This is my first essay DRAFT 1
A lot of high school teachers always say that they are preparing their students for college in some sort of way. High school did not prepare me for college because of they curriculum, living environment, and commitment.
The curriculum in most high schools is very mediocre. One example of why the curriculum was mediocre is students study habits. In high school, the work was so mediocre and it did not challenge me. I never had to sit down and study. High school never trained me to grab a book and sit down and read unless it was required for a class. I graduated high school with a 3.4 grade point average. With that being said I truly believe that if I were to have sat down and studied I could have graduated with way higher than a 3.4 grade point average.
The curriculum in Prince William County Schools did not prepare me for college. It was so easy to slack off and still get the grades needed to get into college. The way the college system works is way different than high school. In college professors give their students all of the material on the first day with a schedule of when it is due. In high school the teachers gave us due dates and deadlines as the year progresses. So the high school system doesn’t teach students how to rely on their ability to organize their schedule and turn in assignments when needed. They have to rely on the teachers to be able to know when an assignment is due.
Living environments have a very great affect on students. Students don’t try as hard in school because if they don’t get into school their parents have “money”, so their situation is solved. Or if they start to act up because they start to take a lot of things for granted.
Teachers at my high school loved to “babysit” their students and walk them through everything that they do. So when the student graduates and goes off to college, college smacks them in the face with a reality check. How would they know how to do things on their own if they were never trained to be on their own? Even with the social side of things the students see their friends every single day so they would not think that to join an organization to make friends and to network and make connections.
High school really does not show students that networking and making connections is a key thing in college. In high school the teachings are only one set way so it doesn’t fit the learning desires of every student. In college students are allowed to choose classes according to their major so it benefits them in every way. High school is free for students so they do not see school the same as a college student who is paying tens of thousands of dollars. College students pay a lot of money so they do not want to let that money go to waste so they try their best to get their moneys worth.
High school does not prepare students for college. The curriculum is not strong; the living environment varies depending on where a person lives, and the commitment and dedication of the students.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
I’ve learned a lot in my first semester of college. It has been a incredibly different from my high school years. Working on this ePortfolio project has really helped me realize that in this past few months I’ve grown into a better person. My writing and reading skills have become a lot better than my senior year in high school. It did not really occur to me until the day that I received a 100% on a history paper. I then realized that I have great potential in writing; I just actually have to use my brain. While working on the ePortfolio project, I’ve gained greater knowledge and a skill that could be used later on in my future when it comes to making websites or blogs.
On part of working on this ePortfolio that I really enjoyed was the fact that I could choose whatever topic I wanted. I got to show the world what I really love and a little part of me. It really showed me the difference between myself now and when I was in high school. The high school me made music just for the fun of it; I made music because everyone was “trying” to make music. I did not fall in love with music until my senior year of high school when I transferred schools. The people I made music with were not around me anymore as much as they used to be. It was then I realized how much I loved music. I realize now that if it were not for them I would not have been anywhere near where I am with my music now. That is why I made my blog about music and how music affects the human.
The hardest part about this project was the when I had to make the UNIV 150 page. It was not because that page was hard, but it was because I was afraid to show the world my first college essay. I did not think my essay was worthy enough to potentially be shown to the whole world let alone my classmates. I later realized that I was to add m final and revised version of the essay. That made me happy because it would allow me to show my growth with my writing. Even though it was not my best paper, it still had major improvements.
I am excited to see where my college career takes me in these next three years of life. There will be a lot of trials and errors, but at the end of the day that would make me a better person. I hope to grow and learn from all of my professors. I plan to use all of my resources to do well my next semester; there is no reason for me not to do well. I am also excited to continue working on my ePortfolio so I can be a positive influence on the world around me.