A Prosperous Classroom by Taylor

A Prosperous Classroom by Taylor - October 2014 Scholarship Essay

Every class I have ever been in has always had that one jokester who loves to get everybody else to laugh at him or her. It became part of what made me look forward to going to that class. Even now that I am in high school I can recall the class clown from third grade. But, what really made the class entertaining depended on how the teacher would react to that specific person. If they laughed and joked along with them, he or she turned out to be your favorite teacher. If they told the kid that they needed to keep their comments to a minimum, you started to not laugh at those jokes anymore. This is one of the many things that contribute to a classroom environment. Every student is different in how they like to interact with other classmates and their teacher. Personally, an ideal classroom environment would be one in which the teacher is involved with the students such as doing daily activities that require the students to come together. The teacher needs to make the effort to make connections with the students as well as the students need to try and do what the teacher is asking so that everyone can get along.

One of the main contributors to a positive classroom environment is that you feel comfortable with your teacher. A positive relationship needs to be established with the teacher and the student in order for this to happen. Once the student feels comfortable with his or her teacher, then the student can feel open to stating their opinion and/or providing feedback or answers when the teacher asks questions to the class. Sometimes students do not participate because they do not feel comfortable with their teacher and they think that the teacher will punish them. Once this healthy relationship is established, it can help the student succeed in the classroom because they now feel they can participate and not be judged by their teacher, which turns into an ideal classroom environment for that student.

Students also need to feel comfortable with their peers. This can only happen when everyone comes into the class knowing that they can state their opinions on the topics discussed and not get reprimanded for it by the other students. It also helps when kids have friends in their class. When you know people, you become more willing to participate and be an active learner. If you talk more in class, you tend to feel more confident about what you are doing. By feeling confident and knowing that you can be on either side of the argument and that no one will mock you, it makes for a successful classroom environment which can help you triumph.

After being comfortable with your classmates and your teacher, it helps when a reward exists for doing well. Or, even having an established goal that you can achieve in that class helps students to gage how they are doing instead of on the results of one test. When a student creates a goal that they later accomplish, it makes the student feel like they succeeded in doing something right. Sometimes when I take a test, I had a long night the night before, I may have had practice or had one or two other tests to study for and I did not do as well as I wanted to on that test. But, if I look at the bigger picture and say my goal is to get an A in the class at the end of the semester, when I get that grade back and it says A next to the class, I feel like I accomplished a lot more and I do not worry about that one test. To help students succeed and do well, they must have a positive surrounding and be motivated by something. These would contribute to a model classroom setting for that student.

Overall, an ideal classroom would be one in which the teacher continues to be supportive and helpful all the while the student is still comfortable with the teacher. Additionally, it is important that the other classmates remain encouraging and uplifting when the other student decides to voice his or her opinion. Last, students should have a desired goal that they wish to achieve so that when the class ends, they realize they have gotten something out of it. Having all of these things happen in the classroom will contribute to a successful class for the student and attributes to a better education.