My Relationship with Education by Laila

My Relationship with Education by Laila - September 2025 Scholarship Essay

I was taught how to hold a pencil because of relationships. The relationship between my kindergarten teacher and I taught me how to write my own name. The relationship between my pencil and paper allowed my name to be presented on all of my work. Our education system has gone through some incredible yet detrimental changes over the past few years. As a high school senior myself who has gone through the entirety of the k-12 education system, here are a few changes that I would hope to see in education over the next 10 years. One of the very first being more incorporation of mental health support. I find that oftentimes students are told frequently that their mental health matters and that there will always be guidance and support whenever needed. However, guidance does not just mean sitting down with a counselor and explaining what is wrong. Guidance includes incorporating mental health within the education system and classes itself and not just as a sub-unit. Giving kids more of an active voice to speak up about their concerns allows them to feel a sense of independence and leadership over their own education. There is a stereotype that Junior year of High School is by far the worst year, which to that I can agree with. If I had the opportunity to be a teacher teaching junior students, I would incorporate less tests and large assignments into my subject and rather allow kids to shine and learn in their own ways. Giving them more time to work together, help each other out, come to the teacher whenever they need reassurance in work, are all ways that students can be less stressed in school while still learning.

Another change that I would like to see is kids not being afraid to just be children. There are times when I reflect back on my childhood and miss the times when I was free. Spending my whole junior year drowning in work had made me upset going to school and envy kids younger than me. I hope to see schools incorporating outdoor time where students can take breaks throughout the day instead of having to go through class after class after class. Implementing breaks gives them better energy and memory sources.

Lastly, if there was a role model class that I would love the rest of the education system to be inspired by, it would be my Chinese class. I have taken Chinese as a foreign language for all four years of high school and I would for sure say that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made when it comes to my education. My Chinese class does not function like a typical class would, I consider my classmates to be like my family, where we are not drowned in work and have the ability to learn while still being social. In Chinese class, we have different field trips to different places which tends to be pretty rare as a high school student. As well as our assignments are small because our work is done where we collaborate together for different things in order to demonstrate that learning is a team effort where we all help each other become successful. Taught by my wonderful Chinese teacher who cares for us all individually. We can always come to her for anything, whether that be for a personal mental health problem or learning difficulty, as she implements mental health breaks within her own class so that we are not drowned in work.

I believe that education is a team effort between students and teachers, all created by relationships. As one of the most powerful tools for our future, education is undeniably the glue that holds our society together.