A New Thought for Education

I knew a doctor who almost didn't become one because of the foreign language requirement that he had to face. This physician was brilliant and a terrific doctor as well. Had he not been able to practice medicine, the profession would have really suffered. Dr. Max was my doctor for many years. When he told me the story, I was shocked. Of course, having excelled in foreign languages in high school and college, I found this hard to fathom.
My weakness was in chemistry. To put it mildly folks, I was a chemical retardant. The teacher that I had for chemistry at Erasmus Hall High School was a nightmare for me. She spoke way above my head and I knew little of what she was talking about. Instead of having some compassion for me, she went after yours truly and others who were weak in her discipline. This is what she accomplished. I walked out of chemistry despising her as well as the subject. Luckily, I had a more normal person the following term and in college I had the chemistry instructor of my dreams. He brought the material down to my level.
This is what is basically wrong with education in this country. You can be ruined by being weak in one particular subject. This is wrong. I wound up teaching English and social studies for 32 years prior to my 2001 retirement. Of course, there are people out there who shall answer me by saying that you need to have a well-rounded education. Nonsense! Not everyone is excellent in all subjects. I proved that so many years ago.
The horrible teacher I had won all kinds of accolades at Columbia University for excellence in teaching chemistry. What excellence? Lord only knows the damage she did to others as well as the potential careers she may have ruined.