The Panther Post: Taila’s Primavera Story

The Panther Post features work from talented Primavera students with a love for the arts.

We recently received a story from 11th grader Talia Tate. She shared with us her experience in switching to Primavera. Her essay was so well-thought through and inspiring, that we couldn’t help but share it.

Here’s her story:

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved school. From buying school supplies to meeting the teacher to doing the homework – I love all of it. Learning new things and expanding my knowledge on concepts I already knew of has just always been something that interested me. I had a really amazing kindergarten teacher who instilled in me a love for reading. Since then I’ve been a bookworm, always looking for new books to read, new worlds to explore. It’s a big part of who I am.

When I was younger, I was very hardworking. I loved going above and beyond the teacher’s expectations and strived to get the best grades possible. About halfway through second grade, I took two tests. One for second grade, and one for third grade. I remember having a talk with my second grade teacher and my mom over my test-scores. I ended up doing better on the third grade test than the second grade test and as result, finished the remainder of the school year as a third grader.

I really liked elementary school. My older brother and cousin went to my school prior to me so I knew a lot of the teachers. I even had some of the same teachers they had which was pretty awesome. You’re only in elementary school so long though. Eventually, you have to move on up to middle school. At first, I was excited to take on a new school and meet new teachers, but then it all became overwhelming. For starters, the local middle school was much, much larger than my previous school. It was easy to get lost, and I did. Also, students from elementary schools across the whole city went there. It was a lot more people than I was used to. Add-on three locker combinations to remember and a dislocated knee (that’s another story)…It was all just too much to handle.

In addition to all that, I wasn’t doing very well academically. It felt like I was learning the same things over and over and over again. I wasn’t being challenged. Because of all of these contributing factors, I started homeschooling after six weeks of sixth grade.

I absolutely loved homeschooling. At the time, my mom was a stay-at-home mom and it worked really well. During the period of time in which I homeschooled, my mom and I got closer and I learned a lot. Later though, she had to start working again. This was hard on me. I had become very dependent on her with my schooling. When she wasn’t there, I didn’t work nearly as hard. As a result, my seventh and eighth grade years were not my best.

In 2017, my family decided to move from Illinois to Arizona in order to take care of my mom’s parents. We had been visiting since 2008, so I was really excited to finally live here. Many of my friends in Arizona attended Primavera and really liked it. Hearing their comments on Primavera moved me to do some research of my own. I liked the idea of six-week long courses and actual teachers and classmates. I was really excited when my first day at Primavera finally came around.

However, adjusting from homeschooling to an online school was more challenging than I thought it would be. I had gotten used to the structure of homeschooling. Although I was excited to have teachers and classmates again, I found communicating with them to be a challenge. Time management and prioritizing were, and still are, problems for me as well. I fell behind in my courses a lot. Once, I was so behind I had to complete 2 weeks worth of lessons in 5 days. That didn’t go so well…. Many times I felt like giving up or like Primavera wasn’t the right school for me. I even considered going back to public school. This was a very stressful time for me.

Every time I considered switching to another school, whether that be online or public, something always brought me back to Primavera, the support. Every teacher I’ve had at Primavera so far has been so supportive and helpful. They want to see me succeed. I feel like they care for the class as a whole, but also for me as an individual. Whenever I need help understanding a problem or concept, I know I can go to them and they’ll be patient with me as they explain whatever it is I’m not getting.

My guidance counselor is another person who has been super supportive and helpful. As with any other youth, I  have had to make many decisions regarding my life after high-school. I’m a very indecisive person and making big decisions makes me anxious. My guidance counselor, however, has made the process so much easier. He always makes sure I have all the information I need to make an important decision and explains things to me in a way that I can understand. Thanks to him, I definitely feel more confident and happy with my future.

Has my time with Primavera so far been easy? No. However, it has been worth all the effort I’ve put into it. I feel like I have learned so much already in the short time I’ve been with Primavera. I also feel like I have grown a lot as a person. I’ve learned the importance of discipline, time management, communication and also of having a good support group. Although it hasn’t always been easy, I am very happy to be a student at Primavera. I think it’s a great fit for me and my lifestyle. If anyone is looking for an online middle or high school program that will provide them with an excellent curriculum and amazing teachers, I’d tell them to look no farther than Primavera.