Common App - Failure, How it Affected You and What You Learned
Over the word count. I need advise on what I need to cut down on and also, how I could improve it ... thanks!
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As a student in a new school, in an environment different from what I'd experienced before, I was unsure of myself. I made the decision to do the IB program but I hadn't considered the void I would feel in the friends I left behind in my school of 13 years. That void was filled when I found that my school had an active debate club ... active, until the year before. Students who had previously run the club had passed-out and since there was no clear succession, the club was discontinued.
Being one to always see opportunity, I found myself walking up to Mr. Alvaro's office, unsure what he would think of my proposition. Mr. Alvaro had overseen the debate club the year before.
I knocked, smiled and spoke all at once.
"... sir, I can run the debate club."
He was taken aback by my straightforwardness but agreed that it would be a good idea. Overjoyed, I immediately began preparing for the first debate session mentally.
With the help of a friend, I publicized the re-opening of the club in every classroom of our high-school. On the preparations front, I spent hours on YouTube watching every type of debate imaginable - political, school-level, university-level.
The D-day rolled in. I was ready to douse all the information I'd absorbed. I put on a confident front for those twelve people who attended, masking the nervousness I really felt. A good ten minutes went in explaining the debate format after which, I announced the topic we would be discussing. It was all very matter-of-fact and as the final bell rang, signaling the end of school, I knew it hadn't gone how I'd hoped. The attendees didn't enthusiastically answer the questions I asked like I'd imagined they would. Speeches were well below time. And, worst of all, I found people yawning, uninterested.
Given these symptoms, unsurprisingly, only half the people attended the next session. Stoic but really crushed on the inside, I quickly wrote the topic on the board. Having split the attendees into two groups - pro and con, we debated whether 'Sports teams should be penalized for the misbehavior of their fans.' Sports would definitely get people interested, I thought. It did. I was happy to see good conversation on the topic.
But at the next session, attendance dwindled further.
What was I doing wrong - I was putting in the hours, I had interesting topics but the response seen was not in the least proportionate to my effort.
I began to see low attendance as a sign of my incompetence and this affected my confidence. The initial enthusiasm I had for debate club became dread. Insidiously, I began to accept the situation as one that could not be changed. Students were simply not interested in debate; I blamed it on their superficiality.
Days became weeks and weeks, months. As a last resort to attracting members for the club, I organized a debate competition. Unsurprisingly, a few people who had signed-up didn't show but - serendipity! Students passionately exchanged ideas and points on issues ranging from Snowden's information leak to capital punishment to even the less-serious, 'should we be forced to wear uniform.'
It dawned on me.
What was ostensibly the fault of an uninterested student body, was actually the fault of a rigid, uncompromising and sometimes, boring approach to running debate club.
The biggest lesson I learned was that following the same approach and expecting different results is rightly called insanity - I realize the need for reflection and consequently, change, when a certain approach does not work. In hindsight, I realize I never did once ask the attendees why they didn't want to attend. I hadn't asked because I didn't want to confront the possibility that my approach might be the issue - I was too proud. Finding the humility to find the issue would have meant a better year for debate at DIA.
Over the word count. I need advise on what I need to cut down on and also, how I could improve it ... thanks!
----
As a student in a new school, in an environment different from what I'd experienced before, I was unsure of myself. I made the decision to do the IB program but I hadn't considered the void I would feel in the friends I left behind in my school of 13 years. That void was filled when I found that my school had an active debate club ... active, until the year before. Students who had previously run the club had passed-out and since there was no clear succession, the club was discontinued.
Being one to always see opportunity, I found myself walking up to Mr. Alvaro's office, unsure what he would think of my proposition. Mr. Alvaro had overseen the debate club the year before.
I knocked, smiled and spoke all at once.
"... sir, I can run the debate club."
He was taken aback by my straightforwardness but agreed that it would be a good idea. Overjoyed, I immediately began preparing for the first debate session mentally.
With the help of a friend, I publicized the re-opening of the club in every classroom of our high-school. On the preparations front, I spent hours on YouTube watching every type of debate imaginable - political, school-level, university-level.
The D-day rolled in. I was ready to douse all the information I'd absorbed. I put on a confident front for those twelve people who attended, masking the nervousness I really felt. A good ten minutes went in explaining the debate format after which, I announced the topic we would be discussing. It was all very matter-of-fact and as the final bell rang, signaling the end of school, I knew it hadn't gone how I'd hoped. The attendees didn't enthusiastically answer the questions I asked like I'd imagined they would. Speeches were well below time. And, worst of all, I found people yawning, uninterested.
Given these symptoms, unsurprisingly, only half the people attended the next session. Stoic but really crushed on the inside, I quickly wrote the topic on the board. Having split the attendees into two groups - pro and con, we debated whether 'Sports teams should be penalized for the misbehavior of their fans.' Sports would definitely get people interested, I thought. It did. I was happy to see good conversation on the topic.
But at the next session, attendance dwindled further.
What was I doing wrong - I was putting in the hours, I had interesting topics but the response seen was not in the least proportionate to my effort.
I began to see low attendance as a sign of my incompetence and this affected my confidence. The initial enthusiasm I had for debate club became dread. Insidiously, I began to accept the situation as one that could not be changed. Students were simply not interested in debate; I blamed it on their superficiality.
Days became weeks and weeks, months. As a last resort to attracting members for the club, I organized a debate competition. Unsurprisingly, a few people who had signed-up didn't show but - serendipity! Students passionately exchanged ideas and points on issues ranging from Snowden's information leak to capital punishment to even the less-serious, 'should we be forced to wear uniform.'
It dawned on me.
What was ostensibly the fault of an uninterested student body, was actually the fault of a rigid, uncompromising and sometimes, boring approach to running debate club.
The biggest lesson I learned was that following the same approach and expecting different results is rightly called insanity - I realize the need for reflection and consequently, change, when a certain approach does not work. In hindsight, I realize I never did once ask the attendees why they didn't want to attend. I hadn't asked because I didn't want to confront the possibility that my approach might be the issue - I was too proud. Finding the humility to find the issue would have meant a better year for debate at DIA.
