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Tyson Johnson
Professor Alena Balmforth
English 1010
September 23, 2015
My Experience Regarding Education and Myself as a Learner:
Education is very important in todays society and its value for future employment and
life skills is priceless. Not everyone realizes the complete value of a good education and why
they need to work hard to further their education. As a young English student at Thomas
Jefferson Junior High, I learned how important my education really is and that experience helped
shape me into the dedicated learner I am today. After receiving a poor grade in the class and
some punishment from my mother, I set a goal to strive to do the best that I can to further my
education and become a better learner.
My first experience that really changed my perspective on learning and education
occurred in 2008 when I was attending my ninth grade English class. I was fifteen years old at
the time and I didnt have the mental capacity that I have now. The classroom setting was
difficult for me to work in because the classroom was relatively small and full of other students.
Due to the amount of bodies crammed into the small room we had to keep the door open so it
didnt get hotter than it already was. This caused me many distractions because there were
always other students and faculty members roaming the hallways and whose conversations
constantly attracted my attention. The warmth of the room made it quite ideal for sleeping which
caused me, and probably many other students in the class, to spend more time fighting off the
drowsiness rather than actually paying attention in class.

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The teacher, Ms. Owens, was also difficult for me to work with. Ms. Owens was a short
lady about five feet three inches. She was also quite large for her size making her less than agile
and it seemed to me this caused her great difficulty as she tried to maneuver through the many
desks and chairs of the tiny classroom. Her hair was short and very blonde, almost golden, just
reaching the shoulders. She seemed, at least to me, to be about middle-aged but acted quite
younger than her appearance made her out to be. This younger mentality she expressed didnt
suit well for me because it seemed to me she was trying to be a comedian rather than teach us
English. I thought it merely pointless to pay attention since we werent learning anything
anyway.
Ms. Owens also had the knack of going off topic frequently during class lectures. This
really left me unmotivated to work since I presumed that we were there to be taught English and
not learn about Tony Hawks latest run on the half pipe or how the Jazz did the night before. The
combination of her off topic tangents and her deeper than average voice didnt really help much
with the already warm room and consistent battle of drowsiness I was already facing. This made
for a very long and boring year but I was able to maintain a decent grade and was grateful that I
was nearing the end of the school year and the end of this ridiculous class.
Near the end of the school year, we were given a final project to complete about William
Shakespeare and the era in which he lived. The assignment included lots of short essays and
some questionnaires on several topics relative to the time period. I was not particularly excited
about the project but I do recall Ms. Owens saying, If you complete the project I will give you
an A for the semester. I was so excited to hear that by only completing the project I would
receive an A in the class. Since I only had to complete the project the due date seemed further

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away and less important than before. As the due date crept closer I began working on the project
a little at a time and eventually completed the project.
It was obviously not my best work, or even good work for that matter, but I felt
confident that I would get the grade I believed I deserved and the one Ms. Owens promised. A
week or so later I received the graded assignment. The grade on the front immediately aroused
feelings of anger and frustration towards Ms. Owens. I felt I had been cheated and lied to. I
became so infuriated that I actually threw away the entire project and left, satisfied that I would
never have to see Ms. Owens again.
When I returned home, my mother could immediately tell that something was upsetting
me and asked what the matter was. I didnt really want to explain the situation to her since she
had said on multiple occasions, In this house, if you get any lower than a B-there will be
consequences. Knowing that the consequences would not benefit me much I told her that I was
fine and not to worry. Being the good mother that she is she checked my grades online, the best
idea the school district ever had, in my mothers opinion, and saw the final grade that I was given
which was well below the B- range that she had established. She came to question me shortly
afterwards, What have you been doing? Pretending not to know what she was talking about I
gave the most common phrase any teenager would give in my situation, Nothing. Her regularly
light cheeks began to turn to a dark crimson and her soft, soothing voice became loud and shrill,
filling me with feelings fear and guilt. What happened in English class? she asked rather
forcefully. Attempting to get away with little to no consequences, I gave the second most
common phrase used by the youth of my day, I dont know. That was the wrong answer.
My mother then asked me the question that changed my thought process and feelings
towards education and learning. She asked Did you even do all the work? Responding with

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answers like The teacher is dumb, and Its not my fault, I began to realize that the only
person to blame for the poor grade was myself. This was the first step in understanding the
importance of my education and how my negligence in ninth grade helped me realize why I
needed to strive to do well in school.
After losing my video game privileges, and suffering some other unpleasant
consequences, the school year ended and I went on with my life. Over the summer, when I
wasnt preoccupied with other distractions, I pondered over what I could do to improve during
the next school year. I had no intentions of going through the same guilt and frustration as I had
the year before and I really didnt want to have to have a similar conversation with my mother
about poor grades again. This led me to make a personal goal to work much harder in high
school and work to achieve my mothers high academic standards. This goal helped me begin to
realize why my education is so important to my future.
Looking back, I dont quite recall everything that went on in my mind or all the little
details that triggered this sudden change and desire to become a better learner. Although, I do
remember that it was not something that happened overnight but a process that took time. As I
went through the next school year, my first one in high school, I began to see for the first time
the mistakes that I had made the previous year and started making small changes that would
eventually shape me into the dedicated learner I am today.
My mother never lowered her standards and always pushed me to work hard and do my
best throughout my educational career. She never forgot to occasionally remind me of the
consequences that would follow if I failed to do so. Thanks to my mothers strong motivation
and staying true to my goals I have learned to love education. I have learned over the years that it
takes more than just the motivation of others to bring about success, it also requires diligence

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from ones self. Many people can try to motivate us to do well but the initial decision to change
must come from the learner themselves. Looking back now, maybe I did learn something in that
tiny sauna after all.