Personal Qualities, Work Habits, And Attitudes 

Anyone who goes to ACLC will tell you that free periods are one of the most unique aspects of the school. By giving us the opportunity to decide how to use our time, it forces us to find the balance between schoolwork and fun.

 

Free periods have helped me develop valuable skills in both time management and collaboration. This has allowed me to balance taking classes at both ACLC and the local community college, as well as a part-time job. However, this didn’t happen overnight. When I first started middle school, many of my free periods were spent working on a variety of non-academic things, from playing board games to chatting with friends.

 

Over time, I learned how to better use my free periods and I became much more productive, including the time spent with friends. After finishing our work, we would spend whatever free time we had left teaching ourselves Scratch, a beginners programming language.

 

This skill of self-teaching has persisted throughout my academic career, leading me to teach myself a variety of different programming languages, as well as many other skills. This exploration has allowed me to discover what I enjoy doing, and what I’m hoping to pursue in the future.

 

New Basics

Science has always been one of my favorite subjects. Since the first grade I’ve consistently participated in my school’s science fair, and throughout the years it has always been a highlight. Exploring science through projects has allowed me to get a deeper understanding of the scientific method, and its use in real-world applications. Additionally, math has been another favorite of mine.

 

From a young age, I was curious about the ways in which things work, which drew me to math as there was always an underlying logic behind it. I’ve always tried to push myself by taking difficult math classes, and in the past year, I’ve taken Calculus one and two at the community college. They were notably the hardest classes I’ve taken, but at the same time, the most fulfilling.

 

This passion for math led me to pursue a part-time job at Mathnasium, a local math tutoring center. While working there, not only was I able to share my math skills, but I had a place to practice my communication skills as well. This skill has proved to be consistently useful in day-to-day life. Not only has it increased my confidence in public speaking, but it has also improved my persuasive writing skills. 

 

Thinking and Reasoning Skills 

If difficult work is the vehicle that drives people to learn, then learning strategies and problem-solving are the gas that fills the tank. ACLC knows this, and from the sixth grade, helps you develop the skills that work best for you. When I first came to ACLC, I had no idea what a learning strategy was, or why it was important.

 

However, I quickly learned that to be successful, I needed to have a plan, and over the years I have built up a multitude of strategies to help me get through even the toughest classes. I did this by looking at what did and didn't work for me, and tried to play to my strengths. I’ve always struggled with learning languages, and when evaluating my learning strategy, I realized it relied heavily on memorization, which worked very poorly.

 

When I switched to a strategy based more on patterns, and pattern recognition, I saw a quick improvement. This basic principle is simple yet extremely effective, not only in school, but in many other aspects of day-to-day life.

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Interpersonal Abilities

Since starting at ACLC, I have learned a ton about how to be both a good leader and team member. The multitude of projects I have completed over the years have taught me the many roles one can take, and how to fulfill each to benefit the group during a project. However, while this has helped me on many occasions, easily the most important Interpersonal skill I have learned during my time here has been acceptance. While it seems obvious, simply reaching out to members can turn a whole group dynamic around. It is extremely easy to be quick to judge, but I've found that more often than not, people are willing to put in the work, they just sometimes need someone to reach out. This simple principle has helped me in more ways than I can count, and is easily one of the most useful skills I’ve learned at ACLC.

  

 

Technology 

Over my past 7 years at ACLC, technology is arguably the skill I’ve improved at the most. In 6th grade, I was able to create a Google doc, and little more. However, through a mixture of online projects, and self-exploration, I have honed my skills in programs such as Google Slides, and Jupiter Ed., helping me both stay organized and give my presentations some extra flair.

 

In addition to the skills required for the classroom, I have also been able to apply technology to make my life easier by automating repetitive tasks. This includes things such as utilizing spreadsheets to send hundreds of personalized emails in an instant, to creating simple web scrapers to collect large amounts of data for school projects. Overall, throughout the years I’ve gained a considerable amount of valuable skills that have, and will continue to help me in our increasingly technology-driven world. 

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Conclusion

As my time at ACLC comes to a close, I have nothing but the utmost gratitude for everyone who made it what it was. Throughout the years, both Facilitators and Learners have come and gone, and each one of them has helped shape who I am today. So, for anyone reading this, whether part of my class, a facilitator, or anyone else: as I say goodbye to the school, thank you.

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