My Childhood Educational Development - Assignment Example

My Childhood Educational Development I. As I reflect on my childhood educational journey I recognize that there many aspects that appear to me in sharper focus now that I reflect on this journey. Throughout my educational adventure there have been a strong number of situations where I felt that the hard work was not worth the reward, or I questioned the very nature of the educational system, but now I stand content with where I am now and my intellectual progress. When I consider my childhood education in retrospect I am drawn to Rodriguez notion that, “Years of schooling must pass before the boy will be able to sketch the cultural differences in his day as abstractly as this. But he senses those differences early” (Rodriguez, pg. 3). In these regards, I recognize that one of the early aspects of my educational journey was the navigation of a variety of cultural contexts, and the dichotomous relationship between my in-school interactions and those I had at home. One of the prominent features of my educational journey was having parents that were not entirely fluent in the language that my schooling was in. While this diversity created a culturally rich environment in my life, as I faced both my parents’ minority culture and the dominant culture of the scholastic environment. This difference made me realize that a great amount of learning occurs at home. While I have little recollection of my earliest years of school this difference became pronounced from my earliest memories of school. In these regards, I remember kindergarten and instances around this period when I started to notice subjects that I succeeded in more than others. In these regards, I was immediately successful in mathematics and had an aptitude towards taking things apart and putting them back together. While I was still at a very young age and the mathematics were not very advanced, I recognize that in-large part my parents were able to help me in this subject, while in other subjects they were not as able to aid me. During this formative period of my intellectual development I came to understand that I would have to emphasize the language arts on my own as a means of keeping pace with my classmates. Still, there were other areas of communication that I began to succeed in. While written language and grammar are prominent aspects of existence, I recognize that in communicating with another human there are elements of life that cannot simply be taught through books. In these regards, I believe that having parents that did not primarily speak the dominant language greatly aided me in understanding other individuals. I had to learn to communicate in two languages and while this may have caused me difficulties during this formative period, I truly believe that languages contain within them different ways of viewing the world. As I gradually began to learn more about my home language and my school language I came to have an appreciation for the history and various aspects of these cultures. This appreciation extended into my daily life as I found myself increasingly able to make friends from a variety of ethnic groups and backgrounds in situations where my dominant language classmates were hindered. II. After I passed this formative period of my life I came to increasingly fit into my school environment. Despite having parents that were not of the dominant culture, I found myself appreciating a diverse variety of ethnic heritages and pursuing my academic career with vigor. Still, as I entered my middle school I continued to find myself at some academic disadvantages. With this feeling in mind I began to get a sort of chip on my shoulder about approaching academic pursuits. When I consider my academic vigor during this period, I consider Rodriguez when he writes, “I entered high school having read hundreds of books. My habit of reading made me a confident speaker and writer of English” (Rodriguez, pg. 12). In a similar way I took to reading and writing as a personal interest. I recognized that unless I worked to balance out my deficiencies in this category I would not be able to keep pace with my classmates. As I prepared to leave middle school and enter the high school environment I was ready to compete with classmates on their intellectual level in the language arts. As I continued my journey through middle and high school another aspect that I recognized was the strong amount of learning that occurs outside the immediate confines of the classroom. In these regards, I found that my participation in school sports greatly contributed to my personal growth. During middle and then high school I became actively involved in soccer. I was at first a defensive player and then a goalie. As my school’s goalie I found that a considerable amount of emphasis and responsibility was placed on my performance. This aspect of my participation in soccer greatly contributed to my development of character. If I didn’t practice or I missed a game the entire team would suffer. Rather than letting this responsibility go to my head, instead I came to believe that this was a strong opportunity to assume a leadership roll. While I assumed this leadership roll on the soccer field it came to pervade all aspects of my scholastic experience. Increasingly, I recognized that I needed to complete my homework and be a leader in classroom discussions. I saw my grades gradually increase, as well as my general demeanor and overall happiness. As I entered high school I found that I was successful in many aspects of my scholastic pursuits. I was a prominent member of the soccer team and through vigorous work and attention to my school work I was able to catch-up to my classmates in areas where I had been deficient at any earlier stage in my life. Even while I came to recognize that things were going very smoothly, the infusion of personal relationships into my regular schedule posed another great challenge to my school life. As I entered my sophomore year of high school I received my drivers license and my life changed drastically. While legally an individual is considered an adult when they turn eighteen years of age, I found that turning sixteen years old was perhaps the greatest transition period of my life. No longer would I have to wait for my parents for transportation. For the first year of having my driver’s license my personal relationships greatly increased. While this was a great benefit to my life, I found that my scholastic pursuits began to suffer. This was one of the most challenging periods of my scholastic journey as I had to learn how to balance out my personal relationships with school. I eventually would achieve a solid balance in these regards that would carry me through the rest of high school. As I graduated and entered college I came to carry many of these values with me and continue to implement this balance in my daily life. III. In reflecting on my scholastic journey from my formative educational years, through elementary, middle, and high school there are a number of elements I find highly notable. One of the main considerations is the variety of teaching professionals that contributed to my education and life. Coming from a family of parents that didn’t speak the dominant language, I came to have an added sense of motivation. I believe that oftentimes teachers picked up on my vigor and sometimes took a special interest in my success. I consider Rodriguez in these regards who noted, “The scholarship boy pleases most when he is young—the working-class child struggling for academic success. To his teachers, he offers great satisfaction; his success is their proudest achievement” (Rodriguez, pg. 13). In many regards I witnessed how teachers, in the language arts specifically, were oftentimes willing to stay after class to help me, or were to spend extra time explaining grammatical rules to me that I had difficulty understanding. In retrospect, I recognize that my teachers were the backbone of my educational experience. While the profession is demanding, I recognize that oftentimes the best teachers I had were individuals that went beyond simply performing their jobs and took a personal interest in the education of their students. Still, it was ultimately my responsibility to take their motivation and inspiration and apply to my studies and my own life. When considering my scholastic experience I believe that in great part I have been successful in these pursuits. Today my educational experience has not only improved my intellectual capital, but has made me a stronger and more balanced person. Through education I have learned make goals and to approach this goals with the discipline and passion necessary to achieve them. Ultimately, I feel prepared now to continue my educational journey at a higher level, as well as to continue my journey throughout life. References Rodriguez, Richard. The Achievement of Desire. Read More