The Question that Changed My Life by Kylie

The Question that Changed My Life by Kylie - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

Math is the study of equations, functions, numbers, geometric shapes and their relationships. A more realistic way to describe math is that it may be the one subject that students most dread and would choose to read an entire novel series instead.

When one first starts learning numbers, it consists of primarily combining like (or similar) terms. As one gets older and increases their knowledge in this area, the alphabet gets thrown in there too. Who would have thought that English and math would have been combined and actually made sense? Well, that is where I come in. Most people do not understand how letters and numbers are combined to get a simple math equation, let alone numerous formulas. Over the course of schooling, I have learned so much in math and actually retained all of that information.

As a new school year begins, most teachers like to start off with a pretest that will show what the students retained over the summer/past years. In my math class, most people missed one or two problems. It was not required to finish the entire packet, but instead just have everyone work at their own pace. At the end of the class, my teacher posted the scores up on the screen. The majority of the class completed approximately 25 questions, however, there was one specific student who rocketed above the others. This student not only got every question correct, but they also completed a total of 43 questions. That student was me! My teacher pulled me aside and questioned why I had chosen to be in this class.

That specific moment made me feel so deeply warm inside. It was a compliment in disguise as I felt so incredibly happy after those words came out of his mouth. This moment made me realize that I could teach. I can teach the subject that I adore, math, to students who need help. I have since had a multitude of fellow students reach out to me and ask for help. There are kids outside of this class that I have a relationship with due to tutoring in math. Students everywhere are out there struggling with these numbers, but I can change that. I can be the one to help them finally understand it. I have done it before, I do it now, and I can do it later. I can teach kids mathematics!