Achiever vs. Slacker
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| Image: All Rights Reserved |
| Victoria, BC : Orca Book Publishers |
| 2009 |
The bell sounded, and I jumped in my seat. I’d been so lost in thought that I hadn’t noticed the end of the period sneaking up on me. Where had the last fifty minutes gone?
All around me kids stared to gather their things. There was a lot of happy noise- talking, laughing and joking – as they moved to the door.
I looked down at my test. I was still only three-quarters of the way through the third page. I’d left a couple of multiple-choices and at least two questions on the first page. My plan was to go back and look at them again once I’d finished. That was always my plan, although there were lots of tests I never quite finished.
Kids dropped their tests on Mr. Mathews’s desk on their way out. On a non-test day, I was one of the first out the door. Sometimes I could find myself in the hall when the sound of the bell was still echoing off the walls.
Not today. I needed to keep going. I was sure I was close to a passing grade, but I might need another mark or two. I’d managed to pass all my courses in grade nine, and so far grade ten was working out the same. Of course, when I said pass, that’s just about what I did – I was a solid fifty-five-percent average.
My parents and my teachers were always on me about “pulling up my socks” and “putting my nose to the grindstone” and how I had to “buckle down and get to work.” I wasn’t sure how my socks, a buckle or a grindstone – whatever the heck that was – would help me get better marks, and I wasn’t going to find out.
My parents always lectured that I was too smart to be just scraping by. I was smart enough to know that a fifty-five gave you the same credit as a ninety-five.
I knew if I worked harder I could get a higher grade, but so far nobody had given me a convincing enough argument that it was worth the extra work. Besides, a ninety-five was definitely out of the question. If I ever got a ninety-five I think they’d test me for steroids. No, steroids would only help me run away from work faster … maybe that would have helped today.
Some people thought that school only involved learning and tests. What a bizarre thought. A big chunk of school was social. I was exceptionally good at that part. They just didn’t give out marks for it.
Everyone liked me. Well, everybody except for a few of the teachers. Sometimes they took it personally when you didn’t do well in their subjects. It was as if not liking history meant you didn’t like them. That was stupid. I guess it also didn’t help that some teachers didn’t really have what you’d call a sense of humor – or at least my humor. Things that I thought were hilarious they didn’t get, and they thought I was laughing at them. Okay, sometimes I was laughing at them, but not always. Most of the time I was just joking around.
I did exactly what I needed to get by in school. I wasn’t about to give up on friends, sports, video games, going out, girls – well, the hope of girls – the Internet, TV, music and a hundred other things. I was surprised I had time to get a fifty-five.
Extract from the book Special Edward
by Eric Walters
All Rights Reserved.
Victoria, BC : Orca Book Publishers, c2009.
Call Number: J WAL
Extract contributed by Lynn Ang
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Who is an achiever? Are those who do not perform well academically slackers/underachievers?
July 9th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Those who do not do well are neither academically slackers nor underachievers. They are just slow learners. I am not a slow learner or a fast learner. We must always encourage others if they kept failing their test.We can give them some advice and might one day become sucessful. You will never know.
July 15th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
I think the answer is the slackers.I DON’T KNOW!!!
I guess one.You must konw your abilities indicated by intelligence and aptitude tests.
Thats all i don’t know the answer. THE END
July 20th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
I believe that God has stored a talent in everyone,it’s just that they have not discover it yet. I also believe that everyone is capable of achieving what they want.As long as they work towards that goal, they will definitely make it. You just have to push your self and never give up.
Believe in yourself and God Bless people!
July 23rd, 2010 at 7:21 pm
I believe that we,as people, are achievers and slackers. We achieve what we want. However, after we achieved what we want to, we slack.
July 30th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
An achiever is not always the best. It is just that he/she has made improvements….It does not mean that those who do not perform well academically are slackers/underachievers.Perhaps,they just need some time to learn the ropes!!!!!!!!!
July 30th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I think that those who do not perform well academically are neither slackers nor underachievers.I think that they are just not very fast learners.I am neither a fast nor a slow learner. We must always encourage such slow learners and give them as much help as possible.
July 30th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
If you want to be an achiever in life, the first thing is to work hard.You also must have goals and dreams and fulfil them. There is a time to play and also to get serious in work and to focus. Even if you did not do well in your exams, just continue trying and working harder to get your targets right. You cannot be lazy and slack to achieve your goals. As long as you persevere and do not give up, there will be a chance to get above again and be a role model to the weaker people.If you do not peform well in something, that does not mean that you are a slacker. So,it is really worth the extra effort. Just bear in mind that no matter what happens, try not to give up and perservere till your last drop of energy is used!
August 20th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
An achiever is someone who has the right attitude and behavior towards learning. I believe that everyone must have goals or dreams. Then we must word towards our dreams and not say,” Oh. My dream is to be a doctor. Okay. The end.”
What is the use of having a goal or dream and not working hard? You’re just telling yourself your dream and then? Nothing happens because you don’t take action. In this case, take action means to work hard.
I do not think that those who do not do well are slackers or underachievers. Some may have a mental block blocking them from thinking. They just say they are weak in the certain subject. They don’t want to improve.
Som may be slow in learning. Well, not everyone is fast in understanding the concept or method. They need TIME. However, some children are really slackers if they do not do well. They slack and do not concentrate on their studies. As a result, they do badly.
God has made us all special. We all have talents. It depends whether we want to make good use of our talents. As people say, The future is in your hands.