english paper

“You will be very successful in life if you choose this path.” That was the first thing my teacher said to us when we sat in our desks. After looking each one of us in the eyes and telling us individually that YOU will be successful, I knew I was where I was supposed to be. AVID is an acronym that stands for Advanced Via Individual Determination. The goal for every AVID class is to increase the student’s chances for enrolling into a four-year university. AVID taught me life lesson skills such as academic skills, the importance of asking for help from a trusted advisor, and how to respect different opinions. AVID is generally a four-year program that helps students strive to get into a four-year college. It provides basic skills to students in order to be more successful through out high school and in college, such as Cornell note taking, organization, having seminars in class, and tutorials. The same group of student with the same teacher stays together through all four years in high school. Not only do you gain academic skills, you also gain relationships with students that you would never have in any of your other classes. You learn life skills like, the importance of asking for help and how to respect others opinions, not from only the teacher but also from the students in your classroom that you can take beyond high school. AVID is an elective class offered to 7th through 12th grade students. In AVID you’re constantly working on improving reading, math, writing, organization, and team building skills. There are tutorials that are held weekly, that focus on one certain subject that students may struggle with. These tutorials act as a group study to focus on certain things that students need help with. In order to participate in the tutorials, you needed to have approval from a teacher by providing a signature for every question you had. Tutorials were a huge part of your grade in the class. As much as I thought the tutorials were to repetitive they helped me immensely through high school. Cornell notes were also something I found very difficult. They are a form of note taking that creates question from your notes, which can be used as a study guide. I found they are very helpful in college, and still use them today. We also practiced various styles of writing to help in any of our other classes such as timed writes, persuasive writing, and analysis. There were frequent binder checks and team projects that taught me the importance of organization; we participated in many field trips to visit different colleges that helped me become more comfortable with the idea of leaving for college; and there were many guest speakers that provided knowledge and different perspectives that helped me become a more successful student. AVID not only taught me many academic skills but it most importantly taught me life lessons. During my sophomore year in high school I experienced many unexpected things. It was a really difficult time in my life after my grandpa died, and the last thing I wanted to focus on was my schoolwork. Right when my AVID teacher saw my grades slipping she immediately pulled me aside from class one day and asked what was going on. At that moment I knew I could just break down, and talk to her not as a teacher but as an adult. She talked me through a lot of my problems just giving advice and support. She also asked what she could do to help me with my grades. She found me a tutor that worked around my schedule and asked me daily if there was anything she could do for me. I wouldn’t have had the chance to find a tutor or raise my grades if it wasn’t for my AVID teacher. I probably wouldn’t have found that much support and understand through any of my other teachers. If it weren’t for her finding me that tutor I wouldn’t of passed many of my classes, and probably wouldn’t be where I am today. In my AVID class I knew I could walk in the classroom crying, upset or in a bad mood and I wouldn’t be judged. Everyone in that class cared about you personally. One of the most important factors in our “AVID family” was Mama Wescom. She was an inspiration to many of us throughout our four years we were together. If you had any problem with either school, grades, home, a boyfriend, family, or friends she would be there ready to talk about it, especially if it was about your grades. She was not only a teacher but she was a second mom. High school would not have been the same without my AVID family right by my side the whole way, supporting me no matter what happened.
I made many life long friends that I never would of met if it wasn’t for AVID. It taught me how to get along with people I never thought I would be able to get along with. Your not always going to be friends with everyone you meet in life, and although I wasn’t the best of friends with some of the students in my class I learned to love them for our differences. If it wasn’t for me being in AVID I may not have learned the importance of having respect for people with different views. Not only did I grow to have respect for these different individuals I felt comfortable working with them in a school setting. They taught me things, like to be more open minded, and see issues from others point of views. For example, when we had class discussions in AVID and others had different opinions instead of disagreeing I would stop and critically think about what was being said. Even though I didn’t agree with what was being said, I still respectfully listened to what I was being told. High school would not have been the same without my AVID family right by my side the whole way, supporting me no matter what happened. In college I have encountered many different opinions of my own, without the preparation from AVID it would have been more difficult to hear and discuss those opinions. All of the academic knowledge and social skills that I learn in my AVID class has provided me on the right path to be successful. If it wasn’t for the life lesson skills I learned from my peers and my teacher I know I wouldn’t be the same person that I am today. I am taking everything that I learned in the four years in that AVID class and applying it to my college life. I know that one day I will be very successful. Even though everyone went different directions in life, and I may never see any of them, I know they will always be my support system.