Learn to learn by Laura

Learn to learn by Laura - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“Learn to learn.” These three words have given me a new perspective and strategy for success. They came from my AP Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Kempff.

AP Chemistry was a difficult class and Mrs. Kempff was constantly dealing with my scholarly classmates having meltdowns, never-ending worries about their grades, and struggling with the material. As I became more uneasy and anxious about upcoming tests as well as the stress of my other classes and commitments, Mrs. Kempff slowly turned into my life coach.

Junior year I had 3 AP classes, 2 sports, and was just starting my first job. Overwhelmed was an understatement for how I felt. The worst part of my day was going to AP Chemistry and being reminded that, on top of everything, I had little to no understanding of Chemistry. Every opportunity I could, I went to Mrs. Kempff’s classroom for help so I could continue doing decent on the tests. Often that meant I was meeting with her after a long day of school right before I headed to Cross Country followed by work. She had a way of reading people. She knew when it would be more valuable to give words of comfort rather than explaining Stoichiometry. She would ask me how my day was, and I would find myself rambling on about all of the things I had to do and all the questions I had about Chemistry. She would stop me, mid-complaining and simply say, “Forget the grade. Learn to learn”. Forget the grade? How could I forget the grade? Junior year, I was hyper-focused on my GPA and making sure all the numbers pointed towards getting into the right college. What did she mean by “Learn to learn?” The first time she said it, I was actually a little bit frustrated. I didn’t want to learn to learn (whatever that meant); I wanted to learn how to balance a chemical formula and get an A on the test.

After multiple sessions, Mrs. Kempff slowly explained to me the key to success. She told me if I took a second to stop focusing on the “what” and focus on the “why”, I would achieve more. I needed to stop stressing about what I didn’t know and figure out why I didn’t know it. I needed to stop stressing when I did bad on a test and figure out why I did bad on that test. I needed to stop worrying about memorizing definitions but figure out why those definitions were important and related to the material. She explained that as I figured out the why, then I could truly progress. I tried it out. I tried to forget that I got a D on one test and figure out why I got that grade and alter my studying habits to do better. Slowly throughout the year, I was able to improve my grades and decrease my high level of stress. I learned to learn from my mistakes. I learned how I learn best. “Learn to learn” means that you don’t just learn the what, but the why. You learn how to actually increase your knowledge as well as your wisdom.

This motto applies to everyday life. A lot of times, we get focused on measuring success by physical means, like how much money you make, or what grade you got, or approval from friends. Learning to learn is important because instead of using those physical means to succeed, you use your improvement as a source of success. A lot of times, I used to try to get by school through quick memorization just to get that physical sign of success, like getting that A on the test. When I learned to learn, I figured out that truly understanding the material was more important than an A. This lesson is so valuable to me because as I approach a new chapter in my life, I now have learned how to improve from my mistakes and LEARN from them. Mrs. Kempff has given me these three words of wisdom that will help me succeed in the future. The most important lesson that I have learned from a teacher is how to learn.