It Takes a Village to Succeed by Katelyn

It Takes a Village to Succeed by Katelyn - February 2023 Scholarship Essay

The soft skill I believe has the biggest impact on a successful education is absolutely teamwork. Having a strong team that you both benefit from and contribute to is incredibly important if you want to achieve academic success that will transfer into real life skills. As someone who is a part of my district’s International Baccalaureate program, I needed a solid foundation to get through the rigorous workload, and the greatest form of that was my peers and teachers.
When it comes to my classmates, the back-and-forth teamwork we exhibit for each other is crucial if we want to succeed. While in class, our varying ideas and point of views lead to a more in-depth understanding of the topic we are talking about. The knowledge we gain from each other is unique and incredibly valuable, as we are many scholarly students coming together in discussion. Not only do the varying points of view add to the already existing curriculum, but form an all new area of knowledge which leads us all to be even further educated.
The curriculum, however, cannot be ignored, and the dynamic relationship between teacher and student leads to a more enriched collection of knowledge. A good teacher is one that can adapt to their students' needs and ways of learning in order to have the most successful outcome. In this way, teachers and their students become a team that is aiding its members to be the best they can be. A wonderful example is our IB Coordinator and HL History teacher, Derek Allison. Every single day, he gives his all in every area of his career, whilst also taking the time to reach out to us students to encourage us to work harder and keep our eyes on the IB diploma.The work ethic this man has is indicative of him being an amazing leader because his team can be sure that he knows what he is doing and how to do it, certainly enough to where he can lead his students and staff in the right direction. This leadership breeds dedication and further teamwork within the students.
With a connected class and attentive teacher, a classroom can become a team striving for a common goal. An educational environment that is truly successful aims to insight teamwork in its members. By doing this, upon graduation, these students will have a more successful education under their belt as well as having prepared for being good team members for their future careers.