Advice to Learn By by Kyler

Kylerof Woodbridge's entry into Varsity Tutor's January 2015 scholarship contest

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Kyler of Woodbridge, VA
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Advice to Learn By by Kyler - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

ADVICE TO LEARN BY

School isn’t easy for everyone. I am one of the strugglers. I make myself a promise every year that this will be the year that I succeed. It never quite works the way I hope it will. If I were asked how teachers could help me learn, that’s what I say would make the biggest difference in classrooms: commitment.

When teachers sign a contract to take a class for a year- they should be making the commitment for the entire year. I understand that there are medical emergencies, family emergencies and births that sometimes make this difficult. But in the past three years I have had more than a few teachers who have left at various points through the year to pursue other jobs. That is very unfair to the students. We make commitments to pay attention, learn your way of teaching, and how you want our work organized. We make commitments to come to all of the classes. When you leave, we need to start over while other teachers’ classes keep moving forward. This isn’t right. Especially when leaving is just so you can try your hand at something new. Waiting until the year ends would help the kids you teach. If we’re making a commitment to the entire year, the teacher should be too.

I can understand why every teacher wants to teach the AP and Honors classes. I am not in those classes, and I am reminded of this pretty much every day. We are compared to the “good” classes, and are told how the top class has better grades, stronger study habits, and they try harder. I wonder, is that really what you think? I try. I try and try and try. Sometimes I try until I can’t think straight, and it still isn’t enough. Imagine how it feels to be someone trying so hard, only to be reminded how miserably you’re failing? I often wonder what it must be like to be in “that” class. A class where you aren’t being told on a regular basis that you’re not as good, not as talented, not as ambitious, not as likely to succeed? What a morale booster it must be to have a teacher who believes in you!

If teachers would spend less time pointing out deficiencies and more time pulling out personalities of the students they have, they would learn how to work with us. I honestly believe that everyone in the class would benefit from the more encouraging classroom. Learning would become the side effect of being valued, being in a committed, two sided relationship!

I know teaching must be hard. But I think sometimes teachers forget that just because they know the material, and have “taught” it so many times they can say it in their sleep; the students in their classes are hearing it for the first time. They should also realize that some people learn by hearing, others by seeing. Some need combinations, and still others learn best when there is a hands-on or interactive component. I wish teachers would be more committed to learning their students’ needs, and would create their lesson plans to help us thrive.

So in conclusion, my advice to teachers is to make a commitment. By making a commitment to all students, not just the ones in the top of the class, and a commitment to an entire year at a time, students, like myself would have the best chance of truly learning, and the best possibility for success.

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