The Measurement of Success by David

The Measurement of Success by David - May 2014 Scholarship Essay

At age fourteen, I sat in a French class in an urban New York City high school, unaware of the transformation that I was to undergo over the next few months. During one particular lesson, my French teacher complimented me on my accent. This small compliment empowered and inspired me to pursue bilingualism and ultimately, to major in French in college. However, many of the closest people in my life urged me to pursue a path that offered more earning potential. In their eyes, a person who majored in French could do no more than become a teacher and more importantly, to them, earn a teacher’s salary. Obviously, they did not see the value that teachers hold in our society. One person however, advised me to pursue what was in my heart, and that this decision would lead to a level of success that was incomprehensible at that time. This person was my father, and his assertion was absolutely correct. This advice has not only served me as a student, but as an educator as well. At the time that I was receiving negative feedback about my career path, it was unimaginable that I would be in the pursuit of a terminal degree with plans to use my passion to help others. Allow me to explain. I am passionate about engendering within students their own intellectual curiosity, which will lead them to be independent lifelong learners. Since the beginning of my career in education, it has been a desire of mine to use my experience, passion, and talents to positively effect change in urban communities. My goal is to operate in a leadership capacity within a school or school district in order to take part in the process that aids the schools of these communities in the implementation of programs that are dynamic and are proven to produce positive results. Furthermore, I am interested in research that explores the impact foreign language programs have on literacy and overall student achievement in an urban setting. These aspirations are the results of following my passion and developing it into something that has not only enriched my life, but will also enrich the lives of others.

My passion for education and foreign language have naturally led me to consider the possibilities for foreign language education’s role in closing the achievement gap. My vision is to research foreign language immersion programs to inform decisions on how they can be effectively implemented to increase student achievement in the urban communities of Louisiana. The prospect of equipping students with the necessary tools to be more competitive on both a national and an international level through a dynamic curriculum delivered in a foreign language is worth researching. Fourth grade and eight grade reading levels have been used as an indicator of overall student achievement and future success. Vis-à-vis the other U.S. states, we know that Louisiana has grown minimally in terms of reading levels. Some experts believe that foreign language immersion programs can increase student success levels in reading in the English language and in other content areas as well. Researching the validity of such claims and subsequent solutions for pragmatic implementation of these programs in Louisiana’s schools are worth our efforts. This may be a viable approach in the battle to close the achievement gap.

When I discovered my passion for language as a fourteen year old high school student, I never imagined that I would someday use this passion to aid in the battle to close the achievement gap in education. The advice that my father gave me has been the anchor in all of achievements both as a student and an educator. I believe that the true meaning of success was well articulated by the great Maya Angelou: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”