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• Adebola Ayoade

  

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  April 23, 2015 7:40 AM CEST

  BENJAMIN SOLOMON CARSON (1951-) Part. 2

  Sonya was determined to bring out the best in her children, so to achieve this, she limited their TV time to a few educative programs, did not allow the boys play outside until they had finished their homework and read at least two library books in a week which they were to submit written reports to her after reading. She always took the reports, pretended to carefully review them, scanned over the words and turned the pages before placing a checkmark at the top of the page to show her approval. She was criticised for this but it did not move her. She made up her mind that her sons would have greater opportunities than she did.

  At first, Ben resented this training because he also wished he was like his peers who played outside while he read. He soon turned out to embrace the training and within a year, Ben Carson moved from been at the bottom of the class to the top of the class and his mindset about himself changed and became hungry for knowledge.

  Ben attended a school predominantly attended by white students. It was not a smooth ride for him. He had his racism experience. After he received a certificate of achievement at the semester break, one of the school's teachers berated the white students for letting a black student get ahead of them academically. However, he also had the support of some of his teachers who were genuinely interested in his success.

  In his 5th grade, after demonstrating his academic prowess in class about rocks, his teacher invited him to the laboratory. There Ben found squirrels to feed and a tarantula to observe. He discovered the wonders of using a microscope to study water specimens, and learned about paramecium and amoebas.

  Later, at Southwestern High School in inner-city Detroit, his science teachers spotted his intellectual abilities and mentored him. He also had other teachers who helped him to stay focused when outside influences pulled him off course.

  After Ben graduated with honors from high school, he knew he wanted to pursue a medical career but because of financial constraint he had to work through most of his time in college. The automobile industry was facing a downturn in Detroit during the 1970s and this made getting a summer job difficult. Ben was determined and through his persistence, he got a job, then a scholarship to attend Yale University. It was there he earned a B.A. Degree in Psychology.

   

  ...to be continued