Voice Thread

"When they [NASA] were soliciting applications for astronauts, they rejected people with pure histories of success and instead selected people who had had significant failures and bounced back from them" (Dweck 29).

Imagine that Poly has a selection philosophy similar to NASA's. You are applying to Poly as an incoming ninth grader and have been asked to write a short reflection of 250-300 words on a significant academic or school failure and how you bounced back. (Not your personal life.)

The roughest academic year for me was by far was my second grade year. It was my gonna be my first year with actual letter grades and like any other second grader, I stepped into the classroom on my first day of school with enough optimism to fill the room. I had big dreams. I was gonna be a president, major league baseball player, and astronaut all at the same time, but I should of known the moment I stepped into Mr. Tiu's class, that this would be my greatest challenge yet.

We were only a week in when I had my first homework assignment. At this point in my academic career I was not a huge fan of being held captive at school for six hours and then having to do work at home to bring the next day. Me, being the bright second grader I was, found a quick solution. After "leaving my homework at home" for the next three weeks or so I got my first progress report. These grades were probably not the best way to start my second grade year, but they were definitely the reality check I needed.

Image Credit: www.coffeyvillepl.org

After reviewing my grades and the percentages stapled with them, I realized that the homework I was not doing was affecting my grades significantly. I knew that if I wanted to one day reach my goals I would have to put the effort in not only in the classroom, but also everywhere I went. When I finally turned my first assignment in and saw the smile on Mr. Tiu's face, I knew that I would try my best to never miss another assignment again.