The American Dream, Revisited by Gary Sirak

Author:Gary Sirak [Gary Sirak]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Published: 2017-12-16T16:00:00+00:00

On days when nothing is going right I sometimes think about the horrors that Dr. Stabholz lived through. My problems become microscopic by comparison.

9

A CHALLENGED

PERSPECTIVE

F lorence Siegel was perplexed. By most measures, her son Andy was a normal kid. He was funny, smart, and had lots of friends. He loved sports and didn’t get into much trouble. But at school, Andy was not normal. According to his teachers Andy struggled in the classroom. Those difficulties were reflected in his report cards; he carried a C average. Mrs. Siegel knew her son was not lazy. Every night he spent hours working on his homework, but his grades never seemed to improve. Something was clearly amiss. Eventually, Mrs. Siegel was informed by the school that her son had a learning disability. This news did not surprise her. The question was, how could she help her son?

Andy grew up in a modest home in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended public school. In spite of his lackluster grades, Mrs. Siegel always believed there was something truly special about her son. She was determined to do everything in her power to provide him an opportunity to succeed. The Siegels were a working class family. They did not have excess money to spend, but education was extremely important. Andy’s mother hired tutors to help with his studies. It was a sacrifice and a gamble, but one she was willing to make because she was sure the investment in her son’s education would be a wise choice, and the right choice.

In spite of his academic problems, Andy was positive about his future. His goal was to graduate from high school, continue on to college, and become a businessman. The roadblocks to achieving his goals were often overwhelming, but Andy persevered.

Graduating from high school required Andy to receive a passing grade in French. As difficult as regular classes were for him, foreign languages were next to impossible. He had already failed Spanish and Hebrew and was currently failing his French class. Andy set up a meeting with his guidance counselor to see if there was any way around the language requirement. He found out, much to his dismay, that there were no exceptions. He had to achieve a passing grade on the French final exam to receive his high school diploma.

A school advisor encouraged Andy to forget about college and instead find a technical school that would accept him. That suggestion did not sit well with Andy or his mother, who saw his future much differently. But Andy’s positive attitude and refusal to quit could only go so far, he still had to pass French. Once again Mrs. Siegel played a significant part in her son’s life. Andy’s French teacher happened to be a neighbor and close friend of his mother. Somehow, with perhaps a little help from a friend, Andy miraculously passed his French final and graduated with his class.

After receiving his diploma, Andy began a national search to find a college that did not have a foreign

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