An Analysis of My Educational Journey (1)

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University of South Carolina *

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191

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English

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Jun 1, 2024

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pdf

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9

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Vargas 1 Julio Vargas CCAS 165 Professor Andalon 19 January 2023 High School Introduction For my Academic Journey (AJ) paper, I have chosen to talk about my high school journey. My high school journey recently ended in 2023. I chose this period because it was the most significant period in my academic journey, in which I had a more difficult time adapting to its environment. I attended two different high schools. I attended a public high school in Carson, CA, California Academy in Math and Sciences (CAMS). During this time, this school was ranked the #1 high school in California as it was a very competitive Ivy school. The students there were very school-oriented and exceptional in academics. I felt very privileged as I had earned a spot with these exceptional students and was now spending time in this Ivy school environment. Upon getting accepted into the school, I was beyond excited to start this new journey of mine. My family was extremely excited and proud of me; they would explicitly express this to me. My family saw the universities many of the alumni were attending and saw hope in me to eventually attend these universities. The alumni would attend universities including NYU, Columbia, Stanford, Harvard, USC, MIT, etc. Upon entering the school, we had orientation, and I felt comfortable during the orientation. Upon starting, my family held a dinner where we celebrated the beginning of my new journey. My family would talk to me and tell me, “Echale ganas mijo” they would say, “Continue trying, son.” Through these talks, my family was motivating me to try my best to succeed in this journey.
Vargas 2 Concept #1 My journey at CAMS High School ended up only lasting a semester. Yes, that sounds short, but it felt like forever to me. CAMS ended up being a school I did not feel comfortable attending. The academics were great, and I was doing good in school. However, outside of the classroom, I felt very lost and alone. Since I was so used to attending elementary and middle school with the same students around me, I never had to worry about making new friends the next year. I always kept the same circle of friends. Now, I was entering this new high school where I knew no one, and no one knew me. It was a clean slate at school, and making friends was my biggest challenge. When talking to upperclassmen, I would always hear from them that many students who came from my area, South Central LA, would end up leaving the school. The people of my area held a stereotype at the school. South Central kids were known for leaving the school, and I absolutely did not want to be known as another typical South Central kid. Hearing the stereotype around me so much motivated me even more to continue on with this journey despite feeling the way I felt. Mentally, I was telling myself to ignore any of my sad feelings and continue on. I told myself that I could not, under any circumstances, fall under this stereotype and leave the school. Despite trying to pull through these uncomfortable feelings and telling myself I could ride it out. A semester later, I left. I have now fallen under the stereotype threat concept. I was now under the stereotype of a typical South Central LA kid who leaves the school. Although I tried hard not to fall under this stereotype, I eventually gave in. According to the University of Colorado Boulder , “Stereotype threat refers to the risk of confirming negative stereotypes about an individual’s racial, ethnic, gender, or cultural group, which can create high cognitive load and reduce academic focus and performance.” My experience at my first high school fell under the
Vargas 3 stereotype threat concept, as I was experiencing the effects of not wanting to confirm the negative stereotype that South Central kids like myself held at this high school, that they would eventually end up leaving the school. Making friends outside of class was my biggest challenge at this school. I would notice many kids automatically connect with others, and I was stuck by myself, not building any connections with anyone. Continuing throughout the semester, it was always behind my head thinking about the stereotype that was held by my community. Never, ever did I want to fall into this stereotype. From the beginning to mid-semester, I was doing great in the classroom and grasping lectures and content exceptionally. However, towards the end of the semester, I felt that the tole of not making friends and not wanting to confirm these negative stereotypes began to affect my academic performance. I was beginning to slack more in school and losing motivation for any of my work. The stereotype threat concept was affecting me severely and taking a toll on me overall. Stereotype threat was originally invented by researchers Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson. These researchers believed that while students weren’t comfortable in a setting and felt intimated by the thoughts others around them had on them, they would perform poorly in any action. They believed while students did not feel welcomed, they would result in not succeeding. Similar to my experience, this thought I had in my head of everyone thinking I would fall under my stereotype would affect me socially. I felt intimated and not welcomed by the students around me, and I almost felt as if they were all waiting for me to leave the school for their negative stereotypes to be proved correctly. Personally, it was also affecting me. I had always been in environments where I felt welcomed and comfortable by everyone around me. This was a new environment for me, and not feeling welcomed and being intimated by those around me was a new feeling. Steele and Aronson stated, “This hyper-vigilance and extra stress uses up cognitive
Vargas 4 resources that are essential for learning, which can affect their performance and discourage them from building valuable relationships.” Similarly to my experience, my internal thoughts of not feeling welcome in school made it difficult for me to create friendships and build connections with my peers. Throughout this journey, I discussed and expressed my experience with my counselor and some of my teachers. My Spanish teacher, Mrs.Brito, played an important role in this journey, as she was one of the only people I felt comfortable around in school. I would discuss any uncomfortable situation or hardships with her, and she would give me helpful feedback. Even when discussing with her how I felt about being at this school, she recommended that I allow myself to open up and for me to be somewhere, I was comfortable enough to work to my best potential. While at CAMS, I joined the AVID program and ASB. Both of these programs were my comfort places at CAMS because I felt a slight connection with my peers, and they would serve as my escape from being completely alone and not having any friendships. These programs made me feel more at home and gave me a reason to attend school with some excitement. Change of Environment After leaving CAMS, I moved to DRLC High. DRLC High is a public LAUSD school located in South Central LA. This school is known for being “ghetto” and having a low graduation rate. DRLC is known for being a bad school, and not many students make much out of themselves. However, I prospered at DRLC and took advantage of the educational opportunities that were being presented to me. I participated and began dual enrollment at my school. Entered several sports. Because this school was not seen as a good school, my family didn’t really express being proud of me. Despite the many educational opportunities that I was taking advantage of, they only saw it as me doing the bare minimum and what I “had” to do
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