By Ronald E. Johnson, C.Ph.D. (1939-2018)
Mother stood sobbing in the hall as my second-grade teacher discussed my inability to read. I heard words like, “retain”, “fail” and “social promotion.” After their emotional discussion ended, I was “passed conditionally” to third grade. The conversation shifted to my younger sister, Beverly, who was so gifted that she was considered for promotion directly from first to third grade. Beverly was smart. She could read a book with dramatic expression almost as fast as she could turn the pages. Throughout elementary school, Beverly would read to me as I sat quietly soaking in the dialog. Her dramatized words created vivid images of The Lone Ranger, Tarzan, Robinson Crusoe, and other bigger-than-life heroes.
By age 12, I had developed a creative imagination and patience (while avoiding reading) by building model airplanes from paper and strips of Balsam wood, constructing frontier forts from match sticks, and carving fishing lures from pieces of cedar branches. I liked checkers, dominoes, and chess. But reading remained a challenge well into my teenage years. As a 9th grader, I weighed about 100 pounds soaking wet and wore thick glasses. I was not big or tough enough to play football or basketball; so I began to compensate by writing poems, drawing, and painting. In 11th grade I became involved in the school Thespian Club and UIL events, like one act play and poetry. Between grades 11 and 12, I started putting on muscles while hauling hay, mowing lawns, riding horses, and driving a farm tractor. Due to a serious shortage of good football players in our rural town, Coach Kelley allowed me to start on both offense and defense. We made the finals in spite of my presence on the team. The good thing about football was the encouragement given to me by Coach Kelley. He let me start, not so much because I was a good player, but because I compensated for my lack of size with determination, grit, and stamina to stay focused in the game.
School work, however, was still painful. I struggled to earn B- and C+ in class courses. Once, I was ejected from Algebra I class because I simply “didn’t get it.” I finally graduated at the bottom fourth of my senior class. Surprisingly, the school faculty selected me as “The Boy Most Likely To Succeed.” That award both confused and encouraged me. I realized that academic prowess simply was not my long suit. However, I had discovered that I had a strong mental ability to pay attention, think deeply, and dream of lofty and noble goals. I learned that by plodding along tenaciously, I could achieve goals which peers never felt strongly motivated to pursue.
The tragic, sudden death of both parents left my sister and me homeless. A neighbor family “took Beverly in” so she could graduate (she was salutatorian). I joined the U.S. Air Force in order to have three meals a day, a place to sleep, and training for a career. Fortunately, several military officers mentored me and encouraged me to take the college entrance exam. I did, but I failed it. My emotions were so “messed up” from the murder-suicide of my parents, that the very thought of academic work was stressful. I simply was not ready for serious school work. When I was 21, a Lt. Colonel took me under his wing and helped me wrap my mind around plans for the future. was able to enroll in extension classes through the University of Arizona while still in the Air Force. Success in those courses allowed me to matriculate as a full-time student after discharge from active military duty. Somehow, I muddled through three degrees at The University of Arizona (BA, M.Ed. and Ed.S.). I completed all the coursework for a doctorate degree in education, and later completed my thesis to earn a C.Ph.D. from another school.
By age 32, I had been listed in Who’s Who In Arizona Education, published Three R’s And A Big Hug, and was selected as a Ford Fellow. During the following four decades, I drew on the imaginations birthed by my little sister’s childhood reading sessions to design and direct The International Student Convention (an annual competition of UIL-like events for thousands of teenagers from church schools). Her sessions encouraged me to write and direct dramatic presentations by college students on nation-wide tours. President Ronald Reagan invited me to the White House twice to participate in discussions on the impact of private schools on American culture. My fear of books faded sufficiently to write more than a dozen. In fact, my wife and I founded Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum, a textbook publishing company which features vignettes of positive role models who overcame challenges, hardships, and heartaches to achieve noble goals. Thanks, Sis!
