Why My Mother Has Been My Most Influential Teacher by Cecilia

Why My Mother Has Been My Most Influential Teacher by Cecilia - March 2013 Scholarship Essay

As a homeschooled student, I have had four teachers in the entire course of my education. Two of these teachers had very little influence on my life because I only took one class from each of them. My other two teachers have had a much greater impact on my life: my parents, especially my mother. Throughout all twelve years of my education, my mother has been my primary and most influential teacher.
Not only has my mother taught me most of what I know, from mathematics to how to play the piano, but she has also formed many of my intellectual habits. Furthermore, because she knows my academic strengths and weaknesses, she has helped me try to overcome the weaknesses. For instance, I find mathematics more difficult than other subjects. My mother has endeavored to help me improve in that area by patiently working through many mathematical problems with me and by demonstrating, explaining- and re-explaining- them in detail. Then, she gives me extra problems of that type. Practiced extensively, those once baffling problems become comprehensible and effortless. Thus, while helping me improve in my weaker areas, my mother has also developed admirable study habits in me.
I can see the application of this method of learning in my efforts to excel in playing the piano. My method of learning a piece of music greatly resembles her method of teaching me mathematics. In math, I work through dozens of problems a day, isolate the difficult problems, and then work on those types of problems until I have mastered how to do them. When practicing the piano, I play through a piece of music and identify particular measures that I find difficult; I then discover why they are tricky and practice the problem spot repeatedly. Afterward, I try to commit the entire piece to memory. With this method of practicing, I have become an accomplished pianist.
My mother also aided me in applying to colleges- an effort that will affect my entire future. She offered constructive criticism of my applications, which helped me write better essays. Her counsel and encouragement were influential throughout many nerve-racking, discouraging weeks.
My mother has been more influential than any of my other teachers for a number of reasons. She has developed me intellectually and influenced my study habits. To paraphrase a saying of William Arthur Ward, “The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The influential teacher does both.” My mother is of the last class.