Honors Orientation: Quality Education

            Throughout all of my schooling I judged my education’s quality based on my grades. I made straight A’s all through elementary and junior high and maintained good grades in high school. However was that really a quality education? What is a quality education?

            My freshman year of high school I moved to a new school and thought it would be just as easy to maintain my straight A’s however it was not. My new school was much more challenging than my previous one and I had to work much harder to keep up high grades. While I did learn quite a bit in some classes others I do not remember anything. However I was much more focused on my grades than what I learned. I wanted to be in National Honor Society, get into a good college, and to graduate with honors. While I did achieve all of these goals I think that I put my understanding of some subjects behind me. I do not remember a single thing that I learned in my AP American History class or in biology. I memorized facts to pass those classes. However, there were classes that I received a quality education from.

            In high school I had some excellent teachers that I received a quality education from. These classes I received not just knowledge of the subject but an understanding of what I learned and also how to apply it. In high school some of my greatest teachers were social studies and English teachers. These classes I learned skills and knowledge that stays with me today.

            Quality can be defined in many ways but I think that is defined as an education in which a student not only increases their knowledge of a subject but also gains an understanding of the subject. A quality education can be integrated into a student’s life. My education had a lot of quality education but there were also some classes which I did not receive a quality education. The teachers had an impact on this by the way they taught but it was also self-motivated.

            Your education is up to you. It is possible to make good grades and also receive a quality education. I accomplished all of my personal goals and more. What I learned in high school I am using in college and will use for the rest of my life. Quality education lasts.