Bashir Juara describes path from Gambia to Cambridge via Internationals PBATs

Thank you, counsel.

My name is Bashir Juara.

I come from a country where education access is limited and where students attend different types of schools.

Growing up in the Gambia, I attended Madrasa, an Arabic school where the curriculum focused primarily on religious studies.

I had little exposure to English, science, history, or mathematics.

I moved to the United States in the summer of 2017.

I had one goal at the time, to enroll in American high school and learn English.

I vividly remember going with my uncle to Fordham Plaza to register for school.

I wanted to attend traditional American high school because one of my friends attended one at the time.

During the registration, the person assisting me trying to have basic conversation with me in English.

Although I understand some of what she was saying, I could not respond.

She paused for a minute and recommended International Community High School in the South Bronx, ICHS, explaining to my uncle that, given my level of English at the time, she did not believe I would thrive in traditional American high school.

The recommendation changed my life.

I arrived at ICHS largely unprepared for academic expectations of an American high school.

At the time, I was only confident writing my full name in English, nothing else.

I still remember being introduced to algebra in 10th grade and seeing equations with

X's and Y's instead of just numbers.

I remember thinking, this can't be math.

I had barely learned addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in Arabic, and suddenly I was being asked to solve algebraic equations.

It was intimidating at the time, but ICHS did not treat what I like as limitation.

Instead, my teachers saw potential and gave me support and encouragement to develop as a thinker and learner.

Ms.

Cora, my first English teacher, introduced me to reading and writing through Greek mythology.

I was fascinated by the stories because they were different to what I have encountered in Marabic studies.

At the time, I was struggling to read and write.

Ms.

Cora was patient with me, encouraging me.

First time was writing full sentences and paragraphs in English.

She recognized my curiosity and pushed me to express my ideas even when I was struggling.

And similarly, my mathematics experience was equally transparent.

With Ms.

Kwame's encouragement, I began writing on performance-based assignment tasks known as PBAT, exploring Zeno's paradox and relationship between finite and infinite.

At first, I struggled to understand the problem, but the project gave me something I had rarely experienced in school before.

Permission to be curious, ask questions, experiment, and find my path towards an answer.

To become observing the project that I would work on equations in the train between work and school.

I explored decimals, developed equations, and eventually wrote more than 20 pages.

I presented my research before a panel, explained how I developed

developed my equation, defended my research findings, and connected abstract mathematic problem to broader equations about real life, including Nelson Mandela's struggle to freedom for justice in South Africa.

If you could just summarize your last point.

Yes, I will.

Thank you.

I know it's a long one.

But to summarize, the consortium school experience has given me an opportunity and made me the learner I think I am today.

I just recently graduated from University of Cambridge with my master's in philosophy in development studies, international development studies.

And without the consortium experience at International Community High School, I don't think I would be here.

And I think my path would have been completely different.

I am really grateful for the experience.

Thank you.