In a popular Indian folk tale, Birbal, the witty favorite courtier of Akbar, an old Mughal emperor, talks about the value of everything, whether it be whole or not. He points out that the fine clothes that the emperor wears along with the sugar cane juice that is so tasty both are products of crushed material: jhute (cotton) and sugar cane.

The belief that everything has value resonated with me when I observed my homeroom at our service project. Old pieces of furniture and cookware were being touched up a bit to provide a cozy comfortable first home for refugees.

In education, too, we tend to overlook the students whose abilities seem broken (for want of a better word) and the teachers can be unaware of their strength in another area. Also these students abilities may just need to be discovered, and they can be turned from nothing into something special.

Realize that everything has great potential, but you just might not see it yet. Open your eyes and delve deeper to find what lies hidden inside.

About the author: Tara Subramaniam is in eighth grade at The Westminster Schools. She loves traveling, learning, and is interested in creating change. Follow her on Twitter at @TaraWestminster.