My Ideal Classroom by Ty'ya

My Ideal Classroom by Ty'ya - July 2020 Scholarship Essay

As a recent high school graduate, I’ve spent countless hours in classrooms. Some classrooms provided me with the most comforting environment, other classrooms left me feeling very discouraged and confused.
One aspect of my dream classroom would be diversity within the students in the class.
Diversity is something I’ve always valued in any setting, whether that be in any clubs I join or even the city I live in. I believe that diversity allows people to connect and see that there are people similar to you even if they don’t look like you. Being in a classroom full of students from all kinds of cultures and backgrounds would help me excel because if I’m the only person of color in a classroom, I would feel very out of place and would be more focused on how I can try to fit in with the majority rather than focusing on the classwork.
My dream classroom would also be filled with an open-minded teacher as well as open-minded students. Many times in my past, some teachers try to make their opinion a fact when teaching and they don’t allow students to express their own opinions. To me, this creates a negative relationship and I immediately shut down and no longer engage with what’s being taught. Having a teacher who is open to different ideas and ways of thinking will allow me to dive deeper into the topic at hand and with that, I will retain the information better. I believe that having open-minded students is just as important as having an open-minded teacher. Being able to have positive conversations with my classmates even if we have different opinions produces a very welcoming environment that I will want to return to.
Lastly, my dream classroom would have real conversations. The schooling system tends to not have conversations that could help us in life such as how to do your taxes, how to budget, how to maintain a car or house, etc. Although I do value what school teaches, I would also like to learn other skills that can help me in the real world. All in all, school is where I found myself and where I learned most of the things I know to this day, and being in many diverse, open-minded, and honest classrooms is what has helped me become successful as a student.