I wasnt the best student in the public school system. Im sure if you dug up my cumulative record and scraped off all the white-out placed retroactively when lawsuits started popping up in the 80s (Ive seen mine; it was bathed in it), youd find adjectives written by each of my teachers like lazy, disorganized , unprepared, disinterested, etc. Teachers made these notes as a heads up to future educators ideally to highlight students that might need additional help succeeding, but my experience overall was that they were used to label students who may not be worth encouraging towards further education. I grew up in a time before learning disability diagnoses were vogue, but from my memory & perspective I found it terribly difficult to concentrate in class, and even more difficult to organize material for study. The entire process seemed overwhelming to the point that I would cope by withdrawing and shutting down. I managed to squeak by with my personal Bell curve centered around a C average (thank God for Band). I only failed one class, but it was an Accounting elective 6th period of my Senior Year so it was doomed from the start. When applying for a program at CVTI (now CVCC, but my diploma says CVTC; they had an identity crisis), I had to secure a recommendation from my Guidance Counselor. I wont embarrass any distant relatives by naming him but he reluctantly drafted a one-paragraph note sans flourish stating I was in the top 70% of my class. He also recommended I forego college and find an entry level job I could work my way up in. I was accepted into CVTI, and found a Guidance Staff that encouraged me. A turning point in my life was when they put me in a summer seminar prior to my regular curriculum titled How to Succeed in College. It was basically a course in HOW to study; outlining chapters, taking notes in class, identifying main ideas, making 3x5 cards, and organizing study groups. NOWHERE in 12 years of public school had anybody done this for me. I didnt graduate as either Valedictorian or Salutatorian, but I made Presidents List more quarters than not, and my GPA was firmly in the high 3s. Grades good enough to get me accepted into Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing a few years later. NC has one of the finest Community College programs in the Nation, and I dont know where Id be or what Id be doing without it.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 01:13:29 +0000
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