Pers 50

Becoming a Master Student Make-Up Test

In the book Becoming a Master Student, by Dave Ellis, the author ends each chapter with brief descriptions of people that are good examples of master students. People that have gone through obstacles yet managed to succeed. Cesar Chavez the leader of the United Farm Workers (UFW) and Barbara Jordan, the first African American to become a senator in Texas and enter congress since the reconstruction, are just two of the many people recognized in this book. These people are great examples of how goals can be reached with the right mind set.

Few people have been able to accomplish change; but none have experience grinding poverty such as the one Cesar Chavez did after the depression. Chavez started working in the fields at a very young age, he attended more than 65 schools but yet never finished high school. He was forced to work at the fields do to the extreme poverty he faced. His mother taught him to be a humanitarian and caring. At the age of 12 Chavez was exposed to strikes, pickets and organizations. It was at the fields where Chavez met his wife, Helen. the couple and their eight children gave a lot to “La Huelga,” the strike call that became the UFW trademark. In eight year, a migrant worker son of migrants helped change a nation’s perception through nonviolent resistance. It took courage imagination and the ability to withstand physical and other abuse. Chavez led a civil movement which brought American face to face with the true costs, the human costs of the food on their tables and brought Mexican Americans into the political arena and helped keep them there.

Minorities in America are always thought of as low class people with little or no education. Mexicans, African Americans and many other people with different background have had to struggle through school; facing discrimination, oppression, and many other obstacles. Minorities usually need to work extra hard to achieve their goals. Barbara Jordan the first African American to become a state senator in Texas and the first to enter congress since the reconstruction for example, had to struggle with both gender and racial discrimination at Boston University. Barbara wanted to succeed in her education and therefore strived to become a better student. Determined to achieve her goals, Barbara studied hard, and try her best to achieve her goals. She was always delighted when she would get called upon to recite in class but her professors would seldomly chose ladies to recite in class. Barbara figured out ways that helped her succeed in school; as a result she succeeded at becoming one of the few successful minorities during her time.

Both Cesar Chavez and Barbara Jordan are great examples of master students. Both of these great, successful people were able to use their abilities to overcome their obstacles and become the successful, influential people they were. Cesar Chavez, although he was a farm worker and didn’t have a good education was able to instigate the American dream for many Mexican Americans. Barbara Jordan although she was an African American female living in a oppressed community was able to demonstrate her abilities and virtues. For this Cesar Chavez and Barbara Jordan are both master students.

I believe a master student is someone who is able to master the abilities required to succeed in school and in life. To me my father is a great example of a master student, his abilities to excel both at school and at everything he does make him as interesting and wonderful as Cesar Chavez or Martin Luther King; and although he did not start a movement to stop oppression or anything of that nature, to me he is and will always be a master student. My father was born in Mexico to a supporting middle class family, he was fortunate enough to be one of the few in his family to receive an education, he never had to do hard manual labor. His parents were always very supportive and would strive to help him succeed. He went to school and graduated from college with a civil engineer degree. But unfortunately, although he received an education and graduated from college he was forced to come to the united states to search for a better future for both me and my mother because he was unable to find a proper job in Mexico he knew that although he would have to work in hard laborious jobs he would get paid a little more and knew that in the long run this sacrifice he was doing would help me and my two sisters have a good future her in the united States. He came to America in 1989 right after I was born and since then he has given us a great opportunity to succeed. He works hard to accomplish his goals and never gives up on his dreams. He is a fast learner and always finds ways to solve his problems, nothing seams to be an obstacle for my father. He strives to get what he wants and gets it, my father is a great example of a Master Student because he is a hard working ,supportive and smart individual.

The book is full off helpful techniques that teach students how to study, manage time and how to use these techniques to become a master student. Although it has some techniques that I personally don’t like for example technique nine from the twenty memory techniques tells us to engage our emotions to remember more, I personally don’t think our emotions need to be involved. One of my favorite techniques is the ABC daily to do list. This technique is very helpful to get everything done during the day. It consists of brainstorming all the things you need to do during the day, estimating the time it will take you to complete the task once the you figure out the amount of time it will take to complete your daily tasks check the time you have to complete