A Love for Learning

Ever since I can remember I have loved learning, and, I won't lie, I am
pretty good at it. With this in mind, it is easy for me to look back
and see tutoring as inevitable. The first time I decided to tutor
someone was in the sixth grade. I don't know exactly why I started
tutoring, maybe I was just curious to see how it would go, maybe I
wanted to share my love of learning with someone else. It began with
me going to an elementary school with a high population of
economically disadvantaged kids, where I tutored in reading and math
throughout my middle school years, and when I came to high school I
needed to find a new program to tutor for.
My high school's tutoring program was student created for other
students, and I jumped at the opportunity to participate. From
freshman year until now I was tutoring anywhere from two to four
hours a week. I would go to the tutoring room even when I had no
students scheduled just in case someone needed me.
I have always taken my role as a tutor very seriously. As someone who
deeply values my education and grades, I recognize how I have a
student's grades in my hands and the potential to affect their future
in a positive way. It is a great responsibility to try and take on a
struggling child but it is deeply fulfilling. I believe this is why I
continue to tutor; it feels amazing to me to see that "Aha!"
moment and your lasting effect on a child.
I see education as a partial failure in our society. Instead of a
creative and nurturing environment for kids, schools seem to be more
focused on statistics, often leaving struggling students in the dirt.
Tutoring has taught me how important individual approaches to
learning are, and I hope that through my work I can help people to
see how the brain doesn't conform to one learning model. This is how
I see my work as forward-looking. I am looking into the future and
trying to usher in the changes our education system desperately
needs.
Tutoring isn't easy. I sometimes get stuck in self-doubt, wondering if I am
really making an impact or actually helping kids. Then I remind
myself about students who have thanked me or told me about how their
grades are higher, and I know I have made a difference to these kids.
Even if it is a few kids out of millions, I will look back on my role
as a tutor proudly because I have made math and Spanish easier for my
fellow students.
Tutoring is a crucial part of my life I will never forget; my first job is
even going to be tutoring related, but, amongst all of the
inevitabilities of my tutoring, perhaps the most interesting part
about my love for teaching is that I have wanted to be a doctor my
whole life.