Enter Their World by Natalie

Enter Their World by Natalie - March 2018 Scholarship Essay

In order to reason with a second grader, you have to put yourself in their shoes and talk in their language; use their rationale. To do this, I need to recall how I viewed the world when I was in second grade, and what I thought of school. From kindergarten to third grade, I attended a public school where I didn’t grasp the concept that I received grades. I was a bossy, energetic, active second grader. I liked being in control(I still do) and I was always striving to be the best, to discover new things every day. I enjoyed school; I had fun learning with my friends by my side. As a second grader, I didn’t realize that as I got older, school would become less and less enjoyable.
With this in mind, explaining to a seven or eight year old why they should continue school shouldn’t be too hard; they haven’t reached the point where it gets difficult. Although this seems like it would be a piece of cake, it isn’t. When I was in second grade I didn’t listen to anyone when they gave me advice; I thought I ruled the world and I knew everything.
After putting myself into the right mindset by recalling my own past, the second step I would take to getting through to an eight year old, who may be like I was, is by getting to know them. I’d ask them about their hobbies and family, then moving onto more academic and on-topic questions. I’d ask what their favorite subject is and what they want to be when they grow up. I would tell them about my dreams of becoming a singer or a veterinarian (both very unpromising professions as I would come to find out in later years) and I would explain to them my journey of changing my dreams the more I learned. I would describe how school will become more challenging. Sometimes you simply won’t want to go, but I kept going back. Some days are harder than others, but that is just how it is. Overcoming those hard days are what makes it easier to go back to school, and it’s what makes learning more enjoyable.
Education is important because the more you know, the more you are capable of. The more you know, the closer your dreams are to being achieved. I would tell the little boy or little girl in front of me that they can be anyone they want. It’s a lot easier to be who and what they want if they continue to learn.
To speak in their language, I’d quote Dr. Seuss, one of my idols as a child. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” In using an author and a story they are probably familiar with, I can connect with the child on their level, and communicate in their language. I’d talk to them with encouragement, and I would hope to be viewed as as inspiration rather than just another big person talking over them, deciding what is right for their future.
Ultimately, continued learning is a choice to be made by the individual student and their family, not me, but as I continue to see the benefits of going on from middle to high school, and high school to college, I am more than happy to motivate young children to follow similar paths. In using strategies of becoming the second grader, gaining their trust as a friend, and using their language, I would be able to enter their world. This level of understanding between myself and the child allows them to be more open to the ideas and advice I’d give them. A seven or eight year old kid is more likely to listen to me as a friend rather than looking at me as another mom. By taking these steps, I’d hope to succeed in encouraging a second grade student to continue their learning and to be whoever they want to be.