Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure !

s a child, I was diagnosed as having "neurological impairment" based upon "history, delayed milestones, and minimal suggestive neurological signs." After this report was sent to the elementary school that commissioned it, my parents were sent a letter that read "A copy of this report has been sent to your physician. He will explain the medical seriousness of the findings in the examination. Would both of you please make an appointment with my office to discuss the educational implications of the report ?" The recommendation was to have me removed from the school and institutionalized. "Why try to teach a child if he has no capacity to learn ?" the experts argued in the ensuring battle between the school board and my parents. My parents prevailed and I was kept in school but socially promoted from year to year by teachers who sat me in the back of the class, never called upon me, and treated me as if I had no potential. Finally, in junior high school, I decided to prove the experts wrong and show the world that I was "smart". I noticed that in junior high school that the smart kids took algebra. Where I went to school in New York State, the state gave end-of-the-course exams called Regents exams which were made public after their administration. Over countless hours, I proceeded to secretly and methodically memorize Regent exam questions and their solutions. Finally, on the first day of school, I strode up to the algebra teacher and declared boldly that I knew algebra. The teacher humored me by sending me to the principal, who himself was a former math teacher. The principal then proceeded to administer a Regents exam whose questions and answers I had already memorized. I said nothing and dutifully took the exam. I scored a 96 on the exam. "Where did you learn algebra ?" the principal queried. I shrugged my shoulders and said "I don't know. I guess it just came to me." All of a sudden, teachers treated me like I was some sort of misunderstood genius. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I was still the same person and still struggled with learning the most basic things. Worse, I had to keep up the front that I was smart. To make a very long story short, I went on to get a PhD from MIT in pure math, all along suffering from nightmares that I would be exposed as a "phony." I also went on to run a successful major textbook publishing company. Later, I resigned my position as its chairman and took a 90 % + paycut to pursue a lifelong passion and desire to become a public school teacher and to honor a promise to myself that if one day I "succeeded," I would preach the message that all students, no matter how they may be "pegged" in their early years, can succeed far beyond anyone's expectations if willing to work and if treated like they have no less potential than anyone else. Recently, I have moved to the Dallas area, am doing guest teaching at local schools, and am flying in/out of DFW to share my story with teachers throughout the country. Recently I have started my own entrepreneurial enterprise whose mission is to develop teaching tools and resources that will allow students of all ages and abilities to learn and understand the concepts of math, especially those abstruse concepts of higher math. (The word "enterprise" does not really describe my venture. It should be called a "labor of love" as I am sinking a lot of my money and personal resources to try to do something I am passionate about -- trying to get youngsters excited about and interested in math, especially higher math.) Right now, I am working on a program to teach the concepts of calculus to students as young as 6th grade. I have field-tested these materials at an inner city Chicago school and am offering to go to Oprah's Leadership Academy for Girls to show that students (even the most math phobic and dis-inclined) can at an young age acquire the tools and knowledge to learn calculus, something that is necessary for these girls to learn if they want to become doctors, engineers, scientists, etc.

Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Nov 28, 2007 9:18 PM   |   In response to: fywang2000

I recently was told that something was wrong with my daughter and that she cant learn math. I was told by the teacher that she is really not getting the concept of math. I have tried to help her but I cant afford the high price of tutoring she is 8th grade she bright she needs a teacher who can work with her. my daughter self esteem has been affected the teacher has told me that she doesnt ask questions anymore. my daughter has told me that she is dumb and often feels bad. Please help with any suggestions. I have had her tested and I was told she has difficulty processing math.

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fywang2000

2. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 7, 2007 11:58 AM   |   In response to: aidashyef

I am disheartened to learn of your daughter's difficulties with math. The first thing I would tell you is to ignore the pronouncements of the so-called experts who have declared your daughter cannot learn math. My own situation demonstrates that youngsters not only can learn math but achieve great success in math. My parents were told that I had "neurological impairment based upon delayed milestones... and minimal suggestive neurological signs." Nonetheless, I went on to earn a PhD in pure math from MIT. Now, after taking a 90 % + paycut as a publishing company CEO, I am on a mission to prove that indeed all youngsters, of any age and ability, can learn. The first key is that your youngster needs to have a solid grounding in the basic concepts and skills. The key is to break down larger concepts into smaller, easily understood pieces, that are presented over time. Present a small concept or skill and have your daughter practice it. Learning takes time. A mentor of mine, John Saxon, founder of Saxon Publishers, a company I used to run, was fond of saying "Time is the elixir that turns things unfamiliar familiar" and "Creativity springs unsolicited from a well-prepared mind." I believe that creativity is a God-given trait; however, every child deserves the opportunity to and can develop a well-prepared mind. Your child is getting frustrated because there is a misplaced emphasis on learning quickly. Some kids will pick up a concept or skill quickly. Seeing this discourages the children who learn more slowly -- unfortunately, to the point they just give up. What educators and parents need to reward and encourage is eventual learning not quick learning. This involves gentle review and practice. The point I like to emphasize is that practice is important not because it makes perfect but because it makes permanent. Through being presented new material gently and in small pieces over time, combined with continual practice and review, your child should be able to develop the self-confidence to continue her math studies. Feel free to contact me for more info.

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aseret84

3. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 18, 2007 12:13 AM   |   In response to: fywang2000

Hello,

I found your story and comments so helpful. I am a mother and have recently went back to school. I want to eventually tranfer to a university but my biggest challenge will be math. You are certainly right when you say that people learn at their own pace. I started from basic Math this semester and I am getting an A in the class. It is the best feeling ever. I am so bad at Math and I cannot do it when asked to do it. I freeze. I had difficulty learning some of the concepts so I'm not sure how far I will get. I get so discouraged when I do not understand something that I develop a mental block and from that point forward, I have given up. Math really is hard for some but your story is so inspirational. Thank you so much for sharing it. I am going to take your advise. I just hope I can get to the level required to graduate. People just do not understand that Math can be a challenge for some. It doesn't make you stupid if you can't do it, it just means you need more one on one and practice. Thank you for sharing.

T

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fywang2000

4. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 18, 2007 9:37 AM   |   In response to: aseret84

Thanks for your very encouraging note. I would encourage you to continue your mathematical studies. I know personally of one instance where a gentleman dropped out of school and concluded that he was "too stupid for math." He spent the next ten years as an unskilled laborer. Finally, he decided to work his way through some textbooks that the company I used to run published. When he wrote to us years after he began working through the books, he was majoring in math at East Michigan University. Now he is a college instructor of math for a living ! To support my way through college, I tutored math to students. There was one instance where a gentleman had worked for a number of years for the phone company and was laid off. He decided to go back to school mid-career and try to make it to medical school. The one subject that was holding him back was math. We worked hard together and eventually he was able to make his way through basic algebra. The confidence he got getting an A in basic algebra propelled him to study further. Over time, he made his way through calculus, earning As along the way. Although he did not make it to medical school, he now directs an IT department at a major university ! The key: think of math as a foreign language. Math is not difficult, just different. If you walk into a room of people speaking a foreign language, you will feel lost. You would likely feel that trying to communicate with the people speaking the foreign language would be an insurmountable challenge. This is because nothing is familiar to you. In learning a foreign language, you must learn new vocabulary, a new grammar, a new nomenclature, etc. The way you learn a foreign language is in little pieces. One day you may just learn a new word or a new verb. Over time, you learn how to conjugate the new verbs you are learning. Once you learn something new, you combine it with whatever you have already learned and practice both the new and old together. Before you know it, you will be able to understand what others speaking the language are saying. Your feeling of frustration and isolation will slowly fade away as you begin to understand more and more of what the others are saying. The problem with the way we teach math is that we don't teach it as a foreign language. We teach one skill or concept in isolation and then move on to something new. For those who don't quite "get it" the first few times they see it, they are left behind feeling lost. The result is that somewhat slower learners are discouraged and eventually give up. Don't be discouraged. As you learn something new, take a little time to review what you have already learned, even though what you are reviewing may not be on the next test. Continually practice everything that you have learned keeping in mind that we practice not so much to make perfect but to make permanent ! Good Luck !

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aseret84

5. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 18, 2007 10:38 AM   |   In response to: fywang2000

Thank you so much for responding so quickly. Please know I read every single word in your comment and I am going to print it and keep in my math books for inspiration. You did touch on one important part and that is that instructors today teach the concepts in bits and pieces and they teach it as if the student should already know some of the parts. It is easy for instructors and they forget that the students are there to learn. They need to break it down in simple forms or baby words before the student can begin speaking in sentences you know? This was most challenging for me and others as well. In a college environment students are afraid to speak up for fear that they will be ridiculed. I couldn't believe I was the first to finish in class the first 4 tests. When I learned how to do the basics and understand it, it was the best feeling ever. I felt "smart". I could honestly say I had a phobia when it came to numbers and my biggest fear was trying to memorizing all the little details involved with equations. That is where I failed. I had to put a "cheat sheet" that I am going through everyday so I don't forget the concepts in between semesters. A student once told me that she studies Math at least 1/2 hr. each day and like you said, learn a piece of the puzzle. I am going to remain optimistic only because I do not like to give up. That is not in my nature. My biggest fear now is maintaining my 4.0 because I don't want Math to bring that down. I am a mother of seven and I have struggled so hard to be where I am at now. My only goal now is to make it to a University with the aid of scholarships and for that I need my 4.0 and to do well in Math. Again, thank you so much for the encouragement. I found it most helpful and hopefully one day I can come back to this message board and say I'm a Math major! Thank you!!!

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fywang2000

6. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 18, 2007 11:09 AM   |   In response to: aseret84

I am glad that I am home today and online to read and respond quickly to your posts. I am often out of town at an educators' conference talking to teachers and reminding them that students need time to fully digest, internalize, and practice concepts and skills. I cannot overemphasize the importance of knowing the "basics." By basics, I don't simply mean arithmetic. For whatever you are learning, be it math or another subject, there will be key facts and skills that you will need to know. Knowing them and knowing them well (to the point they are automatic) will be a key to succeeding in that area. Please read my post in the Education section of Oprah's Forum in the Middle School & Junior High section. There, in my second post titled Coping with Difficulties with Math in response to time2007, I speak about how important it is to have a solid foundation. Again, best of luck in your studies.

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botlemaker

7. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 19, 2007 3:30 PM   |   In response to: aidashyef

I just had to reply to your post. In the fourth grade I was diagnosed with a learning disability in math and science. I barely passed science and I was in learning disabled classes for math, I never got past basic math, never took algebra. I was told by my school counselors and teachers I would never amount to anything. Well I showed them. After high school I joined to military and then went into obtain my associates degree in paralegal studies and I worked as a paralegal for a while. To make a long story short I fell into accounting and I love it. How is that for defying the odds? You may want to talk to her school about learning disabled classes, she will be with teachers that understand her disability and can help her.

Many people fear the judgements and the stigma but trust someone who has been through it, the stigma you THINK your daughter might endure is nothing compared to years of low self esteem, and self hatred she is going to face well into adulthood.

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fywang2000

8. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 19, 2007 7:25 PM   |   In response to: botlemaker

Thanks for your excellent point. In my case, my parents were told I wasn't worth educating in the first place because my neurological tests showed "minimal suggestive neurological signs." The only option for my parents was to either have me stay in school (with no special accommodations) or to have me removed completely and institutionalized. Certainly, professional help from some trained to work with students who have learning dis-abilities is preferable the student struggle and be frustrated in the regular classes. However, I wouldn't really say that not being able to do math as it is conventionally taught is a sign of any sort of disability. I like to say "Mathematics is not difficult, just different." Some students require more time and a more gentle introduction to new concepts. Some months ago, I was in inner city Chicago teaching advanced math to elementary school students. I came at rather advanced concepts completely from "left field" and used fruits rather than numbers to illustrate deeper math concepts. Afterwards, the teachers told me that were shocked and very surprised to see some of the students (whom they thought were poor math learners) grasp the concepts. They remarked that these students usually did not participate and try to respond to questions. However, when presented these advanced concepts using a new technique, they came alive. The wonderful thing for me is that I was completely ignorant of the individual students' ability in math. This gave me a chance to interact with each and every student as if I thought he or she was the most gifted of all the students. My personal opinion is that students are capable to achieve far, far beyond even others' (and often times their own) expectations. You are certainly one such wonderful example.

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fywang2000

9. Re: Young people can defy experts and succeed where experts predict failure ! 
Dec 20, 2007 9:05 AM   |   In response to: fywang2000

Thanks for your excellent point. In my case, my parents were told I wasn't worth educating in the first place because my neurological tests showed "minimal suggestive neurological signs." The only options for my parents was to either have me stay in school (with no special accommodations) or to have me removed completely from school and institutionalized. Certainly, professional help from someone trained to work with students who have learning dis-abilities is preferable the having these students struggle and be frustrated without any sort of special help. However, I do take issue with calling students who may have great difficulty understanding and learning math and science learning disabled. I do not think that being unable to understand math as it is conventionally taught should be interpreted as any sort of disability. I like to say "Mathematics is not difficult, just different." Some students require more time and a more gentle introduction to new concepts. Some months ago, I was in inner city Chicago teaching advanced math to elementary school students. I presented rather advanced concepts completely using a completely new and different approach. I used fruits rather than numbers to illustrate deeper math concepts. Afterwards, the teachers told me that were shocked and very surprised to see some of the students (whom they thought were poor math learners) grasp the concepts. They remarked that these students usually did not participate and try to respond to questions; however, when presented these advanced concepts using a new technique, they came alive. The wonderful thing for me is that I was completely ignorant of the teachers' assessments of the individual students' abilities in math. This gave me a chance to interact with each and every student and treat each as if I thought he or she was the most gifted of all the students. My personal opinion is that students are capable to achieve far, far beyond others' (and even their own) expectations. You are certainly one such wonderful example.

for further research

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