In human history, school has always been regarded as a necessary and invaluable place where individuals can enhance their academic knowledge and expand their worldview. Along with those traditional benefits of school, the purpose of the schools in my community is also to cultivate one’s confidence and perseverance in overcoming their own shortcomings.

Through my own experiences at different schools in different communities, I have begun to understand the historical long-standing importance of school and that its ultimate purpose is to mentally and intellectually transform an individual. Before I came to study in Australia, I spent the first 11 years of my life in China and was raised with the traditional Chinese ideologies in mind. In my Chinese community, the widely accepted belief was that one should devote all their efforts to studying to obtain an outstanding score; Chinese parents focus heavily on the final marks instead of the learning process undergone by their children. Therefore, to me, schools in the Chinese community became a place only for perfection and competition, instead of a place for learning and improving from mistakes.

Yet all this completely changed when I went to my new school in Australia. My English was very poor when I first came to the country; I was unable to communicate and write properly. Without a doubt, my first English test was not ideal. The score hit me hard on the head and in the heart as I thought all my efforts were all for nothing. I believed it was normal to think this way until my teacher came over, knelt down next to my table, and looked confidently into my eyes — Amy, don’t you worry. What you need to see is the huge progress you have made, so treat this test as a milestone. I could not completely understand her, so I gave her a pen and paper. She wrote down what she said, and it was not until years later when I found the paper and looked at it again that I realized what she truly meant.

My teacher was right. For all my years studying in Australia, every teacher has encouraged me to value the process of learning more than the final score — because when one pays attention to the process of learning, not only will they free themselves from feeling anxious about the final score, but they will also be able to study more efficiently and steadily, leading to better final outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of school in the Australian community is to encourage individuals to make progress and enjoy studying instead of treating it as a mere tool to obtain a good final score.

Clearly, the purpose of school is not definite nor determined by a single factor. It can change based on one’s attitude and the social and cultural context of a community. In my current community, the purpose of school is to help young students learn from mistakes and the process of learning. The Australian community often values the process more than the end result.