Formulas and Equations by Katherine

Formulas and Equations by Katherine - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

We have all been there before. Cramming for a test by simply memorizing formulas, relying on this to help us earn a good grade. We disregard what our formulas actually represent, only paying attention to what letters, numbers, and symbols we need and in what order we need them. It is not always foolproof or easy, and it is certainly not the wisest way to go about succeeding.
Up until my junior year, that was me in my math and science classes. I simply went through the motions of knowing the equation but not really evaluating what I was doing or seeing what each operation meant. I realized sometimes that my memorization efforts could turn out futile, but could never put into words why I despised my actions. That was, until about a month into my Honors Chemistry class my Junior year.
My teacher, Mrs. Kaiser, voiced her opinion when it came to formulas and equations, and teaching them and memorizing them. She told my class that not everything needs to be memorized, because in the real world, professionals refer to their notes. She told us that her brother taught her this, and gave an example of an engineer or other scientist utilizing a reference book in their lab. To Mrs. Kaiser, it was more important that we, her students, learned how and why to use the equations given to us. It appeared more beneficial to us that we had the equations and formulas on a test instead of spending the majority of the test time pondering whether our memorizations were correct and panicking when they were not. There were few times when we did actually need to memorize an equation for a test, and in those cases, Mrs. Kaiser would inform us in advance. Other times, she allowed us to use our mole maps, the chart of systematic conversions and equations that she helped us create. Sometimes Mrs. Kaiser copied down the equations on the whiteboard, other times on the test paper itself, and even for exams, Mrs. Kaiser gave us double-sided reference sheets. When we made our mole maps, or learned other formulas, Mrs. Kaiser would explain or have us read the book’s explanation of the formula, of what its variables represented, and how, in some cases, the formula we had then was derived from a longer process.
Well into this class, I realized that I loved my chemistry class and teacher the most because they prepared us for the real world. Mrs. Kaiser saw it important to teach us the best lesson- one of focusing more on learning and worrying less about memorizing- because she saw its value in preparing us for our lives and careers, beyond surviving just one test, exam, or class.