No one is gonna care about this... but it just reminded me of a very tough, fucked up time in my life.

High School. Background: I'm dyslexic, I am smart, but never was above a 2.7 student because in math and science I struggled to get D's just to pass most years. Not because I was stupid, but because the system was not set up for people with learning issues (I'm not disabled!). I had just changed schools in 11th grade. I was also really into soccer back then, achieving quite a few honors and accolades in the sport. Playing varsity soccer was a goal of mine for scholarships (never happened, here's why.)

Stephen XXXXXX

Stephen XXXXXX is a personal Hero of mine. He made a decision three years ago that very few 15 year olds would have the courage and fortitude to make. Steve chose education; he chose to place himself back a grade in order to get a firm footing in our math and science curriculum. He valued that goal more than his ego or his athletic status.

Steve had transferred from XXXXXXXXXX Academy after his sophomore year in 1988. He was eager to try the larger enviornment of XXXXXX XXXXXXX. He was a quality soccer player and XXXXXX XXXXXXX is one of the perennial soccer powerhouses in Pennsylvania. Steve began his junior year in our second level of Pre-Calculus and Physiscs, the next logical sequential courses based on his former classes. About midway through his first trimester he was in a state of shock. The workload and the curriculum went far beyond what he was used to; he enjoyed the challenge but felt hopelessly unprepared. "I should go back and learn this stuff, this is my life," I remember him saying. I also remember being startled at the clarity of conviction he possessed at that moment. It took me a minute but I realized he was serious and began exploring the possibility of repeating tenth grade. What would his new friends think? What would his parents think? Could he handle the social pressure? Steve went home, discussed his decision with his parents, and became a second year student in Honors sections of Chemestry and Algebra 2. This decision also meant losing a year of soccer eligibility, perhaps the most difficult part of the decision for this dedicated player. He was out of the frying pan, but into the fire. The classes he transferred into were filled with our math and science hotshots, Johns Hopkins talent search whizzes. He survivied both courses with average grades, another test of his fortitude and willingness to work at difficult tasks.

Stephen's junior year was more representitive. He was still in with the kids who would eventually score 200 points more than him on the SAT's, but he managed a B average.

I believe that his greatest gains have come socially. Steve had a history of priate school enrollments before he attended XXXXXXX XXXXXXX. He needed the diversity of a public school population to mollify his personality. He now possesses a composure that carries him in new situations. He is more self-assured, he knows he's intelligent, and can hold his own in social situations without being overbearing.

His latest board scores are a result of a concerted effort on his part. He worked on vocabulary, reviewed geometry and algebra, and gained a hundred points over his last testing.

Steve has earned the right to attend college. he is a well-balanced canidate, a young man who may have miles to go before he sleeps, but he's already covered quite a bit of ground. Please accept my unreserved endorsement of this canidate.

XXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Guidance Counselor.

*****Note******

For those who have missed certain posts from me, this will make no sense. Life did not become normailzed for me until the point in my life when I went back a grade, as told above. Not that 90% of you care, but for the 10%, I thought this was interesting when I found it today.

That's pretty cool. My guidance counselor was clueless.

was this written about you or about a kid like you? Either way it's a pretty awesome story of a kid that ignored social norms and pressure in order to do something he thought he was right.

**EDIT** just read the title. Awesome

I work with special education students of varying functionality and I find it disheartening when the sports, schools, and colleges push through the gifted athletes without thinking about their future.

There was a boy I worked with -- very very gifted. Could high jump 6'4 as a junior. He was offered a bunch of scholarships, but literally couldn't read or pass any entrance exams. I tried to get him left back several times but the school pushed him forward. That's why I work on the elementary level now. Less crap and extracurricular activities to deal with.

What you did was exceptional, especially considering the circumstances of a high school environment. You're still a jew, though. All of the Wynn knows it, too.

That was an awesome read!

I wish I would have had the mind set to do something along those lines before I wasted half my life.
My high school advisor told me I was one of the greatest waste of talent she had ever seen. I was a member of T.A.G. had taken the test to join Mensa my freshman year and gotten in. Had a 4.0 GPA
My sophmore year I started drinking and smoken. my junior year I found the wonderful world of drugs. by the time I graduated High School my GPA was 2.9 by doing nothing more then coasting. Soccer was the only thing that kept me from droping out all together.
I went to college after spending a year boozing and drugen. Maintained a 3.2 GPA until I got my girlfriend prego.
Now at 34 I have almost completely righted the ship I tried to so hard to sink in my 20s.

Its great to see someone who got it early in life instead of squandering such a gift.

All tho I think it would be cooler if you just would wear a helmet and be done with it. MR. Trys to hard!!

Nothing depresses me more then when you see someone so talentless achieve so much. It makes you realise how sad your own life is hehe.

yea, I was enrolled in an episcopal school (Episcopal Academy - where I was suspended 3 times in 5 years and finally asked never to return). From there I was enrolled in a Quaker school (to help out with the emotional problems I had by the 4th grade. After that it was to another local "Academy."

My parents spent probably well over 40K just to get me through high school. Which, btw, they PAID for me to go to a public school that wasn't even in my district. There happened to be race riots at the public school in my district and my parents didn't want me in the middle of all that when I had a personal goal to rise above my life experiences and make it through college. Besides my life was far from normal as I mentioned prior to when I went back a grade.

good post, im glad it workd out for you but i guess this post honestly just brings off the vibe that you were mentally challenged in many aspects of life...and i dont think that was the case. Any kid that is smart enough to know he needs to repeat something is far beyond the level of most kids that just passed that class with an A. Glad it all worked out for you.

I played epispocal at soccer one year and head butted a guy really hard in the chest on purpose. he said he would get back at me someday but showering me with pocket fives merchandise.



Courtesy of Nether Providence Chamber of Commerce
<H3>9. Nether Providence (Wallingford), Pa.</H3>

Population: 13,600
Typical single-family home: $350,000
Estimated property taxes: $7,000
Pros: Affordable homes, top-rated schools(rly????, fuck strath haven)
Cons: No real downtown

Why does that pirate have a penguin on his shoulder?