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Reason 8: AotR Value - Perseverance

Author: Tan Huynh

Ruben was 36. He had just left the corporate world in sales and marketing. We met at a coffee shop for our first math tutoring session.

“Why do you need tutoring?” I asked.

“I need to take a placement exam for the US Navy. I need to do well because I don’t want to end up being the potato peeler; the higher I score, the better and higher-paying the position will be,” he responded.

I chuckled as I imagined myself being a potato peeler in a dark room in the hull of a ship.

“How’s your multiplication table?” I asked.

“It’s ok…I can do most of them,” he replied.

“What’s 6 times 7?” I asked. Ruben thinks about it and five seconds later replied, “44?”

I told him that we had to go back all the way to learning his times table before we can move forward. I showed him a computer program I wrote. It’s used to help students learn their multiplication table. He had to complete the test under six minutes, but he could take it as many times as he wanted to.

“If you’re determined not be a potato peeler, then you’ll need to first master your multiplication table. I can’t help you build your math skills unless some of the foundational math skills are mastered, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. In fact, we won’t meet again until you achieve this,” I said.

He reluctantly agreed. His first attempt took 44 minutes and 56 seconds, the slowest time of any students. For weeks, I would receive his results (several times a day) as he was trying to achieve a time under six minutes. After three weeks he brought his time down to 5 minutes and 49 seconds.

I called him and told him we could start up tutoring again.

Following that accomplishment, we were able to work through much of basic math and some Algebra. He told me that all the higher-level math concepts were easier to relearn as a result. He took his placement exam and was recruited immediately by the US Navy.

Potato Peelers

Perseverance is one of the three values at the Academy of the Renaissance.

Students who fail a class will often tell you they feel the class had no purpose in their life. They eventually drop out of school because they see most of it as a waste of time.

“I’m tired of failing” or “I’m never going to get this” are common statements. The most common encouragement from teachers is, “You need to keep trying. It’ll eventually click.”

Perseverance isn’t as easy as telling a student to keep trying nor can it be taught directly. In my observations over fourteen years of teaching, students (and adults) persist for one of three reasons.

First, they want to avoid something (usually at any cost).

Second, they are trying to achieve recognition for their achievements.

Third, they are passionate about the topic they’re working on.

These three reasons are not mutually exclusive. A person can persevere because of all three reasons.

For instance, Noor wants to do a 720, a trick done on a skateboard where you make two complete turns in the air before landing. She loves skateboarding. She needs to do this to earn the respect amongst her friends. At the same time, she wants to avoid being the only person in the group who can’t do it. Passion, achievement for recognition, and avoidance are all present. You can bet with certainty she will be practicing that trick until she achieves it.

Academy of the Renaissance wants our students and teachers to persevere for all three reasons.

This requires understanding the “why’s” for the three reasons: Why did students and teachers decide to attend or work at Academy of the Renaissance? Why are they avoiding the alternatives to that choice? Why are they passionate about working hard to make this program become one of the most successful programs in education?

The intense focus and drive to be excellent at something requires that we have a clear answer to, and understand, the “why” of what we’re doing.

Ruben would not have spent the time and money to rebuild his foundational math skills if he didn’t have the answers to the “why’s.” These answers provided the fuel for his perseverance and eventually his success!