Six years ago I came into Alameda Community Learning Center not knowing what to expect. At that age, I had no idea what a charter school was. I remember being nervous and shy on my first day, but as the days passed by, I made friends quickly. Those friendships have developed into inseparable bonds between me and my current classmates. Looking back, I have grown a lot academically, socially, and mentally. ACLC has molded me into an outspoken, outgoing, and positive person who is academically focused and culturally aware. Now that I am a senior, I would not trade my time at ACLC for the world. I have acquired many memories and experiences at ACLC that I could not have acquired as well at another school.
Personal Qualities, Work Habits, and Attitudes
Entering ACLC at the young age of 11, my sociability skills were underdeveloped and lacking. Coming from an elementary school that did not stress the value of group work, relations with others, and cooperation, I had a hard time adapting this sociability skill into my daily academic life. Specifically, one of the personal qualities I have always struggled with was teamwork. I was never fond of teamwork due to the complications of multiple personalities merging together to create an outcome. Therefore, I would prefer to work alone on my own time. However, at ACLC, the merit of teamwork and collaboration is highly valued. Various group projects such as the Rube Goldberg project, rollercoaster project and cardboard boat races helped adapt my disdain for teamwork into adoration for it. Through this, my whole attitude and perspective of working with others changed. I learned how valuable different personalities could be in contributing copious ideas. One of my weakest qualities became one of my strongest over the course of my studies at ACLC. I grew to learn that two heads are better than one.
New Basics
Throughout the time I spent at ACLC, I was able to fully integrate the concept of new basics into my academic life. I have met and exceeded the required courses to graduate ACLC, but it doesn’t end there. I use the knowledge of the new basics and incorporate them in new and interesting ways. Mathematics was always a loathsome subject to me and the last math class I ever took, Statistics, was during the summer going into junior year. Also during junior year, I was elected the Leadership Treasurer. Despite my disdain for math, I successfully used the concepts and basics of math for my Leadership job. I had to keep track of records of numbers, had to calculate different outcomes, and use math regularly. I found a way to make my disdain for math into a useful utilization in my everyday life. On the other hand, History has always been my favorite subject so I always stayed attentive and awake in my history classes. I knew all about the historical events, presidents, wars, historical figures, and more. I have been integrating this new basic into my life for the past two and a half years by seeking more knowledge of history. I apply my historical knowledge through current events. I compare our 21st century generation with the previous generations. I am able to make connections and predictions about current foreign affairs, war, trends, and politics with my knowledge of our past history. I have been integrating this new basic adamantly and I look forward to continue integrating this new basic when I study history in college.
Thinking and Reasoning Skills
After many years attending ACLC, I have learned the value of thinking critically in a difficult situation. A thinking and reasoning skill I have acquired is problem solving. It is very handy to be able to devise a constructive plan to avoid continual problems. One of the hardest challenges I faced was in 11th grade during the spring. The ACLC Dance Committee plans the Kahsai Formal every spring for high school students. However, the year before, the Kahsai Formal wasn’t very successful. The Dance Committee bought decorations, hired a DJ, rented a dance floor, and spread the word. But only 12 people showed up to the dance. It was a disappointment that our event was not successful. So the next year, the Dance Committee had to think of a way to plan the Kahsai Formal to be a success! As Dance Committee President, I made sure to figure out the logistics. We hired a DJ with good ratings, we rented a nice dance floor, and we bought appropriate decorations. We had to think of new and interesting ways to inform people about the dance. Everything was set, we just needed people to go. We sent out many emails over listserve, held raffles, went around with a poll, announced it at CCC, and made creative posters. In the end, many people came to the dance and it was very successful. I am very glad that the Dance Committee and I were able to devise a creative plan to solve a problem. We worked together to create a successful dance and pulled it off well.
Interpersonal Skills
As a middle school student, I took my time to get used to the culture and traditions of ACLC. Gradually, the significance of the JC system, mission statement, and Learner Bill of Rights started sinking into my brain. As soon as I reached high school at ACLC, I knew I wanted to get involved in the community. ACLC had molded me into such a passionate individual and I wanted to help in the process of making ACLC a better place for everyone. This contributed to the development of my interpersonal abilities. Throughout my high school career, I was Dance Committee president, JC Clerk, Governing Board representative, Leadership co-chair and treasurer, Interact Club vice president and more. But the most rewarding experience was serving on the ACLC Governing Board. When the learner body elected me, I felt a great deal of pressure to serve my school and its students in the best way possible. I realized that I needed to exert myself as a positive role model as well as a representative students could rely on. Through many fervent discussions, arguments, and deliberations at the board meetings, I learned how to communicate my ideas well. I learned how to persuade others into thinking about the opposite side of things. I learned to motivate the learner community to stand up for its rights and equality. (Example: Eating in the center for club meetings) The amount of leadership the position of Governing Board representative has taught me is rewarding and satisfying in so many ways. Now, I exercise my leadership skills in a mature, positive way. I no longer debate my points, but rather discuss my points with others. Discussing instead of debating makes others want to hear your opinions more since they do not feel like they are being attacked. I now understand the importance of how positive exertion of leadership skills can help create a better community.
Technology
One of the many aspects that I have grown to love is the use of technology. When I first came into ACLC as a young girl, I was blown away by the fact that a school allowed students to use computers during school time. More so, I was blown away by the fact a school could trust its students enough to use computers. As a 6th and 7th grader, I used the technology for chat, paint, or leisure time. But as I grew older, I understood the true importance of the use of technology. Technology to me is the ability to understand the new advancements of the 21st century and to use them to our advantage. The amount of knowledge I have gained at ACLC about specific computer programs is vast. I learned how to create an entertaining yet informative PowerPoint and Prezi. I know the purposes of an excel sheet and how to create one. I quickly mastered the use of Word after my facilitators required assignments to be typed. Now I prefer to use the computer to type up my assignments instead of wasting trees by using paper. This developed skill of utilizing technology for my benefit has served me well and will continue to serve me well for the rest of my life.