Be Respectful and do Great Things by Philip

Be Respectful and do Great Things by Philip - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I were a college professor, there would be a multitude of classes I would be interested in teaching, ranging from a simple language class teaching Dothraki to a more advanced class such as Defense Against the Dark Arts. However, these classes do not mean as much as a more practical class in life. This class would be titled “Life Skills: How to Become a Functional Human Being.”

This class is not some philosophical study about human nature, but is rather meant to be a pragmatic class in teaching students how to live productive and wholesome lives. In order to achieve this goal, the class would cover topics such as the basics of taxes, managing both romantic and professional relationships, making friends, how to apply for jobs, job interviews, measuring the amount of dry pasta for one person, etc. through the use of lectures as well as discussions in which the students are allowed to ask anything about the topics or even life in general. While these topics are things that everyone should know by the time they are young adults, not everyone knows these types of things. Being raised by poor immigrant parents and meeting a diverse group of people from all sorts of backgrounds while growing up, I have learned that everyone is raised around different values and reinforced ideas. Sometimes what is taught in this course is not directly taught by parents, and if parents are not there to teach these things, someone must, allowing this class to become useful.

The second focus of this course would aim to create a sense of community for every student, allowing them to realize their potential outside of academics. It is important for students to feel like they belong at their new university, to feel like they are their own person in their own individuality. With this class, they may make bonds with other, creating a sort of support system which they can trust for academic issues or the equally important emotional issues, something that is not given much attention in school even if it can have drastic impacts on how students perform.

Expected students who would be taking this class are not only students new to the university life, but also as new members of society. After spending more than a decade in an education system reinforcing the necessity of higher education, once a student is admitted into a university, they likely know how to function solely as a student but not as a normal human being. After years of standardized tests and an admission process that emphasized their grades and test scores, students must realize that they are not reduced to simple numbers as the admission process may have them thinking, but that they are also valuable human beings, each with their own set of independent thoughts. This class will help students readjust their lives, preparing for college life and readjustment into society where they cannot always rely on other people such as parents and teachers but rely on themselves to make connections needed to lead a successful life.

The importance of this class is furthered on a personal connection. Throughout high school, individual character was not important as we were all part of the school system and valued solely for our ability to perform academically. Most classes did not necessarily emphasize the importance of the individual, and it was rare for most students to find a true place of belonging. This situation relates to my experience throughout high school as I was not able to quite find my place, especially without a specialized class that would teach how to be a functioning human while joining in with a greater community. It was not until my history teacher in senior year that highlighted our roles as citizens with the ability to make change outside of the school in which we were confined. She was the educator that helped me become aware of emotional health and my role outside of being a student in the Los Angeles Unified School District. My inspiration to realize my potential as a functioning member of society to, as she would always say, “be respectful and do great things.”