Born on the 28thof July 1997 in East Vancouver I grew up in a city experiencing an identity crisis, and at a time where the education system was undergoing the same transition. My relationship with academia and the‘’intellectual” world is complex but nonetheless worth telling, as my experiences through elementary, high-school and now post-secondary centre around a mind struggling with the challenges of the education system and striving to find a path that is best suited to me. As a child I attended Lord Nelson Elementary school. The years I spent at this institution would prove to be some of the most negative, and detrimental. At an early age I was diagnosed with a flurry of different learning “disabilities” (air quotes were put on that word to emphasise my discontent with that term, and the negative connotation that comes with it), the effect of these diagnoses during my pre-formative years, the ages five through thirteen, would prove to be devastating. The city I was growing up in, and myself, were thrown into a crisis of identity. For me, this was perpetuated by the constant stereotype of being cast as one type of learner or another. Mixed ages learning (MAT) is a class at lord nelson; the elementary school equivalent of a mini school geared towards gifted learners. The MAT class was a place I would call home for a part the year. Another place I un-affectionately called home during my elementary school years was the Adapted Classes Room (ACR). The words adapted, and modified, are both words that have become ubiquitous within the academic lexicon in the last twenty years, these words describe a class structure that is not only slowed in pace but severely less engaging. After seven years of having been re-labeled, un-engaged and separated from the general population my experience in primary school left me with a feeling of self-doubt and instilled the idea that I was quite possibly an unintelligent individual.
Over the course of my first three years in high school what I experienced followed suit with that of what had occurred during my time at Lord Nelson Elementary School. In June of 2013, I left Templeton Secondary to begin a new chapter in my own academic career. I found myself attending Windsor House School in September of 2013. Windsor House is a democratically run public school under the jurisdiction of the Gulf Island School Board, but located on the Northshore of Vancouver. Windsor house is often referred to as a ‘free school’, where the ages of children attending range from kindergarten to grade twelve, almost all classes within the high school are diverse in age groups, and the schools primary focus is to provide students with a space to learn and grow. It was here at Windsor House that I learned of the un-inclusive nature of our modern education system. We are taught that education is linear, that a textbook is meant to be read front to back, starting with the first chapter and ending with the last, and anything that deviates from this formula is sheer lunacy. However, for millions of aspiring young minds around the world, including myself, this structure simply does not work. The educational funnel is far too narrow, and the students that fall outside of it often land in a world that is confusing and hard to navigate. The world that I landed in was neither confusing nor hard to navigate. Windsor house school equipped me with the tools necessary to succeed and excel in my academic and creative endeavours. If I were to understand the world around me, I first needed to gain an understanding of myself. After having obtained a perception of how my cognitive mind works, I was able to go on and excel in many areas of study. Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing it is stupid”. I am by no means a genius, but I came dangerously close to living my whole life believing I was stupid. Education operates on a beautifully vast spectrum, encompassing a wonderfully diverse amount of different learning styles. The fact that our current education system does not cater to all these diverse styles and cerebral types forces one to ponder the idea that perhaps this archaic approach to learning is overdue for a change. I was lucky enough to find sanctuary in a world so hostile to abnormality, but for the people not so fortunate the options are limited.
After matriculating from high school, I took a three-year hiatus from school to join the workforce and save money to pay for further higher-level education. During these years my lived experiences gave me a broader sense of the world and led myself to a conclusion of what it was I yearned to study at post-secondary. During my time working in some of Vancouver’s most affluent districts while at the same time volunteering in some of its poorest, I began to realize that my time would be best spent trying to further my understanding of why there is such a stark divide in the world, and especially in Downtown Vancouver, between the rich and the poor.
As I embark on the newest chapter of my academic career, what lies on the horizon is full of opportunity. The world is an often unfair and intimidating place, but for me it is also my oyster. With pen in hand and my heart on my sleeve, I lunge forward to receive whatever this world might have to throw at me. The grip of Cynicism can be tight, but never before in my life have my lungs breathed with such a refreshing sense of idealism than during my first three weeks at Capilano University.