The Value of Education

Use this forum to discuss the July 2019 Book of the month, "Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream" by Dr Frank L Douglas.
Post Reply
User avatar
Erin Painter Baker
Posts: 1810
Joined: 21 May 2019, 17:00
Favorite Book: Among Others
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 87
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-esp1975.html
Latest Review: Luke and Luka: Genius Kid Heroes by A.D. Largie

Re: The Value of Education

Post by Erin Painter Baker »

BrittaniDJ wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 22:18 I got the impression from reading the sample of this book, that education was important as an opportunity provider - gateway to a broader world. I also felt as though 'medals' - grades, social status, self-motivation, were a higher focus than what the good doctor learned or how he was taught in school. What he learned came out more in his day to day interactions with the world, rather than in the classroom. I realize this man grew up in a different country and in a different time period of education, but I do have higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement.
I think everyone has higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement. That said, for the author, grades achievement was a prerequisite to success. Without his good grades, he would not have been able to go past primary school, or gotten Fulbright Scholarship that brought him to the United States. In this case he had to have those good grades. Without them, his life would have been a very different story. As he says at one point, maybe he would have become a Postman.

In this way, the author's focus on his grades is the same as a professional athlete focusing on winning games in high school and college. We all know that being on a sports team is about more than winning and losing, and that it develops all sorts of different skills in people. But for someone to become a professional athlete, they have to get noticed in high school by the college recruiters, and then in college, they have to get noticed by the talent scouts for the teams. Winning games is how that is done.

Dr Douglas focuses on his grades because his grades are what got him noticed. They are what got him his opportunities.
User avatar
MatereF
Posts: 278
Joined: 08 Feb 2019, 04:12
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 36
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-materef.html
Latest Review: The Hand Bringer by Christopher J. Penington

Post by MatereF »

B Creech wrote: 04 Jul 2019, 08:12 There was definitely an emphasis on education. I think the author focused on his academic achievements to inspire others more than to set himself apart. Knowing how hard it is to overcome obstacles in life I think he wanted others to see that regardless of those obstacles if you find something you are good at, and really apply yourself to doing it to the best of your ability, you can overcome anything. He realized the importance of education and wanted others to see it too.
I agree with your sentiments.
"The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource". Daniel J Boorstin
User avatar
MatereF
Posts: 278
Joined: 08 Feb 2019, 04:12
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 36
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-materef.html
Latest Review: The Hand Bringer by Christopher J. Penington

Post by MatereF »

esp1975 wrote: 11 Jul 2019, 10:32
BrittaniDJ wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 22:18 I got the impression from reading the sample of this book, that education was important as an opportunity provider - gateway to a broader world. I also felt as though 'medals' - grades, social status, self-motivation, were a higher focus than what the good doctor learned or how he was taught in school. What he learned came out more in his day to day interactions with the world, rather than in the classroom. I realize this man grew up in a different country and in a different time period of education, but I do have higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement.
I think everyone has higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement. That said, for the author, grades achievement was a prerequisite to success. Without his good grades, he would not have been able to go past primary school, or gotten Fulbright Scholarship that brought him to the United States. In this case he had to have those good grades. Without them, his life would have been a very different story. As he says at one point, maybe he would have become a Postman.

In this way, the author's focus on his grades is the same as a professional athlete focusing on winning games in high school and college. We all know that being on a sports team is about more than winning and losing, and that it develops all sorts of different skills in people. But for someone to become a professional athlete, they have to get noticed in high school by the college recruiters, and then in college, they have to get noticed by the talent scouts for the teams. Winning games is how that is done.

Dr Douglas focuses on his grades because his grades are what got him noticed. They are what got him his opportunities.
What a great observation, the point on athletes is so true. The good grades did get him noticed.
"The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource". Daniel J Boorstin
User avatar
Nisha Ward
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2311
Joined: 04 Feb 2019, 15:00
Favorite Author: Garth Nix
Favorite Book: Binti Home
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 321
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nisha-ward.html
Latest Review: Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute by Jeff Meyer
Reading Device: B0794RHPZD
fav_author_id: 4351

Post by Nisha Ward »

esp1975 wrote: 11 Jul 2019, 10:32
BrittaniDJ wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 22:18 I got the impression from reading the sample of this book, that education was important as an opportunity provider - gateway to a broader world. I also felt as though 'medals' - grades, social status, self-motivation, were a higher focus than what the good doctor learned or how he was taught in school. What he learned came out more in his day to day interactions with the world, rather than in the classroom. I realize this man grew up in a different country and in a different time period of education, but I do have higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement.
I think everyone has higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement. That said, for the author, grades achievement was a prerequisite to success. Without his good grades, he would not have been able to go past primary school, or gotten Fulbright Scholarship that brought him to the United States. In this case he had to have those good grades. Without them, his life would have been a very different story. As he says at one point, maybe he would have become a Postman.

In this way, the author's focus on his grades is the same as a professional athlete focusing on winning games in high school and college. We all know that being on a sports team is about more than winning and losing, and that it develops all sorts of different skills in people. But for someone to become a professional athlete, they have to get noticed in high school by the college recruiters, and then in college, they have to get noticed by the talent scouts for the teams. Winning games is how that is done.

Dr Douglas focuses on his grades because his grades are what got him noticed. They are what got him his opportunities.
I can't speak for Guyana, but a trend in the Caribbean in general is to aim for schools outside of the region as we still have this idea that they're much higher prestige than our own institutions. Dr. Douglas' focus on high grade achievement isn't unique in that regard, I think, as you've rightly said that it was the key for his success.
"...while a book has got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the reader it's got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the writer as well." - Terry Pratchett on The Last Continent and his writing.
User avatar
BrittaniDJ
Posts: 120
Joined: 30 Dec 2018, 15:19
Currently Reading: The Heart Has Its Reasons
Bookshelf Size: 119
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-brittanidj.html
Latest Review: Yesterday by Samyann

Post by BrittaniDJ »

esp1975 wrote: 11 Jul 2019, 10:32
BrittaniDJ wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 22:18 I got the impression from reading the sample of this book, that education was important as an opportunity provider - gateway to a broader world. I also felt as though 'medals' - grades, social status, self-motivation, were a higher focus than what the good doctor learned or how he was taught in school. What he learned came out more in his day to day interactions with the world, rather than in the classroom. I realize this man grew up in a different country and in a different time period of education, but I do have higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement.
I think everyone has higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement. That said, for the author, grades achievement was a prerequisite to success. Without his good grades, he would not have been able to go past primary school, or gotten Fulbright Scholarship that brought him to the United States. In this case he had to have those good grades. Without them, his life would have been a very different story. As he says at one point, maybe he would have become a Postman.

In this way, the author's focus on his grades is the same as a professional athlete focusing on winning games in high school and college. We all know that being on a sports team is about more than winning and losing, and that it develops all sorts of different skills in people. But for someone to become a professional athlete, they have to get noticed in high school by the college recruiters, and then in college, they have to get noticed by the talent scouts for the teams. Winning games is how that is done.

Dr Douglas focuses on his grades because his grades are what got him noticed. They are what got him his opportunities.
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you for your insight.
Latest Review: Yesterday by Samyann
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

BrittaniDJ wrote: 13 Jul 2019, 17:37
esp1975 wrote: 11 Jul 2019, 10:32
BrittaniDJ wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 22:18 I got the impression from reading the sample of this book, that education was important as an opportunity provider - gateway to a broader world. I also felt as though 'medals' - grades, social status, self-motivation, were a higher focus than what the good doctor learned or how he was taught in school. What he learned came out more in his day to day interactions with the world, rather than in the classroom. I realize this man grew up in a different country and in a different time period of education, but I do have higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement.
I think everyone has higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement. That said, for the author, grades achievement was a prerequisite to success. Without his good grades, he would not have been able to go past primary school, or gotten Fulbright Scholarship that brought him to the United States. In this case he had to have those good grades. Without them, his life would have been a very different story. As he says at one point, maybe he would have become a Postman.

In this way, the author's focus on his grades is the same as a professional athlete focusing on winning games in high school and college. We all know that being on a sports team is about more than winning and losing, and that it develops all sorts of different skills in people. But for someone to become a professional athlete, they have to get noticed in high school by the college recruiters, and then in college, they have to get noticed by the talent scouts for the teams. Winning games is how that is done.

Dr Douglas focuses on his grades because his grades are what got him noticed. They are what got him his opportunities.
This makes a lot of sense. Thank you for your insight.
That's a very inciteful and well-needed perspective, I apreciate it and agree qith you completely.
User avatar
Wriley
Posts: 281
Joined: 06 Jan 2019, 18:09
Favorite Book: Executive Hoodlum
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 80
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-wriley.html
Latest Review: Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi

Post by Wriley »

Frank also had a strong work ethic. Frank seems to be smart naturally so his work ethic is really what set him apart. Frank saw education as a way out of his current situation. He appreciated his opportunities. There are thousands of people who would like to be doctors but don't have the natural ability to memorize and understand scientific terms. That may sound harsh but colleges make Biology 101 classes especially difficult for that reason or least that's what the head of the Biology department of the college I graduated from said. Frank had the mind but also the drive.
Logic will get you from A to Z
But Imagination will get you
EVERYWHERE

Albert Einstein
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Wriley wrote: 14 Jul 2019, 09:20 Frank also had a strong work ethic. Frank seems to be smart naturally so his work ethic is really what set him apart. Frank saw education as a way out of his current situation. He appreciated his opportunities. There are thousands of people who would like to be doctors but don't have the natural ability to memorize and understand scientific terms. That may sound harsh but colleges make Biology 101 classes especially difficult for that reason or least that's what the head of the Biology department of the college I graduated from said. Frank had the mind but also the drive.
I agree with your assessment. The author saw education as a way out of his current state and strived to be the best at it.
User avatar
Nisha Ward
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2311
Joined: 04 Feb 2019, 15:00
Favorite Author: Garth Nix
Favorite Book: Binti Home
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 321
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nisha-ward.html
Latest Review: Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute by Jeff Meyer
Reading Device: B0794RHPZD
fav_author_id: 4351

Post by Nisha Ward »

Wriley wrote: 14 Jul 2019, 09:20 Frank also had a strong work ethic. Frank seems to be smart naturally so his work ethic is really what set him apart. Frank saw education as a way out of his current situation. He appreciated his opportunities. There are thousands of people who would like to be doctors but don't have the natural ability to memorize and understand scientific terms. That may sound harsh but colleges make Biology 101 classes especially difficult for that reason or least that's what the head of the Biology department of the college I graduated from said. Frank had the mind but also the drive.
Pretty much yeah. It's kind of a paradox. If you work hard, the work is relatively simple and easy to figure out but if you're a slacker, it's really hard. The system is designed to separate the workers from the slackers, I think, and it's good that Frank recognised that early, given that education is what helped him not just to succeed but to recognise his own worth in the face of some pretty heavy discrimination.
"...while a book has got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the reader it's got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the writer as well." - Terry Pratchett on The Last Continent and his writing.
User avatar
cdhundley
Posts: 81
Joined: 06 Jul 2019, 16:00
Currently Reading: The Book of Man
Bookshelf Size: 44
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-cdhundley.html
Latest Review: Sundown by Carl H. Mitchell

Post by cdhundley »

I only read the sample, but the component of education that made at least what I read compelling, was not just having education for its own sake, but the search for knowledge. The author's incessant questioning of his environment and inherent nature illustrated his own strong intellectual curiosity - the foundation of scientific and philosophical/spiritual inquiry. It seems like the book details a lifelong pursuit for knowledge, which is as it should be.
"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." Marcus Aurelius
User avatar
Katherine Smith
Posts: 1463
Joined: 30 Mar 2017, 10:56
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 524">Nancy Drew</a>
Currently Reading: The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe
Bookshelf Size: 504
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-katherine-smith.html
Latest Review: "Whisky tango foxtrot...copy" by John regan
Reading Device: B01KVZV52A

Post by Katherine Smith »

I think that the author wanted to achieve as much academic success as possible to become better than his surroundings. I also think that it was a way to divert attention away from the obstacles that were in his life. I think that the author wanted recognition just like anyone does when they are overlooked.
Latest Review: "Whisky tango foxtrot...copy" by John regan
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Katherine Smith wrote: 14 Jul 2019, 13:22 I think that the author wanted to achieve as much academic success as possible to become better than his surroundings. I also think that it was a way to divert attention away from the obstacles that were in his life. I think that the author wanted recognition just like anyone does when they are overlooked.
Yes, in finding something that could draw his entire focus and that he excelled in, he was able to use education to distract from the other obstacles in his life.
User avatar
Nisha Ward
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2311
Joined: 04 Feb 2019, 15:00
Favorite Author: Garth Nix
Favorite Book: Binti Home
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 321
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nisha-ward.html
Latest Review: Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute by Jeff Meyer
Reading Device: B0794RHPZD
fav_author_id: 4351

Post by Nisha Ward »

cdhundley wrote: 14 Jul 2019, 12:54 I only read the sample, but the component of education that made at least what I read compelling, was not just having education for its own sake, but the search for knowledge. The author's incessant questioning of his environment and inherent nature illustrated his own strong intellectual curiosity - the foundation of scientific and philosophical/spiritual inquiry. It seems like the book details a lifelong pursuit for knowledge, which is as it should be.
It truly does and it only serves to make the author a better person too.
"...while a book has got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the reader it's got to be worthwhile from the point of view of the writer as well." - Terry Pratchett on The Last Continent and his writing.
User avatar
Ferdinand_Otieno
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 3369
Joined: 03 Jun 2017, 12:54
Favorite Author: Victor Rose
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1749
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ferdinand-otieno.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
fav_author_id: 78026

Post by Ferdinand_Otieno »

Nisha Ward wrote: 15 Jul 2019, 12:42
cdhundley wrote: 14 Jul 2019, 12:54 I only read the sample, but the component of education that made at least what I read compelling, was not just having education for its own sake, but the search for knowledge. The author's incessant questioning of his environment and inherent nature illustrated his own strong intellectual curiosity - the foundation of scientific and philosophical/spiritual inquiry. It seems like the book details a lifelong pursuit for knowledge, which is as it should be.
It truly does and it only serves to make the author a better person too.
That need and hunger for knowledge served him well and focussed his goals going through his educational journey.
User avatar
briellejee
Posts: 1597
Joined: 25 Aug 2017, 23:40
Currently Reading: Opaque
Bookshelf Size: 292
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-briellejee.html
Latest Review: The Watchmaker’s Doctor by G. M. T. Schuilling

Post by briellejee »

esp1975 wrote: 11 Jul 2019, 10:32
BrittaniDJ wrote: 05 Jul 2019, 22:18 I got the impression from reading the sample of this book, that education was important as an opportunity provider - gateway to a broader world. I also felt as though 'medals' - grades, social status, self-motivation, were a higher focus than what the good doctor learned or how he was taught in school. What he learned came out more in his day to day interactions with the world, rather than in the classroom. I realize this man grew up in a different country and in a different time period of education, but I do have higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement.
I think everyone has higher hopes for education than simply grades achievement. That said, for the author, grades achievement was a prerequisite to success. Without his good grades, he would not have been able to go past primary school, or gotten Fulbright Scholarship that brought him to the United States. In this case he had to have those good grades. Without them, his life would have been a very different story. As he says at one point, maybe he would have become a Postman.

In this way, the author's focus on his grades is the same as a professional athlete focusing on winning games in high school and college. We all know that being on a sports team is about more than winning and losing, and that it develops all sorts of different skills in people. But for someone to become a professional athlete, they have to get noticed in high school by the college recruiters, and then in college, they have to get noticed by the talent scouts for the teams. Winning games is how that is done.

Dr Douglas focuses on his grades because his grades are what got him noticed. They are what got him his opportunities.
Wow, you're analogy about making the sports team and grades and opportunities really do make it clear about this topic. :techie-studyingbrown:
"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost"
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream" by Dr Frank L Douglas.”