About my High School Experience

My name is Arizona Poole, and I am a junior at Cornerstone. I have attended Cornerstone since 5th grade. I've wanted to be a teacher all my life. Since I was a young child, I've known that teaching is what I want to do. The only thing that has changed is the grade I want to teach. I am an extremely responsible and hardworking student. I am a part of the Beta Club and Community Service Club. In 10th grade, I was the treasurer and Character Education chair.

In 11th grade, I was elected president of the Future Teachers of America Club. I am actively involved in my church and volunteering. Being in the Teacher Cadet allows me to expand my knowledge of teaching, and I know that field experience will be invaluable. One reason I want to become a teacher is because of all the educators who have influenced me to love school, work hard, and value teaching. In elementary school, I had a mostly positive experience.

My kindergarten and first-grade teachers were amazing. They both set me up to succeed in the rest of my school experience. Both were strict and had high expectations, but they were also kind and caring. They wanted to see their students succeed and consistently incorporated an element of fun into their classrooms. In these early grades, despite being extremely shy, I was able to excel because they allowed me to do extra work. I took many Accelerated Reader tests and had extra schoolwork and spelling words so that I could reach my full potential. I was allowed to go beyond what we did in class and be pushed and challenged, which is probably why I loved school so much. In kindergarten, I decided I wanted to teach; ever since, I have held that firm belief that it is what I am meant to do. In the second grade, my experience was definitely not as positive.

Though schoolwork was still pretty easy for me, that was the roughest year I had in elementary school. The environment of that classroom made it really hard for me both socially and acadically. In 3rd and 4th grades, my teachers placed me in higher-level classes and the Academically Gifted program, which helped to challenge me with higher-level thinking. I had some great teachers who grounded the foundation of my learning with skills and tricks that I still use to this day. These grades were also when I came out of my shell a little. Though I still wasn’t the most outgoing, I definitely became more outgoing with peers and adults. They encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone socially, which helped me gain confidence. In 5th grade, I moved to Cornerstone, and I had another great teacher. My teacher challenged me academically but also built a classroom community where the whole class got along. That class was definitely challenging but also another important one in my development. Overall, I excelled in all subjects in elementary school. Math was always the easiest for me, so I had to work harder in English.

Math was always my favorite subject, followed by history. I was put in upper-level core classes, enrolled in an Academically Gifted class, and skipped a grade in math in 5th grade. For the most part, my elementary school experience was extremely positive. My middle school experience was also largely positive. It allowed me to grow as a student in terms of responsibility while also being challenged academically. The amount of homework gradually increased starting in 6th grade, which was strenuous for me. Throughout middle school, and even in 5th grade, I had the same teacher for homeroom twice, for math once, and for the yearbook. She was very influential in my life, always encouraging me and giving me useful advice. 6th grade was difficult because some teachers, new to the grade level, had unrealistic expectations regarding the workload for a 6th grader. This experience taught me to step up and take initiative when I struggle.

I still really liked my teachers and enjoyed my time in the 6th grade. In the 7th grade, my three teachers were all ones that I liked. They challenged us and pushed me to work hard. In the 8th grade, I was once again pushed to work hard, but also taught a lot of skills that would help me in high school. Study skills, writing techniques, and presenting habits all helped to prepare me for the future. My favorite subject continued to be math. English was harder for me, but I had really good teachers that improved many of my English test grades significantly. Science was also really hard for me, since I had never done a lot of it before. I was forced to study a lot. My middle school years were positive because I had so many great teachers who truly cared for their students. They went above and beyond expectations to help prepare us for high school and to give advice and help us through issues that arose. While many consider it an awful time, middle school was full of great teachers and friends.

My high school experience has been a mix of good and bad. While the high school teachers have been amazing, the workload has not. My teachers have truly cared about helping me succeed in their classes and in my future. They have been open to pushing me to my full potential. In 9th grade, my workload was really tough. Having homework for seven classes every night, I had no free time after school. I took as many honors classes as possible - four in total - and then had three other classes. These classes required higher-level thinking, but also led to me struggling with the workload. In 10th grade, I took 2 Advanced Placement classes, 3 honors classes, and 2 regular ones. One of the Advanced Placement classes proved to be the toughest I have experienced so far. It required numerous hours of homework each night and made my workload intolerable. Lastly, my junior year has been harder in terms of content, but easier concerning the workload.

I have been able to pursue other interests during the afternoons, but I also have to study a great deal for my four Advanced Placement classes, one college class, and Teachers Cadet class. Overall, math has remained my favorite subject. The challenges of upper-level math classes have not diminished my interest; they have actually enhanced it, potentially focusing my teaching major in mathematics. I've always loved math and am considering further math credentials with a view to becoming a more effective teacher in the future. Each year of high school comes with its own unique challenges, but my teachers have been amazing. Despite the workload, Cornerstone has been a fantastic fit for me. The educators here genuinely care about their students and have provided me with great assistance. Plus, through the Future Teachers of America club and Character Education, I've had opportunities to step up and work with other students. High school has allowed me to take on more leadership roles and show some initiative.

Overall, I have had a positive experience in elementary, middle, and high school. I've been able to identify what I want to pursue as a career. When I realized it was teaching in kindergarten, it became apparent throughout middle and high school as well. My teachers have helped me step outside of my comfort zone and pursue my passions. I've been challenged and pushed throughout my educational journey. In addition, the exceptional elementary school teachers I had made me realize why I want to teach younger grades. They showed me that a teacher can profoundly influence a student's perspective on learning for the rest of their lives. My teachers created an outstanding classroom environment, challenged me, and encouraged me, all of which solidified why I want to teach. My upper-grade teachers were there to encourage, educate, and show me the value of my chosen path. While many years of my schooling have been challenging, those struggles were rewarding and overall beneficial to me.

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