by Kurt McDonald
“The opinions expressed by the Tabor College EML student bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Tabor College. Tabor College is also not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information in the post.”
I feel that my own life is a David and Goliath situation, especially regarding education. I am hypoglycemic, with a rare form of the disease. If I become too stressed, don’t get enough sleep, or my blood sugar drops too low, I begin to convulse with a grand mal seizure. These seizures, each one, are life threatening. I could choke on my tongue or suffocate on anything that anyone puts in my mouth. Or, because I become immediately unconscious, I could fall onto something that could kill me (such as slipping in the shower and hitting my head). The effect of these seizures in the long-term has resulted with memory loss issues because of damage to the brain during violent convulsions. I have, therefore, had to learn how to commit certain aspects of educational material to memory. I know how the student in Gladwell’s book felt
I know how the student in Gladwell’s book felt just in a different way. I never used to have to study to pass tests, I felt intelligent. But now, I can study hard for a typical exam and struggle to earn a C or a B. Most of my fellow students can study for a few hours to earn the same grade that takes me 1-2 hours of study every single day so that I can commit the test terms to memory. I remember nearly breaking down in tears and crying in front of my professor and friends in class during my finals of the undergrad program at Tabor because I tried and tried but couldn’t pass certain tests because I could not commit the amount of material covered to memory. This is why I’ve learned to enjoy the research aspect of schooling. I can dedicate time to my study and the results are meaningful enough that my memory records them better. Where I have begun to fail in test-taking, I have begun to excel in research.