From Stumbles to Success: The Human Side of Education by Shalvee

From Stumbles to Success: The Human Side of Education by Shalvee - September 2025 Scholarship Essay

“Wait, that’s not how it goes,”

I laughed as my student stumbled over an English idiom, and she laughed right back. Our conversations made the language feel alive with mistakes and discoveries. Education, no matter the way we receive it, shapes how we succeed. To me, it should always create interaction, engagement, and tie to the world around us. Over the next ten years, I hope our education focuses on lessons that adapt to each learner, develop based on our experiences, and help students build both their academic and personal skills.

Since the start of my tutoring sessions, culture has gone hand-in-hand with our conversations. We compared school routines, holiday traditions, and daily lives. Through this, we both understood how our backgrounds varied, but we were still excited to learn more about each other. One student started by mentioning a Ukrainian tradition, local to her region. As I recalled the details of the tradition a few sessions later, she asked me questions about my favorite holidays and festivals. This led to a long discussion about our culture and heritage. Another student spoke to me about her school life and structure, and our chat turned into a mini-project where we compared and contrasted our schools and academic responsibilities. I realized the process of learning gets strengthened when it includes different perspectives and encourages their exploration in a variety of topics.

Over time, I noticed how differently each student approached English. One spoke slowly, choosing words carefully, while another rushed through sentences, mixing tenses. I adjusted my methods to fit their needs by offering hints, encouragement, and step-by-step guidance to the first, and short improvisational exercises to the second. Slowly, the quiet student opened up about her stories and shared her favorite parts of the day without prompting, and the faster speaker began correcting herself mid-sentence. Seeing them communicate independently highlighted how important it is for instructors to adapt to students’ current abilities and learning styles. One student once said, “I didn’t know I could say that!” and her enthusiasm reminded me how enriching it is to see others succeed after their hard work.
Even small changes had a large impact. When a student struggled to recall a word, a quick visual example helped them ‘click’ the ideas together, and a grin would spread across her face. Seeing that “aha” moment repeatedly showed me that patience and attention can change the way someone experiences learning. I also realized that teaching requires listening as much as explaining. Quickly noticing their frustration helped me provide support at the exact moment it was necessary, which in turn assisted the students to move away from frustration to accomplishment.

Over the next decade, I hope classrooms provide flexible guidance, integrate cultural perspectives naturally, and create spaces where students feel comfortable experimenting, making mistakes, and solving problems. Classrooms where learners share aspects of their culture, lead small discussions, and explore ideas at a pace that suits them. My ENGin experience demonstrated that education is most effective when it combines skill-building with human connection, giving students both competence and confidence. By making classrooms places where learners are supported and challenged in ways that match their needs, schools can help students grow into capable, thoughtful, and resilient individuals, ready not only for academic success but also for meaningful engagement with the world.