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Nadia Sharpe

Mrs. Griffin

UWRIT1101

Februray 14th, 2017

The Development Of Nadias Mind

Throughout my 12 years in the North Carolina public school system a specific format of

writing was embedded in my head which was altered dramatically as I progressed in my

education. Alongside writing, my reading abilities have been modified to only get multiple

choice questions right as oppose to reading for pure knowledge. While in elementary school I

was blessed with the opportunity of going to a small school whose primary focus was my

education rather than how they could benefit. At Partnership Elementary School I received a

tremendous amount of help from teachers whose goals were to see their students excel. The

reading portion of school required us adolescents to read picture books which helped us better

understand the concept, and if the material was too challenging wed have to do one on one

sessions with our teachers. The reading component of literacy was tested with timed multiple

choice questions that quizzed us on the main points, main character, plot placement, theme and

more literacy elements. My primary school teachers required me to plot my thoughts on paper in

the 5 step house diagram which included a topic paragraph, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion

paragraph. This format was easy and effective for me.

Middle school followed Elementary and the stakes were higher. These three years were

focused mainly on extending the length of our writing instead of broadening our vocabulary.

Reading became increasingly harder and the qualifications to get the comprehension questions

right were raised. This portion of school introduced benchmarks and the EOGTS (end of grade
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test) which were test for each class to see how much students retained throughout the school year

and at the end of the school year. Everything I had learned became more intense and harder for

me to excel although it was achievable.

Entering high school there was a lot expected of me, the stakes were higher, and I

received less help from my teachers. High school was considered to be more independent work

and it was hard to succeed unless I took initiative to go the extra mile to receive help. In the tenth

grade we were taught a more in depth version of the argumentative 5 paragraph writing format

which was more called the M.E.A.L. The M in meal stood for main idea, the E stood for

evidence, The A stood for analysis, and the L stood for lead out. This structure was to ensure we

wrote in the exact format our writing department desired. Writing in this institutional method my

story fit their precise lay out. The reading was a challenge as well because the texts were longer

followed by in depth questions which all had to be completed within a strict time frame. High

school also included the ACT and SAT which were college entry exams that contained timed

reading math, and science questions and a writing portion with less resources than a typical test

given by a teacher; these exams required an abundance of studying and sometimes required

students to pay for tutors, I specifically paid a thousand dollars for a tutor. while preparing for

college entry exams I found it difficult to study and ended up taking each college entry exam

three times. I continuously studied for these exams and barely made a passing score. At this point

I knew I had a problem learning. I made an appointment to see a therapist and later found out I

suffer from attention deficit disorder also known as ADD, which means its extremely difficult

for me to complete a task that someone with a normal learning pattern can complete with no

problem. I started coping mechanisms and taking prescription drugs to help better my focus, I

also received accommodations from my school such as allowing me to test longer than my peers,
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take a test with my headphones in, and test in solitude. This disorder made it very hard for me to

succeed and made me question my chances of doing well in college and developing more skills

to ensure my achievement for the next four years in school. I know I these next four years will be

challenging and I may question my purpose in being here but I know its achievable because Ive

dealt with it for the last 12 years.