Life by Jacqueline

Life by Jacqueline - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

My educational journey has taken me through every spectrum of school–from the quiet of homeschool in my own rural house to a small independent charter to finally the hustle and bustle of a colossal public school. Each kind of school has touched my life in some way, morphing and shaping me for better or for worse into the person I am today. The people I met¬–the teachers I had–I remember them all. They have all left their mark, some of them inspiring me to do great things I never could have otherwise. While I am exceedingly grateful for the years I have spent in that charter school and the time I currently spend at a public school, I think that perhaps the school that shaped me the most was the one at my kitchen table¬¬. That teacher was my mother, who taught me for five years and gave me a better education than any school could. She taught me the importance of education, and above all, how persevere in the face of academic adversity.

My mother raised me with a value for education. It was always expected that my sister and I would go to and graduate from college, not because she was a pushy instructor, but because she knew we could. Both of my parents graduated college, and they wanted us to do the same. I was in elementary school when my mother homeschooled me, but she never failed to teach my sister and I advanced material. She had us doing math a full year above our grade level, and because she was a history major, she taught us history that most students don’t learn until middle school or later. But I never fully understood the value for education that she had instilled in me until I began attending actual schools. I found many students to be incredibly apathetic about their studies. My mother had never cared extensively about grades. What she cared most about was that we learn relevant material to make us better people. Education for me today is still not about a 4.0: it’s about the maturity of knowing how to make critical decisions about my own beliefs and using my knowledge to better the world around me. I never sensed this same passion in other students or even teachers. They worked hard for the payoff, not for themselves. They didn’t understand the true importance of education comes not just from its ability to move a person up the social ladder, but from its ability to foster maturity. My mother ensured that this what I truly valued and sought.

Even today, I struggle with mathematics in school. It isn’t something that comes naturally and easily to me. When I was frustrated with math as a child, I wanted to give up. I wanted to stop doing it and stop trying. But my mother never accepted that. When I didn’t understand something, instead of getting angry with me, she gave me personal attention and took me through the problem step by step. But even though she was helping me, she would never give me the answers. She gave me a crutch, but I still had to walk on my own. Through that, she taught me how to work through academic difficulty on my own, even without a lot of extra help. She showed me that I can overcome complex topics and learn them. It was that empowering spirit that has translated to my ability to persevere. When I encounter a mathematical problem that I do not understand, instead of getting of frustrated, I take a moment and think through what I know. I see if there is another way to solve the problem, and if I still cannot figure out the problem, I am not afraid to ask for help. But no matter how demanding the problem is, I don’t give up, all thanks to my mother who taught me to persist even when challenges arise.

Even through many years of school and great teachers, I still look back on my years as a homeschooler and see them as the most valuable in my education. My mother as my teacher helped me to succeed in regular school, and I am grateful. She shaped me into the thriving student I am today, and she showed me the how to continue in difficulty and prize education.