I attended a private high school from 1962-1966. Back then it was common for students to be grouped according to their perceived intellectual abilities. Ironically I ended up in the top level class called “Honors” after my former teachers insisted that I not be grouped based on the entrance exam for the school. It seems that my score would have landed me in either the 1-1 or 1-2 ranking rather than Honors. The administrators decided to give me a trial opportunity to demonstrate my learning chops before moving me down to a grouping that they believed would be more appropriate for me.
I ended up staying with the Honors group for all four years and graduated as the valedictorian. I admittedly received a fine classical education, but after becoming an educator myself I began to identify the numerous problems associated with such a strict system of classifying students in a very public way. For one thing, I had no opportunities to actually meet and interact with many of the students who would graduate in the same year as I did. They were literally cut off from me and those of us who were in the Honors classes unless we happened to play sports or join the drill team.
It would be fifty years later before I got to know many of members of the Class of 1966 when we came together for a reunion. By that time my shyness had given way to an openness that had been missing when I was a student and had been reinforced by keeping me tightly associated with a small group of people day in and day out for four years. I would reach out to almost everyone on that evening and continue our conversations at future gatherings and on Facebook. What I found in the process was quite lovely.
I learned that there were people in my class who were much more in sync with the person that I was back then and the person that I am today. I connected with them almost intuitively and found soulmates whom I suspect I would have enjoyed as a teenager if I there had been opportunities to meet them rather than simply know of them and passing them in the hallways of the school.
I have come to see that the distinctions between our intellectual abilities were always miniscule. They are highly intelligent and vibrant individuals who might have done as well in the Honors classes as I did if they had enjoyed the gift of the advocates who insisted on placing me there. All of which makes me question the reliability of the system that the powers that be used in very publicly assigning us to certain tracks of learning.
My own experience as an educator has shown me again and again that when students choose to challenge themselves academically they generally rise to the occasion. I have grown to despise systems that create roadblocks for students based on single tests or opinions about them. One of my favorite experiences involved a student who had been relegated to special education status but worked side by side with his classmates in regular classes.
I had received notification from San Jacinto Junior College that they were offering a six week long daily summer camp for deserving students who were interested in science and mathematics. They requested that I inform my students about the program and provide them with the information they would need to vie for a place.
Many teachers quietly gave the application packets to only their top students but I described the opportunity to all one hundred fifty of my pupils. I was disappointed that only a small number of the most advanced students showed interest in spending much of their summer in a college classroom. Then one of my special education students excitedly asked for the information he would need to apply. I gave them all the deadline date that they would need to follow so that I might send a packet of applications to the school in a timely manner.
Some of the students decided that the application was too complex since it even required an essay telling why they wanted to attend. Only a little more than half who had asked for the instructions turned in their paperwork. Among them was the special education student.
When I took the time to read through their forms and essays I had a feeling that it would not be the young men and women who were making the best grades in my class who would be chosen. Instead it was the special education student whose information stood out like a twinkling star. It was apparent how badly he wanted to prove himself and as expected he won the coveted spot.
Some of my fellow teachers were appalled that we would be sending the “inferior” student to represent our school. They pointed out that he had anger issues and might cause a ruckus or worse. They noted that his study skills were lacking and that he often missed deadlines or just ignored assignments. I nonetheless stood my ground and insisted that the young man had won fair and square. I told him immediately that he was the chosen finalist.
He was beside himself with joy but he came to me the following school day to sadly admit that he had no transportation to the college. He said that his mother took a city bus to her job as a janitor in a hospital and he did not know how he would be able to get there. I took a deep breath and offered to be his driver even though I new it would change all of the plans I had made for my summer vacation. For six weeks I picked him up at six in the morning and brought him home at three. As each day and week went by I witnessed a miraculous transformation in him as we talked to and from the school.
He told me that nobody knew his reputation at the college. They assumed that he was smart and so he acted smart and as he did so he began to believe that he was smart because he was able to keep up with all of the other students. It was a watershed moment for him that he knew would change the direction of his life and his destiny.
I have thought of this young man so many times over the years. He would be in his late forties by now. I lost track of him but he was already doing so much better after his summer experience. He got to meet with the group once a week from that time until he graduated from high school. He found confidence and talents that nobody ever knew he had, much like I did when I got a shot at being an Honors student.
Ironically so many from the Class of 1966 whom I really did not know back in the day have proven to be as intellectually brilliant as those with whom I was grouped. In some cases these people are actually more brilliant and discerning than my Honors class friends. I wish I had known them sooner because they have enlivened my world with their knowledge and intellect. We are so alike and I love that I now have them in my sphere. I hope they know who they are and how much I have enjoyed knowing them. The whole idea of classifying people in any way is dangerously silly. Each of us has talents and goals that should not be hampered. We humans thrive when given the room to grow.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 