Time Is Knowledge by Anna

Time Is Knowledge by Anna - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

One of the most stressful things as a high school student is dealing with an overworked and busy teacher. Being that I am a very driven student, I make it a point to visit teachers outside of class to discuss my work and talk about what I am personally struggling with in the class. I enjoy knowing what to prepare for, and when I cannot have these meetings with my teachers I often feel unorganized and unable to adequately plan for the class. With my experiences, I believe time to be most important thing a teacher can give a student. Inside and outside of instruction, time is a vital part of a student's education, and I would encourage every teacher of mine to provide me with the time that I need to succeed in my academic career.

Entering my final year of high school, I was quickly caught up in the hustle and bustle of college applications, scholarships, and maintaining impeccable grades. Mr. Perdue, my AP Economics teacher was the calm in the storm. He understood what his students were going through, and allowed us a kind of freedom I had never experienced before. Our assignments were given ahead of time, and while we still had to do them, we were free to do them at our own pace as we understood the material. Most importantly, Mr. Perdue was available before school, after school, and during free periods to talk about whatever we were having a difficult time understanding. I have spend countless hours in his classroom outside of instructional time, and because of this I have flourished in his class. Not only did Mr. Perdue make himself available to his students, but he rewarded us for the time we spent in his classroom. Much of my extra credit stems from this which is another reason why I succeeded in his class. Even without these rewards, the simple fact that he made himself available as much as possible and gave as much time to his students as he could was why I not only enjoyed his class so much, but how I was able to do well and earn the grade that I desired.

It was only after this classroom experience that I began to realize how important was the time that my teachers gave to me. It helped me learn, succeed, and thoroughly enjoy the class, and I believe that if all teachers devoted this kind of time to their students inside and outside of classroom, their students would prosper in their course.