Albert Einstein, one of our nation’s most recognized ...



Albert Einstein, one of our nation’s most recognized inventors, has become a symbol of all things intellectual—and I firmly believe it can all be attributed to his philosophy “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” Looking back, although I never knew that Albert Einstein said it, it makes perfect sense that he would. Although he didn’t excel in public school, he proved that educational excellence can’t always be quantified, nor does failure to meet a standardized level of achievement mean that one isn’t an intellectual, nor does he have the right to stop learning.

Commonly, we hear people say “I’m no Einstein,” when attempting to downplay their intellectual prowess, but truly, I do believe I am an Einstein. It’s reported that Einstein had learning disabilities, and was viewed as an under achiever and mislabeled as “stupid.” Several times in elementary school my teachers recommended that I be tested for gifted identification and receive placement in the magnet program for high achievers. And each time, after getting my hopes up, they were only let down when the test results failed to match my actual ability. On paper, I wasn’t gifted—I wasn’t even a candidate for the high achievers program. In the sixth grade, I was placed in a special education resource Math class. I distinctly remember taking the ITBS test in the fifth grade, but I also remember being too embarrassed to tell my teacher that I’d once again “zoned out” and had bubbled anything just to finish. The test results placed me on the low ability track, and there I’d stay. So, there I remained, in basic level classes, denied to be given the opportunity to do work that I knew that I could if ever given the chance. Like Einstein, I too had learning disabilities that remained undiagnosed. It wasn’t that I was an under performer, it was that I had ADHD and my mind would often wonder or escape into long periods of daydreams that would eat up my test taking time.

It wasn’t until I reached the 7th grade that I had a teacher that was willing to ignore the test scores, and actually look at my class performance records and my ability to quickly solve complex math problems if I were given less problems to do in the same amount of time that my peers would do double the amount. She met with my parents, and told them, that if I focused, and worked hard over the summer, that I could actually be placed in Algebra I my 8th grade year—even though that’d mean I’d have to skip Pre-Algebra! And work hard I did. My father became my daily math tutor, and with the help of computer programs, patience, and determination, I was more than prepared to compete with my peers when school resumed, and I can proudly say that from 8th grade on, I’ve never received a final grade less than a B in math, or any other subject for that matter.

Through this experience, and many others like it, I’ve learned that it really doesn’t matter what the “standardized” tests show—it really matters what you believe you can do, and what you can prove consistently. Looking at my SAT scores, which are significantly less than what your university requires, it would seem that my applying to your institution of learning would be for naught—but history tells us one key fact—it repeats itself. Once again, I’ve failed to demonstrate my ability in a timed testing situation, but I can with confidence say that those results don’t reflect what patience, determination and possibly guided tutorials can help me accomplish.

I, like Einstein, am a firm believer that intellectual growth should commence at birth and not cease until death—that’s my life’s philosophy, and that’s the commitment I’m willing to make if granted admission into your school. As long as I have life in me, I’ll have the fight in me to seek out knowledge and grow intellectually, and then share the fruits of my knowledge with others. I want to be a teacher one day, just like my 7th grade math teacher Mrs. Volmer, that takes the time to look at a student’s passion, determination and tenacity, and give them all the opportunities possible to shine in whatever ways possible.

Life is short, I’ve only got one, and I can’t spend it pegged by what happens in these “high stake” testing situations. Although I don’t perform well in those few situations that seem to guide the quality of academic life one’s afforded—I do perform daily, and well, in my classes, and I can without hesitation say that I have what it takes to be a member of the graduating class of 2015 that will go on to embody your school’s motto—“Excellence is what we breed, success is what we guarantee!”

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