Jason Camron, a teenager born and raised in the Bay Area, is pursuing a more fulfilling route through non-traditional education. Camron took an unconventional schooling route and has bounced around to many different types of alternative and general schools. He’s attended the Waldorf Peninsula School as well as Blach Middle School, Mountain View High School, and he currently attends Foothill Middle College. By attending a variety of alternative schools, Camron is actively proving that alternative education has benefits even for mainstream students.
Introduction
PART One
Sixteen-year-old Jason Camron appears in many ways to be an aver age high school student: he is tall, athletic, and sports dark brown hair. Outside of class , he spends most of his time on the golf course. Camron has been on the Mountain View High School g olf team all three years, and has been playing golf for most of his life, allowing him to tra vel to many places. His strong passion for engineering led him to take the engineering class at Mounta in View High School and enroll in the engineering program at Foothill Middle College. Currently, Camr on is fulling his needs for education by pursuing alternative education to gain the change in classwo rk as well as the change in environment.
Many people assume that alternative education is for “bad” stud ents. In “Reimagining Alternative Education,” Tesha Robinson explains, “alternative education is often associated with students who are at-risk and who display extreme misconduct.” Robinson emphasiz es the improvement in students when they switch to the alternative education, rather than staying i n the “normal” school route.
Camron, as a mainstream student, contradicts this stigma. Suza n Woolflolk, the Director of Alternative Education Programs at the Mountain View-Los Altos Union School District, claims that it is a brave jump to switch to these programs because it shows that you put your education first.” Camron clearly shows that he puts his education first. One example was when he left Mountain View High School to attend Foothill Middle College, by doing this and is actively s howing how he is taking back the negative stigma that alternative education gets. In fact, “Alternative schools have the potential to create a personalized educational experience for the student that is oft en not possible in another type of school setting, in particular, a local public school” (“Benefits of an Alternative School’’). Camron’s decision to pursue alternative education is a testament to the fact alte rnative education is different rather than “normal” school. Camron emphasizes that he “gets a new classro om every quarter. To change the environment.” This quote contrasts the normal school environme nt as you only move classrooms every year. When Camron arrives at Foothill each day he attends to his classes but each quarter he is experiencing a new setting to avoid the lack of reputation that he was receiving at Mountain View High. Also This show how these slight changes in the school environment and teaching ways help Camron learn.
PART TWO
Foothill Middle College is filled with a diverse range of people and age groups, so coming from a school with people all the same ages could be a hard adjustment. Camron claims that one of the hardest things that he had to do was adjusting to the social scene at Foothill. Camron feels that there is less community building at alternative schools, as most students at alternative schools are there to gain a more beneficial learning experience other than socializing. According to the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University, “Alternative education as not at all second-rate, but whose focus expands beyond the academic to consider the needs of the whole child— social, emotional, … support” (Cable et al.). This source shows how alternative education doesn’t just focus on the education but also the emotional state of the students. From talking to Camron he feels his typical school day is not as exciting compared to his time at Mountain View. Camron states, “I get my lunch and then I’ll go sit in my car and do homework because there’s not really anything else to do” ( Camron). Camron’s daily lunch routine at Foothill strongly contrasts his lunch experience when he was at Mountain View, as he would be with close friends during lunch rather than sitting alone in his car. Due to the fact that Foothill is a commuter campus, the Middle College experience sometimes lacks a strong social environment.
Next quarter Carmon will be taking English, Principles of Business and Chemistry. He is taking on a new load of classes next fall as he enters his senior year at Middle college. Nevertheless, Camron feels more confident in himself entering college the following year as he will have two more years of college classes under his belt than his peers at Mountain View.
By taking challenging courses, Camron is developing important critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills that will help him in his career path. It’s admirable to see him taking control of his education and making the most of his opportunities. With his strong work ethic and dedication to learning, he is setting himself up for success both academically and professionally. Also, alternative education offers an abundance of unique opportunities to explore different subjects and career paths that traditional education may not provide. By Camron taking advantage of these opportunities, he is acquiring a diverse range of skills and experiences. Ultimately, Jason’s dedication to his education and pursuit of his passions demonstrate the power of alternative education to help students reach their full potential through alternative education.
Owen Leahy is an 11th grader at Mountain View High School. Owen has an older brother, a mom and dad and two golden retrievers. He has dyslexia, which is a learning disability and has been dealing with this his whole life. Some of his core values in life are to always try his hardest in school. And always try to participate in class, and to be an advocate for himself and others. In his free time outside of school he likes to hang out with my friends and go to the beach or watch the sunset. Owen loves to go on runs with my two dogs around my neighborhood. Leahy is currently lifeguarding at the Palo Alto hills Country Club. Owen will contiune at Mountain View High School the remainder of his high shool experiance. Leahy plans on going to a four year college after high school.
