A Different View of the Classroom by Grace

A Different View of the Classroom by Grace - July 2020 Scholarship Essay

I was in a program to help students go into the healthcare field for the past four years. Throughout high school, my idea of a “perfect classroom” has stayed the same. A perfect classroom is a place for the student to apply what they have learned in a safe environment and without fear of failure. My classes prepared me for the real world and taught the skills in a way that was equally as fun as it was challenging. My teachers and professors didn’t just teach my class skills for the classroom, but skills for life (even if it doesn’t end up taking us where we planned).
I have been very privileged to have had the opportunity to learn and practice in a “perfect classroom”. My classmates and I walked into the classroom every day excited to learn, whether it was first aid or how to (theoretically) deliver a baby. Sophomore year we learned how to give Oxygen, a skill that stemmed from another class that year. We had practiced without fear of failure and by the time we were in our junior and senior years, we were working with actual patients in clinics and hospitals. Because of this way of learning, many of my classmates and I are certified in areas of healthcare such as Emergency Care, Phlebotomy, or EKG Tech before we graduated high school.
This “perfect classroom” concept can be applied to most, if not all, fields of learning. In art class, have the students create work for an art exhibit and then give them the option to sell their pieces after they are graded. When the students go to math class, have them figure out how to use equations they know for things like taxes, not solving for the area of a triangle. Have students practice their skills in simulated problems that they will have to face in life. Completing a project such as creating a business plan is different than working on worksheets every day, yet it teaches the same skills and other skills, such as teamwork. It is completely possible to create an environment that makes students excited to learn if we just look at education a little differently.