a really solid foundation, so you’ll be ready for all the new interests you’ll want to study later. Raja took a hard look at his high school preparation as soon as he got to campus.
» I didn’t speak formal Arabic, I spoke colloquial Arabic. So when I got to college, I took a couple Arabic language classes, and I’m still taking them. And it’s expanded my whole language in Arabic, so more people from the Arab world can understand me, no matter where they’re from. – R A J A
» I didn’t really learn anything from high school. When I entered college, I just basically started from scratch. In Cleveland public schools, you
Look for courses where the teaching style meets your needs.
probably learn more about street smarts than book smarts. It was fun and
Raja needed more of his classes to draw him in and motivate him somehow, as his language classes did. In his first two years, he had several disappointing experiences in large impersonal lecture courses.
I was second in my class. But I would say we were cheated out of a good education at that school. – R A J A
Karen Powless started at a state university in Oklahoma, many years after she graduated from high school and became a mother.Taking remedial classes gave her more confidence about joining the academic scene.
» I went in there with the idea, “I had so many years out, and I know I’m rusty, math and English is not my best thing. But if I want to be a successful student, I’m going to have to brush up. Maybe I’ll learn something I’ve never learned before.” There has to be a little bit of humbleness there, because we’re not all study-minded. So I didn’t feel bad taking basic math or Comp 1. You hold your head up, because at least you’re doing it! – K A R E N
Naixing Lei came to San Francisco at sixteen from China, speaking no English. He graduated from high school and enrolled in community college classes, but he knew his limited English would make his progress more difficult. So he shopped around for the classes best suited for students like him.
» On the very first day I go to the class, I sit there and take a look at my surroundings. If I find that every student looks like American-born, I know maybe this class is going to be heavy, difficult, because they all speak English. I pick another course instead. – N A I X I N G
During his first year, Naixing found a writing course tailored for English language learners. Later he grew more comfortable participating in classes that demanded more fluency in his new language. On the other hand, you may find that you are more advanced than other students in certain subjects.
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F I R S T I N T H E FA M I LY
» I got bored with the whole experience. I’ve had intro classes with 800, 900 people. The professors are not going to remember my face, they’re not going to remember my name, and my grades dropped because of that. When I finally got into my major, my grades started picking up. The classes become smaller, and a teacher will notice you if you come or not. Teachers start opening up to you, they tell you about their experiences. – R A J A
Your college courses will expose you to many different teaching styles.You won’t always get a choice—for example, most majors require at least one large introductory lecture course. But you can balance out your course load so that you are always taking something that works well for you. Here are some of the possibilities: • A very large lecture where the professor delivers information and students take notes, with no time allowed for questions • A “section meeting,” where a teaching assistant works with a smaller group of students who are enrolled in a large lecture class • A smaller lecture, where the professor mostly talks but also asks and answers some questions of students • A laboratory where students work in small groups to conduct scientific investigations, with the professor or teaching assistant acting as their coach • A discussion seminar, where up to twenty students discuss the assigned reading or writing with each other and the professor
I T ’ S YO U R T I M E
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