First and Second Grade
The beginning of my educational career didn't look bright for me. My mom blamed this on the public school I begged her to go to for first grade. I wanted to be in school with all the neighborhood kids. I went to a montessori school before entering first grade, therefore going to a public school classroom was a huge change of pace for my parents and I. It was really hard for me to learn in this classroom due to the fact that it was very different than the montessori learning. My mom pulled me out of this school as soon as she could. I began second grade at St. John Lutheran with
Mrs. Gopigian. Mrs. Gopigian was a true inspiration to me. I became very close to her throughout the year because she gave me an abundance of attention and encouragement in my writing. I remember being assigned a book report where I had to write a monologue, pretending to be the main character of the book. To do this project, I picked my favorite book at the time, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. I worked on this monologue for days on end trying to perfect it because I knew I had to present this in front of the class. This was my first memorable encounter with writing. I loved this book and wanted to display that in my presentation. Every night I set time aside to work on this with my mom at our kitchen table. My mom always made sure that my homework was done correctly, thorough, and that my handwriting was neat. She erased letters if they didn't look presentable and I would have to rewrite them. Some nights I sat at that kitchen table for hours on end completing homework that met my mom's expectations. This was always very frustrating to me and ended up in several temper tantrums. Nevertheless, my mom had good intentions and my monologue turned out the best in the class. Mrs. Gopigian loved my presentation and requested that she filmed it. I was very excited that she used my hard work as an example to other students.
Mrs. Gopigian. Mrs. Gopigian was a true inspiration to me. I became very close to her throughout the year because she gave me an abundance of attention and encouragement in my writing. I remember being assigned a book report where I had to write a monologue, pretending to be the main character of the book. To do this project, I picked my favorite book at the time, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. I worked on this monologue for days on end trying to perfect it because I knew I had to present this in front of the class. This was my first memorable encounter with writing. I loved this book and wanted to display that in my presentation. Every night I set time aside to work on this with my mom at our kitchen table. My mom always made sure that my homework was done correctly, thorough, and that my handwriting was neat. She erased letters if they didn't look presentable and I would have to rewrite them. Some nights I sat at that kitchen table for hours on end completing homework that met my mom's expectations. This was always very frustrating to me and ended up in several temper tantrums. Nevertheless, my mom had good intentions and my monologue turned out the best in the class. Mrs. Gopigian loved my presentation and requested that she filmed it. I was very excited that she used my hard work as an example to other students.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade
My father's job was transferred to Sao Paulo, Brazil, therefore my family and I moved down there to be with him for the next few years. For grades 3-5 I attended an international American school called Graded, or Associação Escola Graduada de São Paulo. Graded is a very different school. It's all outdoors and had all grades from preschool to 12th grade. A typical day at this school entailed all the core subjects then an hour of Portuguese class. All the American's would go upstairs to a beginner class, while the Brazilians stayed in the classroom for an advanced class. Portuguese class was my favorite class of the day. I remember going upstairs to my beginner class and asking so many questions to my teacher about the culture, the country, the people, and so much more. I took full advantage of this class and became a fluent Portuguese speaker. Kids in my regular class always thought I was Brazilian by my accent and my fluency for the language. I learned Portuguese different than anyone I know. I spoke in slang, just like the other kids did on the playground. I didn't know "correct" grammar or verb tenses. I modeled from others at school and said what sounded right to me. Due to the lack of grammar in my speaking, it was difficult for me to write in Portuguese because there are words/ sounds you might say when speaking, but wouldn't write down in sentences. These words/ sounds include something like "um" or "eh". Writing in Portuguese was very difficult for me, however so was writing in English, so I didn't get too upset about it. Living in another country was the best experience I've ever had and recommend it to anyone.