The Perfect Class by Kaylee

The Perfect Class by Kaylee - October 2014 Scholarship Essay

I love school. It is one of my favorite things and I absolutely love learning. Although it is amazing, no one is perfect, but have you ever imagined what it would look like if it was? Yeah, I have too. There are few things that would make it that way. Grades are based on effort, rather than understanding, tests would not count for most of your grade, everyone would want to learn, teachers don't drown us in homework and all of our materials would be new.

I understand as much as everyone else that yes, we need to be able to understand the things we learn in school. It just really stinks when as a student, you try extremely hard to understand something and you just don't get it. Everyone is good at different things, right? So why do they base grades on being just as good as everyone else? It makes more sense to focus on the fact that the student is actually trying and putting forth effort, not becoming the next Alber Einstein. As much as I love Albert, no one else on Earth has or even will be just like him so we shouldn't expect everyone to be.

I am an overachiever. I do all my homework on time, turn it in on time and do it to the best of my ability, going above and beyond what is expected of me. Yet, nothing irks me more than when my grade drops because they don't loook at the 15 assignments I just did, but one test that took one hour. Maybe I was having a bad day, or maybe I tried, but I just didn't understand. I would rather see teachers grade my assignments as most of my grade, rather than a test. A lot of teachers now, don't even offer retakes. So if you are having a bad day because you broke up with your significant other and you can't find your favorite shoes, if you fail, well that is just too bad for you. Why not have the teachers focus more of their time on making assignments that will better help the student understand through practice, then giving notes and having a test the next day?