On May 12, 2017 I interviewed Lisa Newman about what it means to be an American to her. Mrs. Newman grew up in a multi-cultural home learning many traditions from both of her parents, since both of her parents are immigrants to the U.S. I also discovered that she has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology, a Master’s degree in Biological Science, and a teaching credential in Biology. Graduated from Pitzer College and a married woman, her love in science flourish throughout her teaching career, she’s also an amazing baker. While interviewing her, she was exposed to a large variety of cultural foods as well, which she still loves today. By obtaining ethnic backgrounds, her diverse upbring aid her more on becoming more understanding and accepting of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life. She also attends Anaheim High School as an Anatomy teacher and loves to teach her class about how the body functions.…
It was time to get back in class so we lined up outside of our classrooms waiting for the teacher to arrive and take us inside. The…
I went to St. Michael School from Kindergarten through Eighth grade, so when it came time to leave for high school, I was not excited for the change. St. Michael was especially small in regards to student population. We had just under three hundred students split between all nine grades. That left roughly twenty to thirty kids per class. I was extremely used too this small environment and not exactly looking forward to the terrors of high school towering over me nor the thought of being lost in the sea of students. Over the years I was extremely imbedded in my academics. I had straight A’s for my entire time at St. Michael. I received the academic achievement award at Eighth grade promotion for having the highest GPA in my class. Despite this, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to live up…
In grade 6 I went to a great school called David Leeder Middle School. Even though none of my friends from grade 5 were in my class, I had an amazing year. All of my teachers were fabulous except for one. My math and science teacher was the worst teacher I had ever had. I remember that she would always yell at us for asking her questions about our work. In grade 7, I was also in David Leeder, but this was the best year I had ever had in my life. Every single teacher of mine were very good and they taught everything very thoroughly. Also, I made a lot of friends during this year. Academically I had the best year and I took part in extra curriculars such as soccer and volleyball. During these two years I went to Pakistan, I went to New York…
Williams Elementary School is located just off of interstate 75 and home of the mighty Eagles. From the outside it has the appearance of a typical school with screaming students, rushing parents, and screeching buses. It is made out of boring brown bricks and beige stucco boarding near the top of the building. The inside features a prison-like setup, only with more vibrant colors. There is a double door leading into an office with multiple faculty and staff. In order to actually enter the school, you have to be buzzed in by the round and hyper man at the main desk. Once in the building, you will see that it is shaped like a large square with hallways extending from four sides. The hallways are full of colorful painting of eagles, laminated…
The sadness that comes with saying goodbye to the friends you have spent your whole life with when moving is never easy. Throughout my education, I have moved schools 3 times and every time it has been a struggle to acclimate socially, mentally and academically. I started at Diegueno Middle School in the middle of the seventh grade. This was now my second school in only the first half of my first year of middle school. Again I had to adapt to new people and a different course load. This school had a much higher standard of academia then my prior school and at first, I struggled. School felt alien to me. Time passed and I made new friends and I got used to the difficulty. I started high school with the same group of friends from middle school…
At the start of high school, I learned that all students at my school were expected to perform sixty hours of community service before graduating. I hoped that my time would be well used, and that I could create a noticeable difference in someone else's life.…
My Jr High choir teacher, Mrs. Bradbury, was the most challenging teacher I have ever had. She would never cut the choir a break, and never stopped pushing us to be our best; “I can’t” was not acceptable to her. I hated her with every fiber of my being, and every time she spoke all I wanted to do was sew her lips together. It wasn’t until the beginning of ninth grade when I realized she was amazing. Once I let my guard down, we instantly connected. Recognizing how much I loved to sing and becoming one of the top singers in my choir was thanks to her. I started working for hours every day on my songs, staying late after class for help, and going to voice lessons. I excelled exponentially and Mrs. Bradbury noticed it.…
I lace up my walking shoes and head outdoors in my neighborhood. I enjoy being outdoors looking at the trees, neighbors' plants and flowers, ducks swimming in the creek, and squirrels scurrying up the trees. Just being outdoors, helps me forget what is bothering me. Saying "Hello" to other walkers make me smile. When I arrive home from my walk, I feel refreshed and I have a feeling I can tackle…
Before this year I was always dead set on being a high school history teacher and thought that I never wanted to teach anything else. During the fall semester I was placed in a sixth grade class for my observation hours and at first I was kind of upset about it. Once I experience a middle school classroom I was still on the fence about what grades I wanted to teach, but I figured I would take this course anyway. I am so happy I did because I decided I want to do my student teaching in middle school. I have realized this is such a unique time in children’s lives and I want more of the molding aspect rather than solely teaching like at the high school level. I want to not only educate students in history, but also have it relate to their every…
On Thursday, September 15 at Cohasset Elementary school in Van Nuys, I worked at my practicum site for the first time in a Head Start class of three and four year olds. My goal for this first class was to become familiar with the children and the classroom routine. One of the first things I noticed was that all the children and the teachers are Hispanic and speak Spanish, although the class is mostly taught in English. I experienced a diversity issue between myself and the staff and children in the classroom. The main barrier I faced was the language. Some of the children spoke only English in class, others spoke a mixture of English and Spanish, and some spoke only in Spanish. Speaking some Spanish helped me, but the children spoke so softly…
It’s a bler, trying to look back on when I was a preschooler, so first grade was a mess. First grade is a life changer. Going to Tri-Point in Piper City not even for a full year. Tri-Point is a small old school just like ROWVA. I remember changing schools because my parents got a divorce. We moved to Peoria and lived there with my mom's parents. I got transferred to a Catholic school. Every Wednesday the whole place went to church right across the street. It was the worst thing ever sitting in the old creepy church listening the Father talk about only “God” knows what. My teacher's name was Mrs. Heartstick, no I did not make the name up. She grossed me out. He hands very dry and cracked, they looked like an old man's hands who had worked his whole…
(More dramatic beginning) Choking and laughing through the cigarette smoke as I sit around the smoking area listening to the seniors tell their crazy drunken stories and cat call at the numerous ladies. This is the dream for any freshmen, but not what I expected when I was thrust into Younglife weekend camp January of my freshmen year.…
Growing up I spent most of my childhood in Vietnam living an ordinary life. My parents were not risk-takers until they decided to quit their career as educators and move to the United States. Knowing that life in America will be challenging for immigrants, we mentally prepared ourselves to be fearless and get through every obstacle that is in our way. No matter how prepare we were, being a newcomer was frightful. When I first step foot on the land of promise, there was a mixed emotion suddenly rushed through me as a signal telling me life here will not be easy. We faced will endless obstacles and the language barrier is the most, the biggest challenge for us. Personally, I think learning a new language is difficult and requires a lot of hard…
Before 7th grade, I never actually believed in bad things. I just didn't think of them as things that actually happened to people. I don’t even know why I thought that, I was actually a pretty nice person.…