When it comes to my upbringing, as a small child I had a pretty "normal" one for a boy. I spent my days hanging out with my friends fishing and swimming and playing baseball. One part of my childhood that I am especially grateful for, are the times spent going to school at Apponaug Christian Academy, in Warwick Rhode Island.
Apponaug was a private school, entirely funded by the church my parents attended "Apponaug Pentecostal Church". Apponaug was a really great private school. Our little school never had more than about 100 kids, usually graduated as many as 12 people and as few as 1 in one year. This school was unique in comparison to the traditional schools in the area, Apponaug used the A.C.E. curriculum. A.C.E. stands for Accelerated Christian Education.
A.C.E is a unique style of learning, my school set the standards high. Almost everyone who went to this school went to college as you had to maintain an %80 or higher grade or you fail. We were taught that we could be the best. This wasn't a normal school where you sat with 30 or so kids at a desk and listened and followed a teacher, in this school everyone from 3rd grade to 12th grade were in the same room, a big room no smaller than you average conference room, beneath our church. We all had out own "offices" which were cubicles against the wall with red and blue particle wood dividers. Directly in from of our faces were a cork board which we all were allowed to decorate in our own unique ways, these cork boards also held a card about 12" across with stars all over it,and a 6 inch card, about the size of an index card, which stated our goals for the week.
As we went about our week we were to complete was was called a "P.A.C.E" 3 times a quarter to finish the required 12 P.A.C.E. requirement to complete one grade's requirements and to pass on to the next grade. As you completed a P.A.C.E. and maintained your 80% "score" you would receive a star color coordinated to the subject studied and if you got an "A" you were given a sticker with a cartoon or something on it. This school was work at your own pace and some kids Star Charts were riddled with stars as you could see and track how quickly you were finishing each grade. It was not uncommon for students to graduate at 16 years old and I was always a year ahead when I finally attended the public school system.
In the center of our "Learning Center" there were tables where we went to take final exams, we were watched more thoroughly come test time. We also had 2 large tables, sort of like 6 ft long 2 sided easels where we would take all of our quiz's and work and grade our own material in red pen. Everything we did was overlooked by a Principle a Supervisor and Monitors who circulated the center and answered our questions when we placed a "FLAG" up on one of our dividers. If you wanted to talked to a Supervisor or the Principal, you would insert a Christian Flag in the hole in the top of your divider. If you wanted to talk to a Monitor, you would place an American Flag.
A Monitor was able to give you permission to do things like go to the bathroom or go "score" your work, a monitor could explain basic details to you and listen to you read material. A Supervisor was the Boss. The Supervisors were the closest thing to a teacher in this independent learning environment. With the completion of each P.A.C.E. you were required to write an essay explaining what you leaned. The Supervisor was the one who graded your essays and screened you to make sure that you were really working and not plagiarising. Supervisors also would grade your test and assist you with any science experiments that require lab work etc.
In our P.A.C.E. we studied all of the subjects that a normal school does. We studied Social Studies, English, Mathematics and Science. We were taught that Creation was the way by little cartoon characters. In each P.A.C.E. we were taught a moral lesson by these little characters with names like "Pudge and Ace" These characters grew up as we grew up and as life's problems got bigger and puberty hit, these little cartoons gave us lessons that catered to the doctrine of the church. It was all pretty simple though, we were never taught about abortion or sex. IT was a very independent learning evironment for us to prepare ourselves for college, one that proved to be both a blessing and a curse for me as I began to further my education.
In addition to our basic daily academics, at A.C.S. we had a variety of other extra curricula activities that were in a classroom setting. I was able to attend Creative Writing classes, Drama and Theatre Class, Music and Voice Lessons, We had a class called "Field Biology" where we actually built a tiny little Eco_System out of living things that we found outside and kept in a fish tank. If we played a musical instrument we had band practice and I took Latin. These classes were my favorite of all of the classes because no matter what level you were in your studies, you were able to work directly with people in higher grades who were more advanced than you.
One thing to note about A.C.S. was the Reading class. In "Reading" class we were to sit in an little cubicle or "office" with a little metal, red machine. IN the machine you would feed long pieces of papers which contained the text to various stories and literature, depending on how advanced you were in your education. What you did was you fed the giant pieces of paper into these funny little red machines and you set a speed. The speed counted WPM or Words Per Minute and as you read the text off of the paper, you would view it in a little window, forcing you to read at the speed which the machine is set for. After reading your story you were tested on conprenhension and spelling and as you achieved a "B" or 80% or higher your speeds were increased. I believe that those reading classes have something to do with my love for written words as an adult and also feel that they taught me to absorb what I read a little more than most.
My little school was wonderful. We had the Olympics every year where we were able to compete with other A.C.E. schools on Olympic events such as Archery or Shot Put. Every year we would send a team off to the Olympic Convention and they would come back with trophies and medals representing our tiny school.
Previously in my life I was not happy with my education at that school. After 8th grade I was put into the public school system. High School and college proved to be difficult for me, not because I was incapable of learning, but because my whole style of learning was very different from my peers. In a classroom setting I often got bored and felt unchallenged and would skip classes and work on my own in the library, always passing, but barely ever attending. It was a joke to me. I was very confused as to why I had all of those problems when I was young, but now i know that I was taught how to learn in an entirely different way. What a great curriculum it really was.
As an adult I am noticing that my hunger for knowledge is ever present. I enjoy studying and reading, just for the fun of it and I recreationally read a lot of the things that your family members may be reading in their college courses. I have attended 4 schools, but I was always left uninterested and with the exception of a few professors I felt unchallenged most of the time. Now as I focus on my learning style and see that because of my training at A.C.S. I am just a different type of learner, I am thinking about enrolling back in school in a less traditional learning environment, such as online classes. I think that A.C.S. taught us to be the best, to shoot for excellence, truly and I feel like at 30 years old I am now ready to sharpen my skills and seek something a little bigger in my life.
In reading the words that I am currently tapping into this keyboard I am learning to be thankful for that tiny little school in Warwick, RI. Even though I may not agree with all of the philosophy that came across the board at that school, I was taught to be strong and to be be an independent learner. The system basically built me into the student of life I am and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
!!~tilly
****FOR MORE INFO ABOUT A.C.E. schooling visit
http://www.aceministries.com/Default.aspx
