my academica father, being 53 years my senior (advantage of being kid of older fathers) calmly advised that i should either
(i) do apprenticeship in some trade, or
(ii) work on some invention i.e. cereal bowl whereby the cereal always stay crisp, coming into contact with milk immediately preceding being chumped on
my father was adorable, and a very fortunate man to have made it to good old age in relative comfort, after surviving much drama
my mom was
(i) in shock
(ii) very quiet
(iii) re-engaged with cigarette that afternoon of discovery
(iv) explained to me why i must shape up in school immediately
(v) visited all teachers with me in reluctant toll
i said ok, i will work on my next book reports with diligence, choosing "crime n punishment" and "war n peace", thinking they were detective and war books. i simply was beyond understanding.
in history class, the teacher asked the class about the ancient greeks, and i, out of daydream, responded, "yes, i think we do have too much homework".
the bad grades continued to poor in.
my highschool test indicated i should seek career in trucking.
i doubt trucking would have worked out for me.
one day i got a 100 on a pop math quiz, and it felt good. i looked around me, and in a high school of 700 graduating class, my math class had 6 students, and they even looked stupid, except the girl, she was cute, but certainly an airhead.
but the 100 mark felt good, even as 10th grade was nearly over.
i proceeded to A+ all subjects, and do advanced placement on all science and math course, gaining teachers' permissions by pleading with sincerity.
by graduation time, i elevated my F average to C- average.
it was the improvement curve that the universities focussed on, not the grade point average. my sat and achievement test scores and such were just slightly above then average.
i doubt a similar stunt can pass the gauntlet today.
should my kids do same to themselves as i did to myself, i as father would freak, and be very quiet on discovery day as well.
whew :0) it was close.
throughout my college times i had closer calls, especially into the final mile, even as i did graduate undergraduate in 3 years and nailed 2 masters degrees within 24 months. thinking back, my scalp go numb with fear due to delayed recognition of direness.
i did not invite my parents to my dual-masters degree graduation ceremony, because until called on stage, i did not know i was even going to graduate and receive the paperworks.
my parents did not find out the reason until about 10 years after my college graduation :0)
so, again, whew. thus i say alot, "god likes me".
my biggest take-away from schooling was, is, and always would be, "talk to people, for they generally want to help, especially when it is exceedingly easy for them to help, and extremely impossible for you to do without their very easy help". |
