A scientific narrative uses a story-telling approach to address a problem or topic in the scientific world. Its genre conventions are plot, subjectiveness, and it holds the narrator’s thoughts and opinions. Narratives can also contextualize abstract truths and they are depictions of personal experiences.
For this project, I misunderstood what was asked for at the very beginning. I mistook it for an informative review, although I’ve written a narrative before in FIQWS last year. Maybe it was a brain fart. For this revised version of my narrative, I read over the paper and decided to include more sentences that might connect with the parents of my audience, this way I can grab their attention even more. I also had a few spelling and grammar errors that were shown on grammarly. Overall, the essence of the paper has not changed. I follow the correct genre conventions while addressing the scientific issue, contextually, as well.
“An Apple a Day, Keeps the Grade an A”
“Kara Gayle.” Hearing the name I gave to my only child, my daughter, coming out of her Principal’s mouth as he lists the honor students for the graduating high school class, will always be a precious moment for me, simply because Kara’s academics was a tough road for both me and her. Now I am not saying my child is dumb, of course not. Kara has always been super bright and intelligent, ever since preschool. However, it got rocky when she started her sophomore year in high school.
We had just moved to Brooklyn, New York all the way from Pasadena, California because of a new job promotion I received. A lot of things were rocky and foreign in the beginning such as the city’s fast-paced life, rats on public transportation, and even trying to drive in Manhattan. With time, Kara and I adapted and fell in love with everything New York has to offer. Although many aspects have changed since the move-in, Kara’s grades did not. She was receiving grades as low as 37 in classes she used to be granted awards for when we were in Pasadena. The first action I took was to hire a tutor. It did not change a thing. We tried multiple parent-teacher conferences. Still, no change in Kara’s progress, and the teachers could not find a solution for her regression. It got to a point where I could see hopelessness in Kara’s beautiful face daily. I know she was trying, and I was trying my hardest as well. As a parent, seeing your child’s performance drop is an ultimate heartbreaker.
At the beginning of her junior year, I met with her health class teacher, Ms. Falzarano. I sat down ready to hear how my daughter needs to improve but with no solution. She says to me, “Why doesn’t your daughter eat breakfast?” I was taken a bit back at first until I actually pondered the thought. She continued on and enlightened me on how crucial it is for young children and adolescents to be eating breakfast every day or else their performance drops. Breakfast aids the brain in cognitive function which, in this case, is basically attention and memory. Not one of her teachers from sophomore year told me that. I had never even realized Kara was not eating breakfast because I would rush to leave early in the morning for work. Ms. Falzarano shared analytics on how breakfast helps the brain and even showed me programs that help with free food for kids just in case we needed it. She said to me, “An apple a day, keeps the grade an A.” Immediately after, I woke up extra early on weekdays so Kara can eat her breakfast. Pancakes and eggs, toast with butter, oatmeal with strawberries, you name it. For the days that we don’t have time, she eats about two fruits, just something to keep in her stomach until lunchtime.
Now, Kara is graduating from high school with honors, and as a salutatorian. To a parent, this feels like waking up on Christmas morning. Winning the lottery even. It’s insane how a child’s performance can be greatly affected by the nutrition they are receiving. I will always appreciate and commend Ms. Falzarano and Kara will always eat an apple a day.
Bibliography
Adolphus, K., Lawton, C. L., & Dye, L. (2013, August 8) The effects of breakfast on behavior and academic performance in children and adolescents. (n.d.). PubMed Central (PMC) . Frontiers in human neuroscience. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3737458/
Reagan. J, Healthy buffs: Ask the expert—Eating breakfast to energize your mind. (2017, July 13). CU Boulder Today. https://www.colorado.edu/today/2016/09/21/healthy-buffs-ask-expert-eating-breakfast-energize-your-mind
This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license.
