Learning Revolution

If I had unlimited time and resources, I would study exactly what I am doing in Honors Mentorship, which is mathematical education. It is something that I have believed I would be passionate about, and after learning from my mentor for a month, I have found that I am more passionate about it than I thought I would be. If I had to study something specific about mathematical education, it would teaching students how to perform critical problem solving through challenges such as brain teasers. This has been a passion of mine since I was in kindergarten, and I even did a school project on brain teasers two years ago. Every Friday I give a brain teaser to the seventh grade math class that I mentor in, and I am in the charge of the class during that time. I enjoy challenging the students and watching them have fun with being challenged. If I could teach a class about anything I wanted to, it would be on critical problem solving.
Between Attitude and Aptitude, Attitude, and more specifically Passion, has more influence on how well a student performs in our current education system. The way our education system is set up, most students have to enjoy what they are learning to do well in a class. However, our education system is standardized and not everyone is passionate about the same thing. I have seen students who are very bright but get bad grades because they do not care about what they are learning about and find it boring. On the other hand, I have seen students that usually have very low grades in most of their classes but have a high grade in one of their classes. This is not necessarily because they are smarter in that subject, but because they have more passion about it.
Our current education system may work for some, but it is not the best way to educate children. Not everyone is great at all academic subjects, yet that is almost the only way to be accepted into a great college. Students should not be placed in schools based on where they live, as how they currently are, but rather by how they enjoy learning. The beginning of schooling could be where children learn basic knowledge, such as addition and reading, but students should then be enrolled into specialized schools where the focus is on a specific skill or subject while also learning other academic knowledge. This would create a more trained workforce which would make our society more advanced.
Through participating in the Honors Mentorship Program for two months, I have found areas that I need to work on involved with my field of study. I have found that I could improve on my procrastination skills. Through teaching, I have also found that I need to work on being comfortable while talking in front of a group of people, and I need to work on explaining what I am teaching in such a way that it is not confusing. I enjoy being a part of the Honors Mentorship Program, and I plan to work on these weak areas throughout the year.