A Lesson in Life by Jamie

A Lesson in Life by Jamie - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

As the final bell rang our classroom was absent of the typical sight of high school students scrambling for their seats. The air was silent, the desks covered with our open textbooks and completed homework, and 40 pairs of eyes were pointed forward in anticipation for the day's lecture. Mr. Reiswig taught us from day one that AP Statistics was going to be more than a simple class. He was known for recruiting both honors students and those with a 1.0 grade point average. Everyone in his class was an equal and everyone was expected to succeed in both his class and in every other walk of life.

It was my senior year and I was on my way to graduating in the top ten in my class with a year of college credit to my name. I had gotten all As since 7th grade and even though I was missing 1-2 days of class a week due to athletics I was inching closer and closer towards my goal of a 4.5 graduating GPA. In my mind I was doing far better than average with my studies and was already planning ahead as to how I would do the same in college. But Mr. Reiswig brought those thoughts to a screeching halt.

The day we got our Fall midterms back was highly anticipated, and not in a positive way. Many students were struggling to keep their grades up and the threat of detention was claiming the lunch and after school hours of many AP Statistics students. But not me. I was coasting through the class with my typical A and was confident that I would be prepared for the AP test in May. Even though I had missed nearly a week of class before the test, including the review day, I had never failed a test and I was not planning to now.

Mr. Reiswig did not hand out tests in a conventional manner. If you got a grade he was happy with he put your test face down on your desk or tossed it towards you if you did okay. However, if you absolutely failed he would crumple up your test and toss it on your desk as if it were trash.

For the second time during the class period Mr. Reiswig crumpled the test that he was holding. The class tried to stifle their laughs but a few nervous giggles escaped, including from myself. However, I began to quiet down as he walked towards my row. My heartbeat raised in disbelief as he walked towards me. I felt the hair on my arms raise as he furthered crumpled my test and threw it down on my desk, demanding that I speak to him after school. I was on the verge of tears as I tore open my test only to suck in a breath in incredulity when I saw the bold, red "93%" written at the top.

I went in after class and was met with a heated lecture that more was expected from me and my frequent absences would not be tolerated if it meant that my test grades were going to reflect minimal effort. I was speechless. I had always been taught that putting in the minimum amount of work to maintain a grade was acceptable. To have a 93% be treated as a failing grade irritated me. But it did not take long for his words to sink in.

I began applying his logic to both my class work and my life. I began to question certain behaviors that may have stemmed from this self-entitlement and this idea that I do not need to put 100% into anything I do. At the time I dreaded group work because I often had to go above and beyond to take our group grade up to my standards. But Mr. Reiswig changed my view. He purposefully gave us a pop quiz above our current level of understanding and told us to work in groups. I dreaded having to convince others that my answers were right and depending on their work in order to finish all of the problems in time. But Mr. Reiswig made me feel ashamed when he revealed the purpose of our group quiz. He spoke of one of my brother's deceased friends, a fellow high school student many of us had known, and used his passing as a reality check for us. He told us to respect life and emphasized the power of teamwork. I learned that group work should not irritate me because it forces me to do my best, but that I should put full effort into everything I do anyways and enjoy group work as an opportunity to either tutor others or learn from them.

Thanks to one "failed" test I became fully involved in my studies, striving to learn more about what I am passionate about in order to graduate from college at the top of my class in only three years. I applied 100% of my effort into volunteer work and became a team player, intent on helping others to discover their full potential the same way Mr. Reiswig forced me to. I understood that success is not measured by a simple grading scale and that true success cannot be achieved unless you completely dedicate yourself towards doing something as well as you can.