Page Forty-Seven.
On pages 37-39, I talked about my history with learning disabilities. I shared that situation in hopes that it would inspire parents of children who may be experiencing something similar and cause it's an interesting story. Here's an addendum.
It was '88. I was taking one of my first Communication classes, Introduction to Mass Communications. This is the study of radio, television, movies and magazines. Mass. Comm. bored me to tears. I was much more into Interpersonal Comm. which is, essentially, the study of conversation. Interpersonal would go on to be my major but I was required to take the class in question. It was like Chinese water torture.
It was finals week and I realized that the night before my Mas Comm final I had tickets to go to a concert. I won't get into this subject deeply now, but I went to a LOT of concerts during the '80's. Most of the big names, I saw. Go ahead... name a major, pop act of the '80's, I probably saw them. The only glaring exceptions would be the Hair Metal Bands. (I wasn't into hair metal at all.) Otherwise, I probably went to fifty or more concerts of top acts. So the night before my final I was supposed to see Michael Jackson, for the second time.
This would've been his Bad Tour. Previously, I attended the Victory Tour in '84. I know all of you are great students out there. I'm sure that any responsible student would say, "Oh well. Michael will just have to wait. After all, a final is a big important thing. We can't take chances with that, now can we? We need to stay home and study so as to get a really good grade and therefore get a nice respectable job. Michael Jackson? Hogwash! A good grade in Introduction to Mass Communications is more important than seeing him perform live." I know that all of you would've said just exactly that. I didn't. I took my books and my notes with me to the concert and began my studying there.
If memory serves correctly, his opening act was a magician. So, during that portion of the evening I organized my notes. Then during the break before MJ came on I actually did study: the notes and the book. People around me found this amusing for some reason. They asked me about it. I explained the situation. Isn't this how EVERYBODY crams for a final??? Then MJ came on and I took a much needed break. (Thirty minutes of heavily interrupted, low quality studying was far more than enough anyhow.) He sang and danced. He wore a jacket with electric lights built into it while singing Beat It. All in all, he was up to my standards.
The next morning, I studied a few more minutes, ten? fifteen? I got my very first "A" on any final I would take in college. From this situation I learned that Michael Jackson was my good luck charm. He got me started on a string of "A's" on Communications finals. Thanks, Michael.
Showing posts with label Learning Disabilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Learning Disabilities. Show all posts
Monday, March 11, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Learning Disabilities - Part 3
Page Thirty-Nine.
I was in the right place at the right time.
Since '99, I've done the hair of a wonderful woman, Nikki, who's a semi-bigwig at one of Cleveland's community colleges. Over the years, she's done a lot of work with special needs, handicapped or other non-traditional students. She knows a lot about the topic of university adjustments for handicapped students. One day in about 2011, I told her the entire story of my learning disabilities: the testing, the diagnosis, the college requirements adjustment and so forth. Nikki told me what probably really happening. I was amazed.
She told me that it was in the early '90's when many new laws were put into place concerning the disabled in the workplace or classroom. With all the new restrictions and guidelines, institutions weren't really sure what to do as the laws were as of yet untested. I came along and asked for the sun, moon and stars, all 'cause I'm hyper as hell. CSU granted them because they were scared to death of a lawsuit. If I'd come along and done the same thing a few years earlier, later, or today, they'd laugh at me and say, "we'll provide you with all the tutors you want and oh, by the way, go take some Ritalin, but we ain't adjustin' our college requirements just for you". I was likely the first case and they were scared.
So when a college professor told me in '91 that I received the largest university requirement adjustment in CSU history, he wasn't kidding and likely it wouldn't happen again. And all because I just can't sit.
When I graduated, the first time, in '92, I figured out that I studied an average of 15-30 minutes per class per quarter. That includes time looking in a textbook, time spent organizing class notes and then, subsequently studying them. Again 15-30 minutes TOTAL for the entire quarter. I would work on projects and reports though. I've always enjoyed research very much and I would be happy going to the library and amassing facts, then presenting them in a report.
I wasn't quite ready for the real world in '92 though, so almost immediately I went back and took this class or that. In '96, I went back full-time and pursued art history with studio art on the side. Originally, I was going to pursue a Master's Degree in Art History, but I quickly realized that the work level required would be impossible for me while working essentially full time. Also, it was too expensive. Hey, let's be honest here. So I took all the classes as an undergraduate. In '98 when I finished, administration told me that they would think of me as simply having a double major, six years apart.
I received almost straight "A's" this time around. Getting an "A" in a studio art class was old news, no comment required. The reason I got mostly "A's" in art history is because there's really very little studying involved. It's primarily projects, research and term papers. And what studying there is, really is more about memorizing pretty pictures and who did them. Things like that I can do.
I think that as I've gotten older, I've settled down a lot, too. I went back again, full-time, in '01-'02 to begin pursuing a career as an art teacher, K-12. I finished one third of the coursework, getting straight "A's" for the entire year. But I then dropped out 'cause of money. Also, I became disillusioned with the prospect of being an art teacher. (Extremely smart decision on my part.) None-the-less, my GPA in '02 was, like, 2.98, or something like that. I was definitely studying more and not feeling persecuted by it. While taking all the artsy-fartsy stuff, I made Dean's List often. I've often wondered which words appeared more often on my transcripts: Academic Probation or Dean's List?
I also know that my hyperactivity has had profound effects on my work life. I know that any job description which begins, "Sit and..." isn't for me. Additionally, I've never learned how to handle routine, hence my frequent job changes.But, such is the nature of being a "Jack Of All Trades" that I'm constantly getting new jobs and leaving old ones. That works perfectly for me. Between hair, food, children and old people, I know that every few years my schedule and routine will be drastically changed. Some people can do 9-5. Some people can even work in the same building for a few decades. I'm not one of them. I have to run around like a chicken with his head chopped off.
Does your kid have learning disabilities? Try as hard as possible to find out what his or her strengths are. Mine are memory for detail and sound, high organizational abilities, tremendous creativity and inherent love of research. The most screwed up kid still has strengths. Identify them as early as possible and play up to them. Everybody's life will be easier.
By the way, my memory for detail is why this blog is peppered so generously with specific dates, locations, people and situations. I remember it all. Really.
I was in the right place at the right time.
Since '99, I've done the hair of a wonderful woman, Nikki, who's a semi-bigwig at one of Cleveland's community colleges. Over the years, she's done a lot of work with special needs, handicapped or other non-traditional students. She knows a lot about the topic of university adjustments for handicapped students. One day in about 2011, I told her the entire story of my learning disabilities: the testing, the diagnosis, the college requirements adjustment and so forth. Nikki told me what probably really happening. I was amazed.
She told me that it was in the early '90's when many new laws were put into place concerning the disabled in the workplace or classroom. With all the new restrictions and guidelines, institutions weren't really sure what to do as the laws were as of yet untested. I came along and asked for the sun, moon and stars, all 'cause I'm hyper as hell. CSU granted them because they were scared to death of a lawsuit. If I'd come along and done the same thing a few years earlier, later, or today, they'd laugh at me and say, "we'll provide you with all the tutors you want and oh, by the way, go take some Ritalin, but we ain't adjustin' our college requirements just for you". I was likely the first case and they were scared.
So when a college professor told me in '91 that I received the largest university requirement adjustment in CSU history, he wasn't kidding and likely it wouldn't happen again. And all because I just can't sit.
When I graduated, the first time, in '92, I figured out that I studied an average of 15-30 minutes per class per quarter. That includes time looking in a textbook, time spent organizing class notes and then, subsequently studying them. Again 15-30 minutes TOTAL for the entire quarter. I would work on projects and reports though. I've always enjoyed research very much and I would be happy going to the library and amassing facts, then presenting them in a report.
I wasn't quite ready for the real world in '92 though, so almost immediately I went back and took this class or that. In '96, I went back full-time and pursued art history with studio art on the side. Originally, I was going to pursue a Master's Degree in Art History, but I quickly realized that the work level required would be impossible for me while working essentially full time. Also, it was too expensive. Hey, let's be honest here. So I took all the classes as an undergraduate. In '98 when I finished, administration told me that they would think of me as simply having a double major, six years apart.
I received almost straight "A's" this time around. Getting an "A" in a studio art class was old news, no comment required. The reason I got mostly "A's" in art history is because there's really very little studying involved. It's primarily projects, research and term papers. And what studying there is, really is more about memorizing pretty pictures and who did them. Things like that I can do.
I think that as I've gotten older, I've settled down a lot, too. I went back again, full-time, in '01-'02 to begin pursuing a career as an art teacher, K-12. I finished one third of the coursework, getting straight "A's" for the entire year. But I then dropped out 'cause of money. Also, I became disillusioned with the prospect of being an art teacher. (Extremely smart decision on my part.) None-the-less, my GPA in '02 was, like, 2.98, or something like that. I was definitely studying more and not feeling persecuted by it. While taking all the artsy-fartsy stuff, I made Dean's List often. I've often wondered which words appeared more often on my transcripts: Academic Probation or Dean's List?
I also know that my hyperactivity has had profound effects on my work life. I know that any job description which begins, "Sit and..." isn't for me. Additionally, I've never learned how to handle routine, hence my frequent job changes.But, such is the nature of being a "Jack Of All Trades" that I'm constantly getting new jobs and leaving old ones. That works perfectly for me. Between hair, food, children and old people, I know that every few years my schedule and routine will be drastically changed. Some people can do 9-5. Some people can even work in the same building for a few decades. I'm not one of them. I have to run around like a chicken with his head chopped off.
Does your kid have learning disabilities? Try as hard as possible to find out what his or her strengths are. Mine are memory for detail and sound, high organizational abilities, tremendous creativity and inherent love of research. The most screwed up kid still has strengths. Identify them as early as possible and play up to them. Everybody's life will be easier.
By the way, my memory for detail is why this blog is peppered so generously with specific dates, locations, people and situations. I remember it all. Really.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Learning Disabilities - Part 2
Page Thirty-Eight.
So she wrote the letter. Jeannie knew how to write those letters too. She'd had much experience in that department as you can imagine. That letter had flower petals and glitter enclosed. That letter was scented with Chanel #5. That letter was delivered to the front office of Cleveland State University by a scantily clad, beautiful, buxom blonde. It was that good.
And then, there was my letter. If I must say so myself, I know how to get my point across with the written word. I'm no Faulkner, but in contemporary America, if you could, right sentence which reasonable is gramaticall corect, you insantly a head of game. I can do that. So Jeannie's letter was about my inability to think, while my letter was about the CSU guidance counselor who suggested there might be some underlying problem and how CSU might be able to help. I don't get assertive often. I find that it takes expends energy which I'd rather spend watching TV. But every once in a while, I will actually let my needs known.In my letter I requested that four "F's" be removed from my transcripts; I asked for removal of the college math requirement; and, I asked for removal of the college foreign language requirement. There's only one word for this: Chutzpah.
The letters ended up on a very large, heavy, oblong, oak conference table in an upper floor office around which sat the president and vice president of the university along with the committee who makes big 'ole decisions. Apparently, nobody had ever asked for such a complete overhaul of university requirements and adjustments in the history of CSU.
A quick word about CSU: In greater Cleveland, most people think of CSU as an extension of high school - little more than a community college. The only Clevelanders who think CSU is a good school are business and civic leaders and professors and staff of CSU and other area colleges. The reasons for this disconnect are many. CSU's liberal acceptance program make it possibly for anyone to get in, and I mean anyone. Then, there's the big concrete campus which isn't attractive. The complete lack of college life doesn't help. Almost all the student are commuter, and/or older, and/or poorer, and/or first generation college attendees, and/or working in addition to studying. Are you getting the picture?
The reasons that important Clevelanders behind the scenes like the school are equally many. The 78% drop out rate implies that it's a real school. The commuter/older/etc. thing means that anybody who does graduate really works hard. And, CSU professors are really great. Many former business leaders retire and teach there. (I once took a business class which was taught by a former senior executive of BP Oil.) Also, we had many Rhodes Scholars and other such famous teachers on faculty. One of my profs was the 7th most heavily published researcher in the world in his field (Family Communications). In short, in Cleveland, if "Graduate of Cleveland State University" appears on a resume it's taken seriously by HR people, but not by the graduate's friends or acquaintances.
Incidentally, this is slowly changing. In the last ten or fifteen years CSU has built many new dorms and torn down much of the concrete, building new grass and trees in it's place. The greener campus is growing quickly and attracting more students from out of town. It's reputation in the liberal arts is growing nationally.
Now, getting back to my ballsy letter... they gave me everything I asked for, under certain conditions. They removed the four "F's" no problem. But in exchange for removing the math requirements I needed to take many extra science classes. And, in exchange for removing the foreign language requirement... extra anthropology. Well, I was thrilled. I'd actually be able to graduate. Who woulda thunk it? I wasn't the least bit phased by the extra science because I'd already taken enough science classes to fulfill their silly, old demands. And, I only needed to take a little more anthro to meet that requirement as I'd already taken extra because I enjoyed it so much. I would eventually hear through the grapevine that administration adjusted my transcripts and requirements more than any other person's in University history. I was a bit impressed by my own assertiveness but more importantly I began planning my graduation party.
Which party I did have in June of 1992. September '82 - June '83 & September '86 - June '92... sort of the seven year plan I guess you could call it. But by the time you include all the flunked classes and lightest workload full-time ('cause I was a live-in nanny and increasingly busy freelance hairdresser) it really does work out. (Have you ever gone to school full-time while working full-time? It's not easy.)
Let me interject right here for a moment: the Shapiro boys knew how much I studied and they knew how hard I worked in school. They used to tease me and say that if I ever actually had cracked a book open I could've gotten a free ride in Harvard. They were pretty much the only people who knew how little I worked in school.
So that was how I was diagnosed with learning disabilities as a senior in college. Fascinatingly, I'd be back in school faster than Bill Clinton at a rib eating competition. And, it would be almost twenty years before I'd find out what really happened.
To be continued...
So she wrote the letter. Jeannie knew how to write those letters too. She'd had much experience in that department as you can imagine. That letter had flower petals and glitter enclosed. That letter was scented with Chanel #5. That letter was delivered to the front office of Cleveland State University by a scantily clad, beautiful, buxom blonde. It was that good.
And then, there was my letter. If I must say so myself, I know how to get my point across with the written word. I'm no Faulkner, but in contemporary America, if you could, right sentence which reasonable is gramaticall corect, you insantly a head of game. I can do that. So Jeannie's letter was about my inability to think, while my letter was about the CSU guidance counselor who suggested there might be some underlying problem and how CSU might be able to help. I don't get assertive often. I find that it takes expends energy which I'd rather spend watching TV. But every once in a while, I will actually let my needs known.In my letter I requested that four "F's" be removed from my transcripts; I asked for removal of the college math requirement; and, I asked for removal of the college foreign language requirement. There's only one word for this: Chutzpah.
The letters ended up on a very large, heavy, oblong, oak conference table in an upper floor office around which sat the president and vice president of the university along with the committee who makes big 'ole decisions. Apparently, nobody had ever asked for such a complete overhaul of university requirements and adjustments in the history of CSU.
A quick word about CSU: In greater Cleveland, most people think of CSU as an extension of high school - little more than a community college. The only Clevelanders who think CSU is a good school are business and civic leaders and professors and staff of CSU and other area colleges. The reasons for this disconnect are many. CSU's liberal acceptance program make it possibly for anyone to get in, and I mean anyone. Then, there's the big concrete campus which isn't attractive. The complete lack of college life doesn't help. Almost all the student are commuter, and/or older, and/or poorer, and/or first generation college attendees, and/or working in addition to studying. Are you getting the picture?
The reasons that important Clevelanders behind the scenes like the school are equally many. The 78% drop out rate implies that it's a real school. The commuter/older/etc. thing means that anybody who does graduate really works hard. And, CSU professors are really great. Many former business leaders retire and teach there. (I once took a business class which was taught by a former senior executive of BP Oil.) Also, we had many Rhodes Scholars and other such famous teachers on faculty. One of my profs was the 7th most heavily published researcher in the world in his field (Family Communications). In short, in Cleveland, if "Graduate of Cleveland State University" appears on a resume it's taken seriously by HR people, but not by the graduate's friends or acquaintances.
Incidentally, this is slowly changing. In the last ten or fifteen years CSU has built many new dorms and torn down much of the concrete, building new grass and trees in it's place. The greener campus is growing quickly and attracting more students from out of town. It's reputation in the liberal arts is growing nationally.
Now, getting back to my ballsy letter... they gave me everything I asked for, under certain conditions. They removed the four "F's" no problem. But in exchange for removing the math requirements I needed to take many extra science classes. And, in exchange for removing the foreign language requirement... extra anthropology. Well, I was thrilled. I'd actually be able to graduate. Who woulda thunk it? I wasn't the least bit phased by the extra science because I'd already taken enough science classes to fulfill their silly, old demands. And, I only needed to take a little more anthro to meet that requirement as I'd already taken extra because I enjoyed it so much. I would eventually hear through the grapevine that administration adjusted my transcripts and requirements more than any other person's in University history. I was a bit impressed by my own assertiveness but more importantly I began planning my graduation party.
Which party I did have in June of 1992. September '82 - June '83 & September '86 - June '92... sort of the seven year plan I guess you could call it. But by the time you include all the flunked classes and lightest workload full-time ('cause I was a live-in nanny and increasingly busy freelance hairdresser) it really does work out. (Have you ever gone to school full-time while working full-time? It's not easy.)
Let me interject right here for a moment: the Shapiro boys knew how much I studied and they knew how hard I worked in school. They used to tease me and say that if I ever actually had cracked a book open I could've gotten a free ride in Harvard. They were pretty much the only people who knew how little I worked in school.
So that was how I was diagnosed with learning disabilities as a senior in college. Fascinatingly, I'd be back in school faster than Bill Clinton at a rib eating competition. And, it would be almost twenty years before I'd find out what really happened.
To be continued...
Friday, February 15, 2013
Learning Disabilities - Part 1
Page Thirty-Seven.
Does you kid have learning disabilities? Here's an interesting story for you.
My primary education years saw me as a less then stellar student. In junior high, I had awful report cards. In high school they got a little bit better, but that's not saying much. I always attributed my poor grades to complete disinterest, deadly procrastination and teenaged distractions. I graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1980 anyhow.
By the time I got to Cleveland State University the first time, '82-'83, my grades improved, however microscopically. When I went back to CSU in '86 they were quite stable in the C plus B minus range. This really bugged me 'cause I knew I was capable of better. Now, I should admit that homework wasn't my strong suit, nor was studying in general. I certainly didn't have teenaged distractions anymore, but I rarely found myself just sitting and studying. My friends tried to help. They gave me books on how to study and tried to teach me good study techniques. The problem was that every suggestion they gave me required me to sit and well... study. I just couldn't do it. Nothing worked. I really was very upset over the fact that I just couldn't magically get good grades. I was having serious issues over this.
But I kept on going. I was a psychology major the first couple of years. But as my interests are very diverse, I took many classes in art, science, english and anything else which fit into my schedule. I flunked the occasional class, too. For example, my psych major required that I take statistics. But I flunked. Then, for the general college requirement, I had to take some advanced math, which I did in the form of logic, which I flunked. In the foreign language category: well... um... first I went to Israel to learn Hebrew... flunked. Then, I came back and took Italian. Flunked. Then I took Spanish... flunked. These F's all translated to the occasional Academic Probation on my report card. I discovered though, that when I took an art or science class I could simply show up and get a decent grade. In art I rarely got lower than a B (mostly I got A's) and in science if I simply graced the doorway to the class I got a C. (And, as I didn't do homework, gracing a room and getting a C was fine with me.) So I took extra studio art and science classes whenever I needed to artificially increase my GPA to avoid being kicked out. Incidentally, I eventually switched majors from Psych to Interpersonal Communications because I couldn't pass statistics.
You see, I was good at showing up for class and remembering what happened there. But the moment outside work was required, there were problems. I was fine with projects or reports. I'd work on those. But general studying... no, no, no! For tests I rarely studied (even in science.) As the years wore on I acclimating to my low GPA, again about 2.5, but I was also getting concerned about my imminent graduation. Israel was in '89 and Italian was in '90. And I couldn't pass a stinkin' math class to save my life. In '90, as a new senior, I went to see my guidance counselor for some unrelated issue and she noticed the inconsistencies. She suggested that I might have some form of learning disabilities as my strengths and weakness appeared to be textbook cases. She said that I should get tested and perhaps the school could work with me on their requirements.
A few weeks after she said that, I started doing the hair of a new client. Jeannie was very pretty and charming. As I was doing her hair in her recently renovated, stunningly beautiful Cleveland Heights Arts and Crafts home, I asked what she did for a living. "I own and operate Penobscott Learning Centers. We tutor kids in SAT's. We also tutor kids who are having problems in school. And we test for learning disabilities."
Well at that point, I knew that the Great Spirit of the Universe was in my corner. I told her my story and she said, "Of course we can test you!" A few weeks later, I was sitting in her office and we were testing. It actually took a couple of days.
A couple of weeks after that I went to get the results. "Jeremy, let me ask you a question. the first time you walked into my house, a couple of months ago, what did I serve you for a beverage?"
"Raspberry New York Setzer."
"That's incredible."
"What?"
"Your memory for detail. According to my tests, you're hyperactive, slightly dyslexic, you have a huge problem integrating symbols and you're smarter than average. You remember what you hear, more than what you see. You have no focus and can't pay attention. And your memory for detail is off the scale. Because of the nature of your symbol problem, I'm sure you could eventually get any foreign language or mathematical concept if you just sat and studied a little bit longer than the average person. The problem is that you can't sit."
"You mean there are real reasons I can't sit?"
"Yes. You're hyperactive. If you could sit, you'd be fine. Over the years you have learned to overcompensate. That's why you remember what you hear so well. Your attendance is great because on some level you know that you're going to have to remember things for tests. And you know you won't study. So you essentially taught yourself to memorize what professors say, while they're saying them."
"So what do I do now?"
"Let me write a letter to the university. We'll see if they stick by what they said and waive some requirements."
To be continued...
Does you kid have learning disabilities? Here's an interesting story for you.
My primary education years saw me as a less then stellar student. In junior high, I had awful report cards. In high school they got a little bit better, but that's not saying much. I always attributed my poor grades to complete disinterest, deadly procrastination and teenaged distractions. I graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1980 anyhow.
By the time I got to Cleveland State University the first time, '82-'83, my grades improved, however microscopically. When I went back to CSU in '86 they were quite stable in the C plus B minus range. This really bugged me 'cause I knew I was capable of better. Now, I should admit that homework wasn't my strong suit, nor was studying in general. I certainly didn't have teenaged distractions anymore, but I rarely found myself just sitting and studying. My friends tried to help. They gave me books on how to study and tried to teach me good study techniques. The problem was that every suggestion they gave me required me to sit and well... study. I just couldn't do it. Nothing worked. I really was very upset over the fact that I just couldn't magically get good grades. I was having serious issues over this.
But I kept on going. I was a psychology major the first couple of years. But as my interests are very diverse, I took many classes in art, science, english and anything else which fit into my schedule. I flunked the occasional class, too. For example, my psych major required that I take statistics. But I flunked. Then, for the general college requirement, I had to take some advanced math, which I did in the form of logic, which I flunked. In the foreign language category: well... um... first I went to Israel to learn Hebrew... flunked. Then, I came back and took Italian. Flunked. Then I took Spanish... flunked. These F's all translated to the occasional Academic Probation on my report card. I discovered though, that when I took an art or science class I could simply show up and get a decent grade. In art I rarely got lower than a B (mostly I got A's) and in science if I simply graced the doorway to the class I got a C. (And, as I didn't do homework, gracing a room and getting a C was fine with me.) So I took extra studio art and science classes whenever I needed to artificially increase my GPA to avoid being kicked out. Incidentally, I eventually switched majors from Psych to Interpersonal Communications because I couldn't pass statistics.
You see, I was good at showing up for class and remembering what happened there. But the moment outside work was required, there were problems. I was fine with projects or reports. I'd work on those. But general studying... no, no, no! For tests I rarely studied (even in science.) As the years wore on I acclimating to my low GPA, again about 2.5, but I was also getting concerned about my imminent graduation. Israel was in '89 and Italian was in '90. And I couldn't pass a stinkin' math class to save my life. In '90, as a new senior, I went to see my guidance counselor for some unrelated issue and she noticed the inconsistencies. She suggested that I might have some form of learning disabilities as my strengths and weakness appeared to be textbook cases. She said that I should get tested and perhaps the school could work with me on their requirements.
A few weeks after she said that, I started doing the hair of a new client. Jeannie was very pretty and charming. As I was doing her hair in her recently renovated, stunningly beautiful Cleveland Heights Arts and Crafts home, I asked what she did for a living. "I own and operate Penobscott Learning Centers. We tutor kids in SAT's. We also tutor kids who are having problems in school. And we test for learning disabilities."
Well at that point, I knew that the Great Spirit of the Universe was in my corner. I told her my story and she said, "Of course we can test you!" A few weeks later, I was sitting in her office and we were testing. It actually took a couple of days.
A couple of weeks after that I went to get the results. "Jeremy, let me ask you a question. the first time you walked into my house, a couple of months ago, what did I serve you for a beverage?"
"Raspberry New York Setzer."
"That's incredible."
"What?"
"Your memory for detail. According to my tests, you're hyperactive, slightly dyslexic, you have a huge problem integrating symbols and you're smarter than average. You remember what you hear, more than what you see. You have no focus and can't pay attention. And your memory for detail is off the scale. Because of the nature of your symbol problem, I'm sure you could eventually get any foreign language or mathematical concept if you just sat and studied a little bit longer than the average person. The problem is that you can't sit."
"You mean there are real reasons I can't sit?"
"Yes. You're hyperactive. If you could sit, you'd be fine. Over the years you have learned to overcompensate. That's why you remember what you hear so well. Your attendance is great because on some level you know that you're going to have to remember things for tests. And you know you won't study. So you essentially taught yourself to memorize what professors say, while they're saying them."
"So what do I do now?"
"Let me write a letter to the university. We'll see if they stick by what they said and waive some requirements."
To be continued...
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