Being a Part of an Educational Institution - Essay Example

11 March Assignment Being a part of an educational is a very important sphere of any person’s life. The process of learningnever comes to an end, so much so that every individual keeps on gaining knowledge throughout the course of his life, not only through the academics that he learns but also through life experiences. Throughout the course of one’s life, a person encounters a number of experiences and events that end up impacting his education. John Howard was extremely fortunate to have been impacted by such an episode as well. He went by his daily errands every single day, without knowing how much force they had in his life; simple things like taking the bus to work or to the library, cleaning up the dishes at home, everything was done in a very mundane manner because he was getting very bored with living his life. He wanted something new to be offered to him without realizing that only he could make the difference. Academics was something that his parents put a great deal of pressure upon; they had invested a great amount of money for the purpose of John’s education and thus wanted him to excel more than he personally wanted to. John was never good in studies, but he always spent time trying to make his parents happy by trying his best to get good grades. The high school he attended had a number of clubs and associations attached with its prestigious name and as students John and his friends were always encouraged to be a part of them. One fine day, an announcement was made regarding the elimination of a few clubs that did not have many members or donations to remain as part of the school and had to be scrapped off the list because of the decisions taken by a few faculty members who did not have time to invest in the same. This was a social service unit that did not have too many students as a part of it and thus the student body always urged students to join. The main aim of the club was to help the special children or differently-abled children that lived in and around parts of the city. However, the club was never able to attract a lot of attention towards itself because not everyone wanted to become a part of a social unit designed for the welfare of differently-abled children. A few days later upon looking at the notice of this club, John and his friends went to a nearby cafe to spend some time and as they were happily sipping their lattes, John’s eyes happened to glance over a child on the street; the child seemed helpless and restless and his mother was scolding him. They entered the cafe and John’s eyes still did not move away from them – something was drawing him towards looking at them. The young boy seemed different. His mother kept trying to tell him not to touch things here and there but out of his frustration, he just kept flinging things from his bag. John walked up to them and asked the lady if he could offer any help. She sighed, turned around and said, “Thank you young man, but as a mother, there’s only so many things that even I can do for an autistic child!” John Howard’s parents had always tried to help charitable organisations and young orphans to live a better life in whatever way they can; his mother had raised him in a way that he knew about the terrible things that could happen to people physically and emotionally and make them mentally different in terms of living their lives, as compared to others. John was thus in the habit of doing little things like donating his old clothes and always taking food for orphans on festive occasions. These habits had been inculcated within him so deep that somehow, looking at that young child in that cafe that day, struck a chord inside him. His gut feeling was urging him to join the social service unit in order to interact with differently abled children and understand how they lived lives. Looking at that young boy helped John realize that the life that he had been given was something extremely precious – even on the most mundane of his days, John was more privileged than so many other children out there who did not even have decent means of education and play time. John wanted to make a difference, it was his calling. He went back to school the next day and immediately became a part of the bandwagon of a few children interested in helping children with special needs and attention around the city. After much pleading and signing petitions, ensuring that at least ten more students joined by the end of the school day and inspiring people to help children in need, John and his new group of mates, were able to keep the club alive. With time, they fixed certain field trips where they visited children from various schools; some of them were blind, some deaf, and some were physically handicapped. However, throughout the time that he was part of the club, the fondest memory that he has, is of meeting a young boy by the name of Austin, who was autistic, just like the child that John had met in the cafe the other day. The club decided that they would conduct an older sibling program which would last for three days. The aim was to gain support from other students and also get them to join the club as well as spread awareness regarding autism within the school. In the three days, the club members were to be assigned a young boy or girl to foster and nurture under their care. They were to behave as their big brothers or sisters and teach them all kinds of values and morals. John was assigned as Austin’s brother. At first, he did not understand how to deal with the young boy because he always thought on a different wavelength – in fact, he was still not able to understand how to interact with Austin and by the end of the first day and he felt frustrated and disappointed on having had him appointed with him. He went back home that day and thought to himself as to how to deal with an autistic child. He thought of the cafe where the child’s own mother was so frustrated; however, he did not lose hope. As the second day approached and he wearily woke up to go meet Austin, he was surprised when the young boy handed him a jigsaw that he had painted and cut up, all for his big brother. He told him with his slurry speech that he had designed it on the story ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by the Grimm Brothers. John was extremely touched. That day, he met Austin’s teachers as well and they showed him his skills and creativity. He was amazed to see that the boy had an amazing sense of art – his paintings were something different! His teachers also told John that despite his challenges, Austin spent hours at an end reading and being read to, trying to understand his texts and making sure that he did well in his studies, because his parents believed in him and told him that God would take his illness away if he studied hard and made something of himself. His parents had raised him by telling him every day that his handicap was only a matter of perspective and that he was the only one who could change it by making himself smarter day by day. Those thoughts hit John very hard and he was reminded again of how lucky he was to be physically fit unlike Austin. However, despite his challenges, he was doing well in his studies and making excellent progress. To date, John finds himself indebted to Austin for having put faith in him to study and make something out of himself. Because of his story and his ability as well as desire to do well in life, John has been able to tell himself everyday that if Austin has so much determination and will, then physically ‘fit’ people like John are fools to waste their potential in school. John was only under the impression that he studied hard, but in reality, it was something far from excellence. He understood the meaning of putting his full focus on his work. However, after meeting Austin, he began to take hearty interest in his work and his passion displayed itself through his grades eventually. John’s parents were very happy with this sudden change that they saw in him. They even told friends and relatives that they had no idea how John had suddenly begun to engage in such discipline. John felt extremely proud to have turned over a new leaf with Austin as his revelation. Thus, this is how John’s education was impacted by a very important incident that he was fortunate enough to encounter the same during the course of my life. Read More