I have been trained to work at the best of my ability and to constantly push limits in pursuit of utilizing every piece of information I have to offer or gain.
One of my favorite parts about our community is that we have taken education to the next level by putting emphasis on thinking and reasoning skills to the point where they are seamlessly intertwined in the community. By knowing how to learn, think creatively, make decisions, thinking in terms if systems, problem-solving, visualizing and reasoning skills I personally have been granted the ability to learn in the way that suites me best without the worry that it will be rejected by others because it is different. The best example of how ACLC and CLCS have helped me developed these skills is in the learner friendly finance, ACLC and CLCS meetings accessible to all community members. By being allowed access to these meetings I’ve learned so much about our community and the format that my brain learns in! Without these opportunities I know confusion and a lack of knowledge about how my brain works would wind up crippling me, but as a part of ACLC I have been able to learn these things and have since used it to aid my learning experience.
Our unique education model has also given me the opportunity to develop my interpersonal abilities including participating as a team member, teaching others new skills, serving clients, customers and colleagues in addition to exercising leadership, negotiating and working with diversity. Currently sitting on the Community Learning Center Schools Incorporated Board of Directors leadership has been a special focus but I have also had the opportunities to negotiate outcomes as a member of project groups, teach others new skills as I work in the DVS, serve clients, costumers and colleagues as I’ve used video technology to create commercials for local organizations and participate as team members of multiple groups including the Speak Easy, leadership, Civic Engagement and multiple project groups in classes ranging from Algebra II to English 4.
Lastly as a part of the ACLC community I have been given the opportunity to access some incredible technology. Throughout my years here I have shown awareness of the technology we have in the center as well as the technology we lack especially in the Digital Video Studio. After four years of working tape based cameras and learning about the hard drive based cameras that were coming more and more affordable, I suggested we purchase some for our program as they were more efficient for learners to use and ultimately more cost effective with out the need to be constantly buying tapes. I have also demonstrated my ability to select the appropriate technology for my school work as I’ve effectively used Flash, Final Cut Pro, Garageband, Weebly, Wordle, and Microsoft Office (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher) to complete homework and projects. I have also demonstrated my ability to maintain and troubleshoot our schools technology as I’ve assisted learners, facilitators and visitors in setting up and using our schools technology, especially at CCC and after school events.
Everyday I come to the Center I learn something new. Weather that's about what I am studying in my classes, the community or myself, as I use the personal qualities, work habits, attitudes, new basics, thinking, reasoning and technology sills I’ve gained here at the Center I am confident that I have the resources to accomplish what ever I sent my mind to in the future. I am also confident that the six years I’ve spent at ACLC have left an impression on me that won’t easily fade. Through my work completing projects and assignments I have found a learning space like no other and as I’ve fought to preserve the values of our community, I have found a home.
My most recent years at the ACLC have greatly influenced the way I define “active community citizenship”. Now including more than just effective learning skills, good personal qualities such as: responsibility, sociability, self-management, integrity/honesty, selflessness/humanity and career “know how” are also things I think are important to have or to be developing as a member of any community. Although demonstrating these traits isn’t often easily measured, that doesn’t make them any less of a necessity and by meeting these standards of work habit and attitude I feel I am a citizen conscious of the relationship between the community and myself.
Although Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic are the standards of education for some schools, spending the last six years of my life as a part of the Center I have come to expect more from the way I approach problems. Called “New Basics” after the innovative educational format, the ACLC standards we adhere to go above and beyond societies call to public educators as it moves closer and closer to the AUSD graduation profile. Including communication and learning skills, reading, writing, arithmetic/mathematics, listening, speaking skills, historical, social, and global awareness, geography, civics, fitness and health, arts and sciences awareness, ACLC has taught me that just because society sets the bar low, doesn’t mean you have to settle for less. At ACLC I have been trained to work at the best of my ability and to constantly push limits in pursuit of utilizing every piece of information I have to offer or gain.
One of my favorite parts about our community is that we have taken education to the next level by putting emphasis on thinking and reasoning skills to the point where they are seamlessly intertwined in the community. By knowing how to learn, think creatively, make decisions, thinking in terms if systems, problem-solving, visualizing and reasoning skills I personally have been granted the ability to learn in the way that suites me best without the worry that it will be rejected by others because it is different. The best example of how ACLC and CLCS have helped me developed these skills is in the learner friendly finance, ACLC and CLCS meetings accessible to all community members. By being allowed access to these meetings I’ve learned so much about our community and the format that my brain learns in! Without these opportunities I know confusion and a lack of knowledge about how my brain works would wind up crippling me, but as a part of ACLC I have been able to learn these things and have since used it to aid my learning experience.
Our unique education model has also given me the opportunity to develop my interpersonal abilities including participating as a team member, teaching others new skills, serving clients, customers and colleagues in addition to exercising leadership, negotiating and working with diversity. Currently sitting on the Community Learning Center Schools Incorporated Board of Directors leadership has been a special focus but I have also had the opportunities to negotiate outcomes as a member of project groups, teach others new skills as I work in the DVS, serve clients, costumers and colleagues as I’ve used video technology to create commercials for local organizations and participate as team members of multiple groups including the Speak Easy, leadership, Civic Engagement and multiple project groups in classes ranging from Algebra II to English 4.
Lastly as a part of the ACLC community I have been given the opportunity to access some incredible technology. Throughout my years here I have shown awareness of the technology we have in the center as well as the technology we lack especially in the Digital Video Studio. After four years of working tape based cameras and learning about the hard drive based cameras that were coming more and more affordable, I suggested we purchase some for our program as they were more efficient for learners to use and ultimately more cost effective with out the need to be constantly buying tapes. I have also demonstrated my ability to select the appropriate technology for my school work as I’ve effectively used Flash, Final Cut Pro, Garageband, Weebly, Wordle, and Microsoft Office (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher) to complete homework and projects. I have also demonstrated my ability to maintain and troubleshoot our schools technology as I’ve assisted learners, facilitators and visitors in setting up and using our schools technology, especially at CCC and after school events.
Everyday I come to the Center I learn something new. Weather that's about what I am studying in my classes, the community or myself, as I use the personal qualities, work habits, attitudes, new basics, thinking, reasoning and technology sills I’ve gained here at the Center I am confident that I have the resources to accomplish what ever I sent my mind to in the future. I am also confident that the six years I’ve spent at ACLC have left an impression on me that won’t easily fade. Through my work completing projects and assignments I have found a learning space like no other and as I’ve fought to preserve the values of our community, I have found a home.
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"I've never let my schooling interfere with my education"
Mark Twain
"I've never let my schooling interfere with my education"
Mark Twain
