Reflective Essay

A High School Career in Review:

Introduction

I hadn’t heard of ACLC before my sister got accepted in 4th grade, but I was instantly enamored by the concept. A school where you go to committee if you break the rules? A school where the students vote on the rules? I remember being so interested I tagged along to an open house with my sister and mother. This was at the old old campus next to Encinal High, and seeing the school in person further intrigued me as a possible school for my middle and eventual high school career.

Almost nine years later I am a senior at the school. If I were to go back and tell my past self all of the experiences and opportunities I would gain from attending ACLC, it would have made the decision to go here even easier.

Using my speaking skills to hold some pleasant conversation with a fellow ACLC learner.

New Basics

Speaking

As a Leadership learner, one needs to learn how to use their voice. I have developed these skills over my high school career, beginning in freshman year, when I led my first CCC, to senior yet, where I found myself co-chair of Leadership class. When I was elected co-chair of Leadership, I was sure what to expect. We were still in the midst of distance learning, so I wasn’t sure if I would be co-leading the Leadership class in a classroom or on a computer. Midway into summer, it was confirmed that ACLC was to return to fully in person instruction for the 2021 & 2022.

I was excited, but also nervous. I hadn’t been in in person school for a year and a half, and now I would have to return to school and co-lead the entirety of Leadership class. When I finally did return to school, I went from talking to 3 people maximum to almost 30 people. This shift required me to find power in my own voice to guide the leadership class to readjust to in person school. After a semester of in person Leadership, I can confidently say that my speaking skills have improved not only my confidence, but Leadership as a whole.

Geography

Geography is something that I have always taken an interest in. Even since I was a child, I had been curious about why things are the way that they are, which is why I think I have always been drawn to geography as a subject. From the time I could read, I would look at maps of all sorts. The world recorded on the paper in front of me always left me questioning, but that is what I enjoyed about it; the constant pursuit of knowledge. This passion for geography has come into play throughout my high school career in a variety of ways. It always helped to know the geographical context of a place to better understand it.

A recent example of this is during my final project for Government, when we were assigned to make a short documentary about how the government affects us. My group opted to pick water resource management, and with my background knowledge of geography, I was able to offer suggestions on what areas we should focus on. I recommend talking to a professor at Chico State about the water levels at Lake Oroville. My background knowledge of geography informed this recommendation because I knew that Lake Oroville’s low water levels were affecting the surrounding area, with one of those surrounding areas being Chico, California, which as happens to house one of the oldest universities in California: Chico State.

Smiling with an old globe!

Deep in thought at the San Mateo Japanese Gardens.

There's a problem: How will I get to school?

Solution: Get a bicycle.

Thinking & Reasoning

Knows How To Learn

One of the most important things that you can learn in school is how to learn. While we go to school to establish a foundation in math, science, and English, we also go to school to gain an understanding of how to learn. I, like most people, have had a myriad of experiences when it comes to different types of learning. We go to ACLC, so inherently our learning experience is going to be different compared to that of someone who goes to Alameda High. Throughout my time here at ACLC, these different learning styles have been exposed to me, and while I prefer some over others, I can confidently say that all of these experiences have helped me grow into the learner I am today.

Problem-Solving

Problem solving is something that is essential to life in the modern world. As a learner here at ACLC, I use my skills of problem solving on a daily basis. Especially when you are leading a certain group, you not only have to solve your own problems, but the problems of others as well. As the co-leader of the poetry club, returning to in person school posed a problem for us, that problem being the poem of the day. Before the pandemic and distance learning, we would recite the poem of the day every week in the gym, but because of the pandemic, the school would not be able to meet in the gym every week for CCC. It took some preparation, but after a while, my co-leader and I came up with a solution. We would utilize the newly implemented “CCC News” to get the poem of the week out to the community. To do this, we had to experiment with different equipment and locations for filming, and it is still a learning experience for all of us to this day, but it is always an exemplary moment of my problem solving I have developed here at ACLC.

Interpersonal Abilities

Participates as a Team Member

To be a part of a team at ACLC is essential to the learner experience. After all, we are a project based school, and a part of many projects is collaborating with others. Additionally, many of the leadership positions at the school are collaborative. There are two co-chairs, who are both responsible for the upkeep and facilitation of the Leadership class. A big part of being a co-chair is having synergy with your fellow co-chair. We are essentially leading a class collaboratively, so there must be active and clear communication between the both of us in order to facilitate the class effectively.

I am also the co-president of Interact club, so what applies to my leadership skills and experience in Leadership also applies to that as well. All of these collaborative leadership positions at ACLC have really helped develop not only my sense of leadership, but also my sense of collaboration.

Exercises Leadership

As a long time student here at ACLC, I have developed leadership skills out of an appreciation for the democratic process our school takes to govern itself. A massive part of running a successful democratic system is competent leadership. I have taken on this responsibility of leadership to further the mission statement of ACLC as a democratic institution for learners to take ownership over their own education.

Holding yet another lovely conversation with a fellow ACLC learner. This time on top of a parking garage.

Leadership Class!

Totally being aware of technology.

Technology

Shows Awareness of Technology

After being elected co-president of ACLC Interact Club for the 2020 and 2021 school year, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. During the summer of 2020, I, like many of my peers, was not exactly fully adjusted to the distance learning model, and now I would have to lead an entire club through zoom meetings. I knew I had to familiarize myself with the zoom software. So that is what I did. In preparation for the school year, over the summer I decided to hold various “proxy” zoom meetings with my friends and family. During these meetings I would try to utilize the many different features of zoom so I could be prepared for anything whilst leading Interact Club virtually over the coming school year.

My foresight ended up paying off. Besides for say, internet issues, the Interact virtual meetings went smoothly throughout the entirety of the school year. Even the internet issues weren’t too big of a deal for our club, as I utilized many messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Remind to keep in touch with our members whenever they would miss a meeting.

Selects Technology

Throughout my time at ACLC, I have developed the skills necessary to assess situations where utilizing technology is necessary. As co-chair of Leadership class, I am responsible for planning a myriad of CCC for the school. Many of these CCC require judging from facilitators. In the past, it has been a struggle to get all of the facilitators in the same place at the same time to judge a particular event.

To solve this problem, I have employed Google Forums as a solution. With Google Forums, I am able to take pictures of each small group’s product and create a survey to be sent out to the facilitators. This makes judging much easier for the facilitators, as all they have to do is fill out a quick survey, and it makes collecting this data easier for Leadership, as all of the judges' responses are shown clearly in the google forum.

Ahh, distance learning...how I do not miss you.

Conclusion

My journey at ACLC has been a long one, dotted with learning experiences that will last me a lifetime. What I have gained here at ACLC in knowledge and understanding of the world I will take with me to my college career and beyond. This school has lived up to its mission statement for me. It has empowered me to take ownership over my own learning. ACLC has shaped me into the person I have become today, and for that I am forever grateful.

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