Fitness Platoon – Nov 17, 2008
One Laptop Per Child

Exceptional

When I talk with people about my belief that there is latent potential all around us — that dropouts should not be written off because of the lost contributions to society — I’m met with stiff resistance to the idea. I contend that greatness can, and when given the chance, does spring from anywhere. As I’ve said before, where there’s a way there’s a will. Once a person is shown a way they know they can travel, the effort to travel that road can be limitless. As examples, I often cite non-degreed learners like Benjamin Franklin, Walt Disney, and Steve Jobs.

“But,” nearly everyone I have this conversation with seems to argue, “those people were exceptional.”

I always respond that being exceptional can only be seen in hindsight so we should assume it is all around us. Consider the following questions:

    Would you have recognized Bill Cosby as exceptional when he failed the tenth grade and dropped out of high school?

    Would you have recognized Benjamin Franklin as exceptional when he failed math in one of the only two years he went to school?

    Would you have recognized Walt Disney as exceptional when he dropped out of high school then went bankrupt in his first business?

    Would you have recognized Albert Einstein as exceptional when he dropped out of high school?

    Would you have recognized Frederick Douglass as exceptional when he was trapped in slavery?

    Would you have recognized Mark Twain as exceptional when he quit school after his father died?

    Would you have recognized Thomas Edison as exceptional when his mom pulled him out of school because of problems with his teacher?

    Would you have recognized Steve Jobs as exceptional when he dropped out of college after a semester?

We measure our idea of what it takes to be exceptional by what we see in the rear-view mirror. Now take a minute to look right in front of you.

What do you see?

By: Gannon Beck | 11/18/08 | Character Discipline - Mental Discipline | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

2 Responses to “Exceptional” »»

  1. Killroy
    Comment by Killroy | 11/22/08 at 11:30 pm

    well, you have a good point at the beginning... we (government) actually designed the current set-up of our school system to keep the poor under-funded districts from having children attending college. the no child left behind hinders the intelligent students abilities to learn and the test scores for federal funding only funds the school who are already well-funded. We as a country could learn a few things from socialism (a few things I remind you) and how some countries have morphed those ideas into a more acceptable format... Japan as example tests students and places them in a school of their intellectual peers and funds those schools accordingly. you don't have to worry about the jocks asking stupid questions or the brain confusing you about stuff that you didn't know you were even studying.

    America needs a revamping of it's school systems.

  2. gannonbeck
    Comment by gannonbeck | 11/23/08 at 11:26 am

    Killroy -- There is a book out there by Eric Jensen that is critical of, and proposes a solution to moving children from one grade to the next in lockstep fashion.

    http://www.amazon.com/Enriching-Brain-Maximize-Learners-Potential/dp/0470223898/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227463775&sr=8-1

    In the book, Jensen proposes what he calls individual education plans. I don't have the book right in front of me, but if memory serves, each child would get a custom education, spending more time on a subject they find difficult and not being held back with everyone else when a subject comes easily. Personally, I wouldn't advocate placing students in schools with intellectual peers, because it won't account for late bloomers and slow starters. Branding someone as not intelligent can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Studies have shown (and Jensen's book covers this as well) that the brain is very malleable -- that it can be physically changed by what we do to it.

    It is true that schools are not funded equally. It seems to me, that in light of this, a dependence on the system only makes the problem worse. Much of what I write about is about showing how this can be overcome. Heroes like Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass show us the way.

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