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Early Academic Struggles 0:00 Chapter 7, early years at Forest Grove. Academic Challenge, Discovering My Leadership Gifts and My Jewish Friends. Picture an0:11 immigrant child sitting at a small wooden desk, feet dangling above the floor, trying to make sense of the fast moving microcosm of 1st grade. That was me.0:23 The classroom smelled like chalk and pencil shavings. The other children seemed to understand everything instinctively, how to sound out words, when to raise their hands, how to move through the0:35 academic day with confidence. I did not. Everything was different now that I had come to America in a whirlwind of wonder and disorientation. I still remember0:47 my 1st hot dog, how strange it tasted and how I hated it. Chocolate ice cream, too, seemed like an odd phenomenon. My 5 year old mind thought it was plain0:59 vanilla ice cream that had gone bad. For the record, I now love hot dogs, especially Hebrew National's Kosher Dogs, and my favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate.1:12 I was strong willed by nature, but learning came slowly to me. At home, my parents told me to watch TV so I could pick up spoken English. At school, reading was a challenge,1:24 and writing wasn't any better. I would stare at the page while the other 1st graders moved on, feeling the quiet shame of being left behind. School quickly became a point of frustration.1:37 2nd grade was more of the same. However, my teacher, missus Peterson, was kind and perhaps overly generous. She gave everyone good grades, so I managed to bring home a few1:48 a's and mostly b's. For a brief season, I could still get by. Then, in 3rd grade, I received my 1st report card with 2 c's. My father reacted in anger and2:00 whipped me. He wanted me to succeed academically and believed discipline would push me forward. At the time, I felt only fear and confusion, not understanding his concern or2:12 expectations. The school I attended, Forest Grove Elementary School, was divided by neighborhood realities. Rock Creek Park separated the neighborhood where we lived from aFriendship with Jewish Neighbors 2:24 wealthy Jewish community to the south. Most of my friends came from that Jewish community, and their homes, customs, and family life became familiar to me.2:36 My best friend in 3rd grade was Billy Brendler. 1 day, I discovered that he had never heard of Jesus. Surprised, I showed him an article about Jesus2:47 in his family's Encyclopedia Britannica. He was fascinated and amazed by what he read. When his parents found out, they were upset and called my mother.3:00 They made it clear that Billy was not allowed to read about Jesus again. When Billy turned 13, I was the only gentile who was invited to his bar mitzvah,3:11 marking an important moment in his life and faith. By 5th grade, I was the most popular person in my class. I was the leader of the pack, and I started acting likeDiscovering Leadership Gifts 3:23 it. I remember when I got in a big argument with my friend Gary, and I told everyone in my class that no 1 was to talk to him. I effectively froze3:35 him, and people listened. This went on for days. Finally, missus Milo, our 5th grade teacher, appealed to me to break the silent treatment off Gary. I didn't3:47 want to unfreeze him, but that was when it dawned upon me that I must have had some sort of leadership gift. Unfortunately, I started to influence people to do bad things.3:59 Because my parents didn't drink, I would cajole my friends to steal alcohol from their parents bars or fridges. We would take the loot down to the park where we could get away with drinking it, and4:11 we'd invite other 5th grade girls to play spin the bottle with us. By then I also started smoking just to be cool like James Dean with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth.4:22 The late fifties and sixties were shaped by bad boys like Dean and Marlon Brando. Out of my insecurity and an orphan heart I craved and thrived off the popularity.Rebellion and the Orphan Heart 4:35 The surrounding Jewish kids looked up to me as a leader and I carried that influence without fully understanding the direction it was taking us. My 1st few girlfriends were Jewish as well.4:47 As a group of guys we would bring the girls along with us to drink and smoke without parental supervision, moving further and further away from the innocence of childhood. Looking back I can see4:59 how those years were marked by rebellion, confusion, and a broken search for identity long before I understood where my life was truly headed.In this video 0:00 Early Academic Struggles2:13 Friendship with Jewish Neighbors3:15 Discovering Leadership Gifts4:23 Rebellion and the Orphan Heart
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