Madison Collins

EDL 246A
February 15, 2016
Autobiographical Sketch
I am Madison Collins. I am 19 years old. I come from a hard working Irish Catholic
family. I have six siblings and two dogs. I am an athlete. Im in a sorority. I am going to be a
teacher and I know my discourse, from my educational experience to my life experience is
something I will take into the classroom.
I attended a private Catholic K-8 school, very traditional in the sense of an existential
environment and curriculum. The school wasnt diverse and many people from my town would
consider it quite a sheltered upbringing. Success in school was equivalent to earning an A. The
essentialist curriculum trained us for this and my parents strengthen it by basing privileges such
as participation in sports, socialization and money on grades. This is amplified in society today.
All through high school it was engraved in my head that if I didnt get good grades, didnt score
well on the ACT, then I wont have a comfortable life. The teachers weren't evaluated based on
the students success, and I often was under the impression that they didnt care whether or not
we succeeded. I became very intrinsically motivated. Out of the 40 students in my grade about
half found some drive to do well in school, the other half never found that motivation and
struggled. We were largely independent starting in 5 th grade. The attitudes of my teachers forever
shaped my attitude about school and towards people. I think of school as a duty, not something
that needs to be enjoyed or loved for success.
My educational experience was extremely different in high school compared to grammar
school. I went to Evanston Township High School (ETHS), which was a public high school with
a little less then 4,000 students. The town I was from was highly diverse in socioeconomic status

and I think some of the main goals of the school were to keep kids in school and to meet the
standards set by the state. It was traditional in the sense that we had tracks to follow until
graduation marked by standardized testing. It was public because it was funded by the
government; ETHS was ran by a school board, superintended, principles, deans and so on that
would make life changing decisions for students, often without much student input. I didnt mind
this at all; I went to classes and learned what I needed to in order to continue on track. I was
also provided with the opportunity to become more engaged in our community through out of
school activities. Although, the education system was not structured to do this on its own, there
were supplementary programs to do so.
Reflecting upon my experiences now, with a little bit more insight on the educational
system, I can see major problems with both schools I attended. I thrived being given
independence by my teachers in grammar school because my parents were there when I got
home from school every day to help me with my work, discipline me when I fell short of my
goals and praised me when I met them. If a student didnt have a support system like I did they
would have an extremely difficult time. As a teacher I hope to challenge the students to work
things out on their own or with their peers, but also provide opportunities for them to take if they
need more support. In high school I didnt have an issue with tracking because I has at the top
and I my life was mapped out for me. For students between levels or at the bottom it wouldve
been extremely difficult for them to change their track and take control of their life path, if that
was what they wanted to do. When entering the classroom each day I want to have an open mind
and not limit my students with the possible assumptions that I could make or by the ability level
which theyve been placed.