Hop Scotch Through...
/Hop Scotch Through A Caste System
Following a dare, the admissions committee of a prestigious university accepts an apparently illiterate applicant
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“Ladies and gentlemen, our next applicant, James May, is either brilliant or in dire need of our services. I have provided each of you with his application letter, it reads:
“let me in ur scule. Mi techur saiz I m a jeneos lik al ur students,so I shude go there an u shude let me in. Urs trulie, James May.”
“As Chair of this committee, I recommend we accept this applicant.”
The silence of the Admissions Committee members was a loud hypothetical gasp in response to Chairperson, Thugg’s, recommendation.
“Is this a joke?” asked Margaret Pierce.
“Margaret, you have been adamant regarding our lack of diversity at the University. This applicant is certainly different. I propose, that we have nothing to lose. Once Mr. May accepts enrollment, without measurable improvement, we can terminate his enrollment, but failure to accept his application could earmark us as elitists. I say, the dilemma affords a unique opportunity.”
Looking about the room Margaret recognized the collective expression of agreement by the remaining committee members. She found it difficult to reconcile May’s acceptance based on public opinion. She recalled when they first accepted a black student fearing an accusation of racism. Though that decision ended well, this seemed different. May’s enrollment countered the school’s basic education premise: “A potential student must possess the basic skills to succeed at the university level.” James, by displaying a bastardized writing skill, was not demonstrating such potential; ‘different’ was decidedly an understatement.
Margaret Pierce remained skeptical as she cast the only “no” vote. She recalled that the decision to admit black students for diversity led to quotas which resulted in the design of affirmative action. Students who were not black, though capable of demonstrating superior academic prowess were
passed over to meet quotas. She pictured lower entrance requirements would follow May’s acceptance, in fact, the possibility of lowered graduation requirements loomed on the education horizon.
A simple majority vote placed James May’s letter on the top of the “accepted” stack of application letters. The vote was the sole requirement for acceptance, but Margaret Pierce remained steadfast in her resolve to maintain high-quality education at her institution.
Margaret Pierce was elated at the news. James May pledged his attendance and stated he would pursue a degree in Literature. In his words, “I want to be a writer.”
“That isn’t going to happen,” she said to no one while smiling with fiendish delight. She was pleased with the thought her prediction would become real when James May completed his first assignment as a freshman English student. She imagined the horrified look on his professor’s face reading a phonic-ridden cipher; if she could indeed read it.
This ‘Country Bumpkin’ will probably show his colors when he first appears on campus, she thought conjuring an image of a bib overall-clad skinny kid with sleeked-down hair and a bowl cut hiding under a denim engineer’s cap. Yes, a true bumpkin. From the day she wrote a letter informing him of the Admission Committee’s decision she prayed he would accept and confirm her opinion of his worth.
James May had no way of knowing what Margaret Pierce thought about him. He had suspicions, but they were only suspicions based on things he heard about these people all of his life. Regardless of why she stereotyped him, she openly displayed her disappointment with his behavior. He anticipated a different response from her as compared to his persona. Unlike her, he congratulated himself on the assessment. She was precisely what he imagined. He based his opinion on the tone of her letter informing him of acceptance. to ‘her school.’ As he imagined, she displayed a history of entitlement based upon social status, rather than personal accomplishment.
James dedicated himself to his education. At the end of the first semester, he was placed on ‘The Dean’s List” with a 4.0 GPA. His position as Freshman Journalist for the school’s periodical was an enviable assignment based specifically on his writing ability. His essay, The Benefits of ‘Home Schooling,’ was published in the local newspaper and subsequently repeated in papers with nationwide distribution.
“This story, like all good stories has its irony. My name is Margaret Pierce, and I have been asked to introduce tonight’s guest, James May. I have relayed how I came to know and respect Mr. May. I hope, during this evening, he will explain the rouse he performed to gain admission into Welston University, and as you can see from my introduction it was a highly successful rouse, indeed. So, without further delay, because I can hardly contain my curiosity: Mr. James May.”
“Thank you, Margaret. I’m glad I didn’t know the details you provided tonight. Elenore Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” To which I might add … ‘If you know not one’s intent you cannot provide your consent.’”
“So as to please Ms. Pierce, which by the way, has been my motive from day one, let me explain the rouse, for those of you in the dark, I applied to Welton with a letter written by someone who knew the sounds of letters but knew little of the vocabulary of third-grade literature. This is common among those whose spelling is limited to phonics.”
“My purpose for such an introduction was to shock those whose decisions can change lives through opportunity. It was to provide exposure to lives that needed the greatest assistance. Until that letter attention was focused on lives that needed little more than a prod to improve their lot while others were forced to live a life of near hopelessness.”
“While growing up I watched my mother, who was a proud second-grade teacher, spend endless hours teaching a brilliant, but underprivileged man, her daddy, my grandfather, how to read his beloved Bible. Never judgmental and never belittling, or condescending, she transformed an illiterate man into an independent reader, a true bibliophage.”
“That example had unexpected consequences. I wanted to experience the joy my grandpa got from reading, so I became a voracious reader, devouring anything with a cover. Some of them didn’t have covers, but I read them anyway.”
“Then an even greater development occurred. My mother, seeing both my grandfather and I were seriously seeking additional knowledge, devoted her entire teaching time to us. The household became a learning center. Everyone learned from everyone else. That concept led to my Prize-winning essay, but to address Ms. Pierce’s curiosity, I saw what opportunity did for my grandfather, and what its overall effect could be, so I emulated the conditions that originated the greatest joy a home can have. As Paul Harvey would say, “And now you know the rest of the story.”
The end.
By Robert Scarry
From: United States
@usnavy1990bob
Facebook URL: www:facebook.com/robert.scarry3