This is the essay I just wrote for my English class. It isn’t QUITE what the assignment asked for, but it follows the main theme of what we were asked to do. Enjoy!
Students who display dedication as well as a good work ethic will be successful, no matter what their disadvantage, because the harder they work, the more they will develop their skills and the better they will become at any given subject. Sometimes we see students who achieve high scores and do well in their classes and automatically assume those students are gifted or have some form of intellectual advantage. We forget, in some cases, that there are students out there who do not have the innate gift of being able to understand information at the same level as other students. We also forget that some students possess learning disabilities and have to work harder to overcome those disadvantages. These students become gifted in their quest to overcome and surpass the disability they have been born with.
Working hard at school is something we are all taught at a young age. Teachers try to instill in us the desire to excel in our studies so that we may do well in our lives outside of school. Some students find it easier to perform well at school and learn that they do not need to work as hard as others. Some students struggle and find they need to work twice as hard in order to achieve the same success as their peers, whether it is in schoolwork or sports. When students struggle and learn they have to work harder to overcome difficulties, some rise to the challenge and some give up. The difference in these two types of students is dedication.
When a student is dedicated to achieving a desired outcome or in putting forth the effort required to do what is asked of them, they learn that can succeed if they persevere. Being dedicated to their end goal and doing the work that is required to reach that end goal helps students develop a habit of working through rough situations. This will help them later in life as they face obstacles in their careers or personal lives.
An example of someone using a good work ethic and dedication to overcome a disability and using the skills he learned as an advantage is President Woodrow Wilson. He is believed to have had dyslexia and possibly other learning difficulties. He worked hard and taught himself shorthand to overcome his challenges at reading. Because of this, he was better able to learn and is still the only US president to have obtained a PhD.
When students have learning disabilities, they are sometimes able to use medication to their advantage to assist in overcoming these difficulties. Other times, they need a physical assistance or someone to work with them. Some students need medication to calm hyperactivity or an inability to stay focused. Other students need a physical aid like a hearing aid or glasses. Some students need someone to sit with them and work through learning troubles. These items, while not an advantage to other students, are a large advantage to the students who need them.
History is full of students who have needed extra help when dealing with learning difficulties. Some received it, some did not. In either situation, the students who have learned to deal with, adapt to and overcome learning disabilities have done so through developing a good work ethic and showing dedication to doing the work that was necessary to overcome their challenges. Nelson Rockefeller had dyslexia, George Patton had some form of a learning disability, Dr. Temple Grandin was autistic, Albert Einstein is believed to have had Asperger’s Syndrome and so many other notable minds were afflicted with learning difficulties. Because they all had strong work ethics and a dedication to learning, they were able to overcome their learning disabilities and excel in their chosen fields.
