inspiring moment by Chelsea

inspiring moment by Chelsea - August 2013 Scholarship Essay

One of the most interesting lessons I learned in class was during a non-teaching moment. The professor was walking around to all of the tables while we were practicing writing IEP’s for an introductory class. When she got to my table she saw that my group and I were struggling with a part of the IEP that we were supposed to be writing. The professor started talking about how   it is important to always listen and take notes while trying to learn something new in class. However, she went on to talk about how what’s most important is the time that you put in while not in class when trying to learn more about a certain topic. She said that school only gives about half the knowledge and experience one needs and the other part of it comes from proactive self- teaching. She went on to explain how when she was in school, she would take out multiple books from the library and do internet searches frequently to self -teach herself on topics she was learning about in the classroom.  My professor went on to say that she received higher grades as well as an abundance of knowledge that put her ahead of most in her profession as a Special Education teacher. Maybe to most people this wouldn’t seem like a very interesting lesson, but for me it was a lesson that got me motivated and excited. For one thing doing something as simple as self-teaching oneself, never seem to occur to me until my professor brought it up.  Since that non-teaching moment I have started to follow the advice I got in class that day and I’ve seen in improvement in my learning and also my confidence in the classroom.