Bill Gates: The Definition Of Student Success

A student’s success is hard to define because every individual has a different definition of success. Students usually think of success as getting a passing grade, but the schools could define it as students getting a high grade point average (GPA), and a good citizenship grade, along with a lot of other standards. But schooling, let alone education, shouldn’t be focused on grades. Rather, it should be based on the life lessons learned from the subjects taught. Life lessons could include study habits, organizational skills, confidence to participate, and being punctual to class or job meetings in the future. Additionally, a student’s success can’t be forced by any type of authority, and should be approached from a less traditional angle. The

Albert Einstein ended up dropping out of high school in spite of his lack of formal education. He became a renowned physicist and his discoveries had an impact on science and our understanding of the world. Bill Gates received a high school diploma, but ended up dropping out of college to become an entrepreneur. He revolutionized personal computers and is one of the richest people in the world. These are two of the people that didn’t achieve academic success, but accomplished individual success. Malcolm X in “Learning to Read”, only went to school through the eighth grade, and his remaining education was built upon books he read and studied and the letters he wrote and read during his time of imprisonment. He also expanded his vocabulary and learned the words in the dictionary by writing each word down along with their definition for every letter on his tablet. (X 273-74) X’s dedication to self-education, proves that a student is responsible for their own learning and success. He asks us, “Where else but in prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day?” (X 282). School days are usually only eight hours long, so he wouldn’t have spent as much time in a classroom setting. The subjects taught in the classrooms were also unrelated to his interests, so it may not have retained his interest. By being able to study his interests without having to learn unnecessary subjects in school, he gained a more focused education. He was not destroyed by the prison system; he became a passionate reader and speaker and has a sense of gratitude for the time spent in prison. Having the capability to educate oneself without formal schooling, shows again that students are responsible for their own success. Teachers can only give them lessons and