ONE OF THE STUPIDEST THINGS I'VE DONE
Having done an incredible number of stupid things it
is difficult to prioritize them. Therefore, I’ve chosen something a bit more
global than an isolated dumb thing. Previously I’ve written about the one room
country school which I attended. It was the site of some stupid things that I
did. However, my focus will begin with something that began in elementary
school but carried far beyond it.
Judging from my report cards
I was a good student....for three years. While in the first three grades all my
marks were very good...including deportment, i.e., behavior on which we were
graded. All that changed in the fourth grade where, I shifted from being a good
student, to being one where my goal became to see how little I could do and
still get by. Passing and grades became the goal, and learning was not
important. This behavior continued through high school.
Obviously that attitude did
not serve me well and the reckoning came when I began college. Perhaps, even
had I been a serious scholar, the shift to college would have been difficult.
But, given my total lack of academic discipline for all those years, the
adjustment was much harder. The joy of learning had passed me by and any studying
I did was test or grade oriented. Thinking back on those years always brings
pangs of regret for the opportunities I missed. On the other hand, I am deeply
grateful for the second, third, fourth...chances I had so that recovery was
possible. Perhaps my own history explains, at least in part, my joy now working
with elementary students when I see their faces light up with discovery
No comments:
Post a Comment