Taft, home of the Royals, was my middle school. I have mixed feeling about the experience at Taft. This was a time when I was slowly transitioning out of ESL into non ESL classes. English was particularly difficult for me and writing was challenging. I remember reading literature but could not understand the story. It was easier for me for me to memorize the definitions of vocabulary words rather to understand what they mean. It was a nightmare.
Kids at this age can be so unkind to each other, calling each other names. I often witnessed this at Taft as I often hang out with a few other "outcasts." You feel hopeless as you are unable to defend others because you don't want to be made fun of as well. I did not like this aspect of Taft.
I loved the ESL classes though because it was a safe haven for me. I felt protected when I was there but the education was lacking. Seriously, we were learning really simple things, like dumb down science and English. To get out, you have to do an evaluation. It was really easy. They made you read a paragraph; mine was about salmons swimming upstream to lay eggs. Then they would ask you why did the salmons swim upstream.
Taft has the best architectural design of all middle schools in the OKC metro, something I still marveled to this day. It resembles a medieval castle. It also has a huge stadium where games are being played, none of which I have attended the time I was there. read more