Helping Students Find Their Spark for Learning. by Jane

Helping Students Find Their Spark for Learning. by Jane - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

I never expected to find joy in my job. But through interactions with students and parents, I can confidently say that I love helping our youth reach their full potential. I work at Kumon, a tutoring center for kindergarteners through seniors in high school. And while it consists of grading and maintaining inventory, my job gives me a place to restore confidence within students who may be struggling or learning new subjects. Having worked there for over two years, I’ve made close connections with students and have helped them overcome self doubt through their prowess in math and reading assignments. Having used to be a struggling student myself; it feels good to be a rock for someone else. Receiving artwork from the younger students and “thank yous" from parents has always solidified my resolve, and taught me the importance of staying positive as it has helped me and my students. And while a lot of the job is positive, there were hard moments where I had to step in. I'm not referring to times where I had to tell students to be quiet or settle down, but times where I would notice a particular student crying while looking at his work sheet. I remember the first time I went up to him when he told me that his thoughts all pointed to the fact that he was “dumb” and couldn't do it. That's when I pulled him aside and told him to sit with me one on one. At first this in itself was devastating as he worried what the other kids would say when they saw. But as soon as we sat down I was able to walk him through the fraction process on his math homework. While he was frustrated at first, he was able to get better and better at solving them by himself. Suddenly, every time he walked in he would automatically sit with me and openly ask questions. I would check his answers as he worked and celebrated with him as he got it right. But the real turning point was when he recognized that he could actually do it. That was when I told him how it's impossible to be perfect at something when you do it for the first time. And that none of the “smart” people he knew would be where they are if they hadn't learned it in the first place. That's when I saw his confidence rise as he met things with understanding in place of anger or discouragement. After reviewing his shift in confidence, I asked if he wanted to sit independently. He was skeptical at first, and still comes up to me from time to time with questions, but as he sat independently within the center I could see how proud he was of himself. And being able to get his success as a thank you is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever received.
Ultimately, without confidence, one's self doubt gets in the way of their learning. And being able to restore a child's love for learning also allows room to show how to react during conflicts or setbacks that they may encounter in everyday life. But by reassuring them that they are doing just fine, and allowing them to see their own success, we can help our youth to recognize their value. And, as a senior in high school, I can confidently say that one's confidence is fueled by reassurance in their abilities. Allowing me to look back on the first time I met that specific student with joy as I was able to impact his life, and with great gratitude since through that experienceI learned what I wanted to do as a career. I aim to become a children and teens therapist as I learned that being a mentor required a great responsibility and patience. Sitting down and taking whatever things said out of anger from students wasn’t easy, but guiding every student through their learning process and seeing the end result was amazing as what was frustration turned to appreciation. All in all, this caused me to recognize the responsibility and maturity needed to face things with a positive mindset, illustrated by my students.