This was a good lecture for someone like me who originally struggled to write even a single paper in high school but went on to write reports, white papers and plans for a government agency until retirement. In high school my problem was getting bogged down on choosing a topic. More specifically, I had trouble stating a thesis about anything. I just had no original thoughts or questions on most subjects even after eating up the paper deadline trying to understand it. Something approaching a basic level of understanding (if that) would come to me the night before the paper was due, and I'd end up with a low score and lots of red ink. In college I finally broke through to the point where I felt I should have been on the first day of high school. I used a huge chunk of my adult years, in essence, repeating high school subjects for my own understanding. I'm not so much bitter as I am curious about why a student like me would pass right by an army of teachers without any of them pulling me aside and offering to help me. In other words, no one notice me (cue violins). Some students have no one to go to except teachers, and a student like me who felt "too stupid" to even know what to ask or say wished for someone to hold my hand just long enough to catch up.
This was a good lecture for someone like me who originally struggled to write even a single paper in high school but went on to write reports, white papers and plans for a government agency until retirement. In high school my problem was getting bogged down on choosing a topic. More specifically, I had trouble stating a thesis about anything. I just had no original thoughts or questions on most subjects even after eating up the paper deadline trying to understand it. Something approaching a basic level of understanding (if that) would come to me the night before the paper was due, and I'd end up with a low score and lots of red ink.
In college I finally broke through to the point where I felt I should have been on the first day of high school. I used a huge chunk of my adult years, in essence, repeating high school subjects for my own understanding. I'm not so much bitter as I am curious about why a student like me would pass right by an army of teachers without any of them pulling me aside and offering to help me. In other words, no one notice me (cue violins). Some students have no one to go to except teachers, and a student like me who felt "too stupid" to even know what to ask or say wished for someone to hold my hand just long enough to catch up.