When Learning Today Becomes An Understanding of Tomorrow by Stella

When Learning Today Becomes An Understanding of Tomorrow by Stella - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

To be a great teacher is to love what you’re teaching, but the most integral part of teaching is relating the subject matter to the student’s own life. It can be math, science, art, music, language or history, but in any case, a student must be able to internalize the importance of the subject.

Most teachers go into teaching because they particularly love the subject, but how does one make someone else love the subject? In almost every class I’ve ever been in someone always questions: ‘Why do we need to know this?’ or ‘What’s the point? How’s this going to help me?’ Although these are selfish questions, I believe it takes a connection to what you’re learning in order to fully understand it and perhaps, even love it. Some of my best teachers and most memorable lectures were those that in some way or another related to the current world—either on a broader more global scale or something that hit close to home.

A sociology teacher discussed the importance of dirt to people all over the world—at the time California was in a huge drought, and it made me think of how these two things affected each other, the people in California and all over the United States. It could have been “only dirt” to some but the way it was taught, it became much more. A statistics professor explained how our every day trips to the grocery store, using our phones and even writing a hand written letter and sending it all involved data and statistics. The math became less foreign. In a discussion about slavery, we discussed the progress of the current world and how slavery still existed in certain ways. It opened our eyes to the past and the present. In a health course, I learned about the same cancer that my grandfather had and, through that, had more compassion and understanding for all of those plagued by illness and continued on to pursue a masters degree in nursing.

The great teachers answered the question of importance both in a straightforward way and subliminally, but by the end, the students not only understood the material, but retained the information longer because it could be applied to our own lives. We often find ourselves in a world of “me,” and while these teachers address the importance of the subject matter to self, it ultimately evolves into a deeper understanding of “us,” as humanity, as a whole, and that is a remarkable accomplishment.