Xavier Otero says Middle College PBATs made him collaborative and future-focused
Xavier Otero, a senior at Middle College High School, says traditional middle school made him shy and test-driven. At consortium school he wrote a social studies PBAT on Elon Musk and government power, became more collaborative, and plans to become a firefighter.
Hello, Chair Dinowitz and members of council.
My name is Xavier Otero, and I'm a senior at Middle College High School, which is located on the LaGuardia Community College campus in Long Island City.
Middle College is a school of the consortium.
Middle College's system of performance assessment is helping me with all the portfolio
portrait of graduate component, but I want to focus on how it made me an effective communicator and reflective and future focused.
I came to middle college from a very traditional middle school where the classes were test driven and focused on passing the regents exams in eighth grade.
Because I was good at math and computer science, and because of all my classes were focused on individual work, I assumed my future job would be sitting alone in a room, working for a company.
I was very shy and nervous to talk to others, especially grown-ups.
My outlook completely changed at Meadow College, where my ideas and personal...
Individual personality was taken seriously.
Teachers focused on pushing students'individual passions.
I was also allowed to make choices about what I wanted to study and focus on.
I wrote my social studies PBAT on how entrepreneurs like Elon Musk should not be given power in government, such as Doge.
In our classes, we are expected to work with our peers.
Teachers frequently refuse to answer questions, telling us to talk to each other to struggle out our confusions.
It had pushed me out of my comfort zone, but made me a more collaborative thinker and made me more
confident and advocating for myself.
This new independence and freedom made me feel excited for what I learned because I chose what I learned.
I've also built skills of planning long-term projects like PBATS, organizing the paper, managing deadlines, and so on.
The freedom also allowed me to plan for the future and take classes that would help me most.
I am enrolled in several college classes and plan to get my associate's degree.
I no longer see myself alone in a room.
I now work in the community helping others.
I plan to become a firefighter and perhaps get a degree in psychology.
And I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Thank you.
Thank you, Xavier.
Next speaker.