This is the first essay. I will be posting the other two by tomorrow hopefully!
Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development.
It is strange how an idea can completely change the way one approaches challenges. The nature of a few simple words creating a tangible change in the way one lives is, to me, absolutely incredible.
There was a time in my mathematics career during which I had trouble understanding many of the new concepts introduced to me. As a person who was typically solid at math, I had never experienced much trial in the subject as a whole. Eventually, after continued struggles in the class, my teacher sat me down and basically told me that I was approaching all my problems wrong. He then gave me a piece of advice, saying to me, "Trey, there are two types of learners: Those who chase grades and those who seek understanding. You need to strive to be the latter."
I wrestled with this simple bite of knowledge for some time. What was the difference between chasing grades and seeking understanding? If I sought grades first would it not yield the same results as would first seeking understanding?
The answer to my questions came through a Chinese proverb that I saw everyday on the wall across the room in Spanish class (my Spanish teacher and the Chinese language teacher shared a classroom). The proverb stated that "giving your son a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold". As any teenager would, I had shrugged off this Chinese proverb, deeming it some pointless piece of nonsense that some Chinese monk-man wrote down hundreds of years ago. However, this proverb, along with the purview provided by my teacher's little morsel of wisdom, served as a revelation as to how I should approach learning.
Learning is not about the "A". Eventually, there will be a point in my life in which I no longer have any grades. I will solely be left with the understanding and knowledge I received in my education whereas the grade chasers will be left with nothing but useless papers with an "A" written at the top.
Thank you!
Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development.
It is strange how an idea can completely change the way one approaches challenges. The nature of a few simple words creating a tangible change in the way one lives is, to me, absolutely incredible.
There was a time in my mathematics career during which I had trouble understanding many of the new concepts introduced to me. As a person who was typically solid at math, I had never experienced much trial in the subject as a whole. Eventually, after continued struggles in the class, my teacher sat me down and basically told me that I was approaching all my problems wrong. He then gave me a piece of advice, saying to me, "Trey, there are two types of learners: Those who chase grades and those who seek understanding. You need to strive to be the latter."
I wrestled with this simple bite of knowledge for some time. What was the difference between chasing grades and seeking understanding? If I sought grades first would it not yield the same results as would first seeking understanding?
The answer to my questions came through a Chinese proverb that I saw everyday on the wall across the room in Spanish class (my Spanish teacher and the Chinese language teacher shared a classroom). The proverb stated that "giving your son a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold". As any teenager would, I had shrugged off this Chinese proverb, deeming it some pointless piece of nonsense that some Chinese monk-man wrote down hundreds of years ago. However, this proverb, along with the purview provided by my teacher's little morsel of wisdom, served as a revelation as to how I should approach learning.
Learning is not about the "A". Eventually, there will be a point in my life in which I no longer have any grades. I will solely be left with the understanding and knowledge I received in my education whereas the grade chasers will be left with nothing but useless papers with an "A" written at the top.
Thank you!
