Educational Autobiography 

Aiden Austin 

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 

EDS 203: School, Society, and Teachers 

Professor Diane Block 

March 24, 2023 

 
 In a world of many diverse things, one commonality that is found amongst people is that

education is a huge part of their lives. Whether it be learning from your parents or guardians, or

through an education system. The ironic aspect of the commonality we all have is that everyone's

experiences are different within it. Not everyone gets the same kind of education or gets the most

out of it. Depending on where you are born or move to, your school district or community, your

home life, your teachers or even classmates are all factors in how education affects someone. It is

always interesting to listen to all the different stories about their education that peers around me

have. Every time I hear a story, I compare it to what my experience was like. That is just what

this paper will explain. This is my educational autobiography. 

I grew up here in La Crosse. There are over 52,000 people with the vast majority being

white. About 90% of the population being white so there is not much diversity here. The next

highest percent was Asian, then right behind them was black. I knew that this city was

predominantly white, but I was a little surprised by how much the gap was. For this city’s

median household income, it is about 47,000. I am not exactly too sure how this compares to

other places but my view on the city itself is that it is just an average looking one. It does not

have these insane new looking buildings or houses. Sure, there are some spots that look visually

pleasing and look expensive but there are other places that are the complete opposite.  The look

of the city to me fits the amount of earnings each household brings in. Some other city facts

include that 70% of the people are in the same house that they lived in the previous year and for

each household there are 2.17 people living in it. About 95 percent of all people that are older

than 25 have graduated from High School or better. That fact did surprise me. I just feel like that

is a high number but then again it is just graduating high school so maybe it should even be
higher. That said, this is a good transition into what my schools were about. I attended State

Road Elementary, Lincoln Middle School, then Central High School. I was in the majority of

classification at all the schools. I am a white male that comes from a middle-class family. For

State Road, I am using the most recent year because the data does not go back as far as when I

was attending there. The grades go from pre-k to 5th grade. It has 76% of the students white, 6%

Asian, and 4% black. There are also 44% of the students who come from economically

disadvantaged families. The overall score was 64.5. As for the middle school, Lincoln’s overall

score in 2011 was 71. The grades are 6th to 8th and 69% of the people were white, 14.5% were

Asian and 11.4% were black. Compared to the other middle schools in the district, at the time,

Lincoln was the most diverse and also had more kids economically disadvantaged. They also had

the highest overall score, beating the other two out by 5 and 8 points. Lastly for the High School,

their score was low at 61.4 in 2016. The grades were 9th to 12th. There was 1078 people enrolled

and 91% of the students graduated. 76.8 % of the students were white, 8.3% Asian, and 5.4%

Black. For the overall School District of La Crosse their score was 62.3 with 6812 students

attending. 72.8% were white, 9.7% Asian, 4.6% black and 8% that are two or more races.

Comparing the districts demographic to the overall city’s is interesting. As the overall city has 90

percent of the population white, the district only has 72%. Then the minorities have a higher

percentage in the school district compared to the city. Within our school district there is 11

elementary schools, 4 middle schools and 2 high schools. The low salary is 43,000, the average

is 61,000 and the highest is 86,000. There are 1509 people in 2021-2022 hired in the La Crosse

School district. In my own assessment of the school district, I think it is adequate. The scores say

a lot about it. I thought my high schools score would be higher because they push for everyone to

get high grades so that they can graduate. They allow corrections to be made to tests or
homework so you can boost your grade. I guess that works for the grades but for the big tests it

doesn’t.  (Stats from this section all come from WISEdash public portal - department of public

instruction and U.S. Census Bureau quickfacts: United States)

School is a major part of our lives. Comparing all three levels of schooling, I think

elementary was the best and the best for me. Next would be High School as I had more fun in

high school but there were a lot of ups and downs throughout. Lastly would be middle school.

Elementary school was a place where a person like me could thrive. I was an athlete growing up

and I feel like if you were a good athlete in elementary school, you were doing all right socially.

For that age, that aspect of being highly regarded was nice and not that popularity really means

anything (personally I don’t think it does at all especially now) but I believe the more you are

socially comfortable, the more you can succeed in the classroom. The reason this is brought up is

because now looking back at it, I was in a healthier state of mind. I was less anxious, more

sociable and cared less about what people thought or did around me, which helped me in school

then. I had great teachers from start to finish in elementary which also helped. Our classes were

not too big where you felt like you were lost. Usually had 2 classes per grade and the overall

environment was good. It is hard for me to remember any other real key details or content that

we did in elementary because it was just so long ago. Middle school was a 180. Meeting more

people and becoming more anxious and less social/outgoing made it tougher. I did not have a

great experience with my first two teachers and that set the tone for middle school. People

became more cliquey, and I found myself more on the outside. In elementary school we did not

have much diversity at all, which was a change when we got to middle school. I personally hung

out with minority students the most in middle school which in a way made me feel like I was in
the minority. When I would sit by my Asian friends at lunch, they would go back in forth using

English and Hmong. This was an eye opener to me being exposed to a new culture and language.

Like I mentioned I was not in many diverse situations before and in class the Asian students

wouldn’t speak Hmong. I can vividly remember one of my best friends in middle school calling

his mother on the phone during study hall, cautiously looking around before speaking, then

talking quietly in Hmong to her as if he didn’t want the rest of the class to hear that he was

talking in Hmong. I thought it was an interesting dynamic that he felt comfortable speaking

Hmong at lunch with me around but when in the classroom it was used quietly and discreetly. As

for the educational aspect in middle school, I struggled. I did not have amazing grades and I

honestly was not focused or determined to learn. It did not peak my interest to commit to

schoolwork. I am not sure if it was the social aspect or if it was just because I could not connect

with the teachers or classes. My favorite days were the ones where we had PE. That was always

a class where I could forget what was going on in school or life and just run around and have

fun. One memory that has stuck with to this day is something our woodshop teacher said. He was

talking about a student who had mild behavioral problems and didn’t take general classes

seriously whether it was because he couldn’t grasp the material or that he just didn’t care to learn

it. But in his woods class he was the best student. He was the most efficient and cared about the

work he put in. He was usually the first one done and clearly made the best product. Him talking

about this student shifted my perspective on education at a young middle school age. His

teachers in math and science probably thought that this kid would go on and not do well because

of how he treated those classes and school, but he was a totally different student in woodshop. I

bring this up for a couple reasons. Firstly, I can compare this to myself for the most part with PE.

Differently I enjoyed science and math but like that student really enjoyed and exceled in one
class. The other reason I brought it up and will be more relevant while talking about high school

is that I felt like our system/culture wasn’t made for students like him where if he doesn’t enjoy

school but likes trade jobs/construction that it is ok to go that route. There is a stigma around not

going to college and honestly, I am sick of it. Sure, we want to push our students to attend

college and have them set themselves up well, but we also need to let the students who either

cannot afford it or that don’t want to go to college, there are other routes to go, and it does not

make them less of a person for doing so. Lastly, moving on to high school was ok. I was friendly

with everyone but by no means “popular” which was ok. I only played basketball in high school

and that played a key factor in my life growing up along with how it impacted high school and

my future. Because of basketball and the standards that they have in their program, I was forced

for the better to have good grades in order to play. So really from struggling to stay motivated in

middle school to now in high school I had over a 3.5 gpa my first couple years. I made Varsity in

my sophomore year and without basketball I have no clue where I would be in life today. My

parents, coaches and teammates helped me out so much throughout and I gained so much from

being a part of it. My parents were my biggest supporters, and I am so grateful for them. At the

time growing up I always knew that, but I can look back now and really appreciate it. I never

wanted to let them down because I know how much time they spent coming to my games or

taking me to practices so they are my “why” and my motivation. Especially now when times get

tough, I know how much they have given me so I can’t quit or give up now. I went through

mental health experiences during high school but with basketball it gave me a way where I could

escape reality and just play and get better. Even when we were out of season I did after school

workouts, so it was about an everyday affair where I was doing something active to get better.

My senior year in 2016 was the first time in 30 years that our program has made it to the state
basketball tournament. They have now made it to state 6 of the last 7 years (covid year they shut

down, but they would’ve made it too). As much as basketball has impacted my life it helped with

my academics then too. I only had a few teachers that stood out to me. I was in advanced math

and our teacher was our assistant basketball coach. It wasn’t that I enjoyed him as a teacher, but I

liked how he teached. What I mean by that is for his class, it was best I have ever done in a class

other than PE. I understood the content well and he set up his class in a way that I got better at

math and I could help others in the process. He said that we should know the content so much

that we could explain the steps to others. He would make small groups of people and would mix

and match them. He would make groups that had people who were proficient, got it, and those

who were struggling. During work time together the people who got it would help explain what

to do to those who did not grasp it. I understood it and by helping others understand it helped me

sharpen my knowledge as well. I had two favorite teachers during my time there. One was an

English teacher. I hated English and I still do although I have gotten better at it. I did not even

like the content in her class, but she made the environment fun. That is a reason she was one of

my favorites too. She made me enjoy going to a class where I hated the subject. She also cared

about the students and it showed. She wanted you to learn and actually cared about how the

student was doing. My friend and I would spend some of our free time during release or lunch in

her classroom just to talk and hang out. My other favorite teacher was my Spanish teacher. I was

terrible at Spanish, but I only continued to take the class because he was teaching. Again, he

cared about the student and wanted you to learn. What I mean by that is there are a lot of

teachers/professors that just show up lecture, talk at you, talk about the material but don’t help

you understand it. They also don’t build relationships with their class or students. I’m sure more

teachers do care about the student and want them to learn but they do a bad job of it and bad job
of building a relationship. Classes that I am most invested in are classes where the teacher is also

invested in. If they build a culture where it is fun to learn and interact, then going to that class

makes it easier to learn no matter what the material. For my two examples they did just

that. During my primary school years, I did not consider any identities mindfully. I knew some

existed, but I guess I didn’t think of some of the difficulties some identities might have had. I

think that may be my privilege as a white male, and it is unfortunate that I cannot firsthand

understand what people might have been going through. In college I was more aware of it as I

think the world is becoming more aware of it as well. I mentioned earlier that I was the minority

in my friend groups in middle school but that does not compare to the scale that people feel in

their everyday lives. We didn’t have any bad acts of racism in our school but then again there

might have been where those racist acts we felt by the people but was something that I did not

notice. We never talked about social aspects of life during school. I am sure that they are talking

more about it now or that they are hopefully now addressing some of it. It is important to educate

the kids and give them an unfamiliar perspective than what they are used to thinking. I believe

that we had a good enough system to where if there were any acts of discrimination of any kind

that there would be an immediate end to it and that it would be addressed. I went to high school

from 2012-2016 and although in the grand scheme of time it wasn't that long ago, I feel like there

has been more of a societal shift where now people are more aware of them. Like I said during

that time I was sort of oblivious to the privilege I might have had and that there could have been

issues going on where it went right over my head. Now I am not saying that I was an airhead in

that regard but there are just some things in life you do not think of because you might not know

it exists. If there was anything bad or discriminatory, I would not be involved or stand for it. One

thing that I hate now looking back at high school, we were able to retake just about everything
for full points. This did not prepare me for college at all or teach me to be more responsible. I

remember in AP Gov I was at around a 65% near the end of the semester (basketball was done

and I let my grade slip in this class), and I did corrections on all the tests and turned in some

missing homework and eventually got my grade up over a 90%. I didn’t have to study for tests

because I could just retake them. This did not translate well at all into college. High school

claims that they want to prepare you for college but then allow things like that. If you wanted to

try it would be easy to get a 4.0 gpa. Laziness and not wanting to do extra work would prevent

that but the opportunity was there right in front of everyone. Overall, I enjoyed high school and

the memories they have provided me. I did not like the school aspect of it besides PE, but the

social interactions are what I remember and to this day my friends and I still talk about our

stories and we get a good laugh from them. I have mentioned PE a bit and really it has had a big

impact on my life from elementary school to now. It is a place where I can escape and be free

and be me. I got into coaching basketball for centrals youth program after high school and

continued to coach to this day. It was during the end of the pandemic where I was wondering

what I really wanted to do with my life. I was so close to the finish line for my Bachelor of

Science degree, then the pandemic hit, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go down that route for the

rest of my life. I started thinking about what I can see myself enjoy doing. So, I go back to

thinking about PE and coaching and how both make me feel better when I am doing them. I like

helping people get better and I want to create a fun, friendly environment where all students feel

included and want to participate. Basing it off of my experiences with classes, a warm

environment makes wanting to learn so much easier.  

 A child spends a great portion of their life in school. It is especially important that

teachers make the most of their interactions with their students. School can be a safe place for

those who might have troubled homes. It can be an extra resource for those in need. I was

fortunate enough to have solid teachers for the most part. You are not going to be everyone's

favorite teacher or be their favorite class, but you need to be able to provide a place where

everyone feels a part of something. Those that do will put their imprint on the student's life

forever. I remember all my teachers and I have more memories of the classes and teachers I

enjoyed. I still have my gripes with the education system and what we are and are not teaching. I

don’t understand why we don’t teach more life subjects in school. I get that there is a lot to cover

but something like finances or taxes or life/health things in general should be addressed more.

From the education classes I have taken so far, the professors have been great, and the classmates

have been too. I'm excited for what the future holds. 
 Sources:

U.S. Census Bureau quickfacts: United States. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2023, from

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045222

WISEdash public portal - department of public instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2023,

from https://wisedash.dpi.wi.gov/Dashboard/dashboard/22275