Today I learned about the importance of academic diversity in the classroom.
Since day one I have always been one of the “good students” who earned higher marks than others and was a favourite of teachers. As I focused during lessons while my classmates fooled around, I wondered about what a classroom with only “smart” and focused students would be like.
My question was answered during a recent Language Arts class. We were looking at examples of static images for the novel, The Outsiders, that we read for our class novel study. During the lesson, as my teacher was going through examples, she paused at an image and asked the class what our thoughts were. I had a vague idea, but was not confident enough to answer. While I was considering my response, a student I perceived to be “less intelligent” explained their understanding of the usage of colours and how several other different techniques represented and held different meanings. At this point I was completely surprised by what had happened. I reflected on my bias and realized that IT IS possible for “smart” students to learn from those I had perceived as “less intelligent” students, and that it is important to have a mix of both in a classroom. I realized that a diversity of talents within students in a classroom helps strengthen everyone’s learning because students are able to collaboratively learn from each other. Less academically strong students sometimes help other students in the class think more creatively and reflect deeper in order to get a more meaningful learning outcome. I figured that if each and every one of my classmates were the same, no one in my class would’ve been able to figure out the answer that day.
Diksha K. is a grade 9 student at Clarence Sansom School who enjoys reading, dancing, exercising and holds an interest in the art of music.
Today, I learnt several different techniques to be able to overcome overwhelming amounts of stress.
I am an individual that has the tendency to stress out about every little detail, and that is something that never worked in my favour. Whether that stress is from a quiz or a large summative assignment, I always stress myself out to the point where I sometimes have difficulty handling it.
This year, my science and homeroom teacher was one of the people who helped me to realize that always stressing myself out is going to cause my body harm. Three of my closest friends also helped me to realize that drowning myself in work is not advantageous to my future in any sort of manner.
I have also always been the type of person who is very much concerned about my future. I believe that the more effort and work a person puts into their future, the better it will turn out to be. This belief sometimes leaves me overwhelmed by all the work I feel the need to accomplish.
There are still times where I tend to stress myself out, but when I find myself in these situations, I reflect on those helpful pieces of advice given to me by my teacher and friends; going to bed early, taking breaks when needed, and doing relaxing activities such as yoga. I have found these activities significantly beneficial when I am in stressful situations.
Dilpreet S. attends Clarence Sansom School and is the Co-President of the Student Council. Being an expressive person, her hobbies include exercising and dancing. She also has an intense interest in literature and enjoys music.