7:20a.m. The exact time that the bell rang every single day to signal the beginning of
AP Calculus. Surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the school, I realize that I had something in common with many of them— most of us are first-generation students whose parents immigrated into America to give their child an opportunity that was not offered to them as students, a valuable education. This was something I had noticed in the first few weeks of being in the most challenging class of my life, so far. It was already more than I thought I would have in common with most of the students, considering I was the only junior in a class full of seniors. Most of them were busy finishing their applications for college, while I had a whole year of …show more content…
My father had dropped out of high school in Poland to support his family financially, and my mother had never moved on to any higher institution of learning past high school. Of course, you can probably guess that I received the typical “education is the key” pep-talk my entire life. They say that repetition is extremely practical in terms of success, but to be completely honest, I wasn’t fully convinced to try hard in school because of what my parents had told me about education; rather, I knew I had an underlying passion for learning. The passion most students have when the odds are against their favor, when failure is easier than …show more content…
I felt more confident than i ever have before in such classes and I was genuinely excited for every class, a feeling I had previously only felt for math class. Ironically, my failure in math had opened me up to a world of liberal education. I appreciated all of my classes more and began to learn not only for a high grade, but for the sake of knowledge. This new passion for learning did not limit itself to the walls of my school. I began to explore social issues and engage in debates where my opinions were challenged with reasoning rather than pure facts. A period of failure in math had been the best educational experience that had ever happened to me— it fostered a period of sympathy, social awareness, and overall personal growth of
AP Calculus. Surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the school, I realize that I had something in common with many of them— most of us are first-generation students whose parents immigrated into America to give their child an opportunity that was not offered to them as students, a valuable education. This was something I had noticed in the first few weeks of being in the most challenging class of my life, so far. It was already more than I thought I would have in common with most of the students, considering I was the only junior in a class full of seniors. Most of them were busy finishing their applications for college, while I had a whole year of …show more content…
My father had dropped out of high school in Poland to support his family financially, and my mother had never moved on to any higher institution of learning past high school. Of course, you can probably guess that I received the typical “education is the key” pep-talk my entire life. They say that repetition is extremely practical in terms of success, but to be completely honest, I wasn’t fully convinced to try hard in school because of what my parents had told me about education; rather, I knew I had an underlying passion for learning. The passion most students have when the odds are against their favor, when failure is easier than …show more content…
I felt more confident than i ever have before in such classes and I was genuinely excited for every class, a feeling I had previously only felt for math class. Ironically, my failure in math had opened me up to a world of liberal education. I appreciated all of my classes more and began to learn not only for a high grade, but for the sake of knowledge. This new passion for learning did not limit itself to the walls of my school. I began to explore social issues and engage in debates where my opinions were challenged with reasoning rather than pure facts. A period of failure in math had been the best educational experience that had ever happened to me— it fostered a period of sympathy, social awareness, and overall personal growth of