Gregg Lewis - Ben Carson

H ey, Dummy!

Ben Carson looked up. Dummy was the nickname his classmates had given him.

Another fifth grader laughed at Bens instinctive response: Ben Carson is so dumb.

Ben shrugged and tried to act as if he didnt mind. He didnt like being called dumb. Who would? But he figured what the kid said was true. After all, he heard it every single day.

Ben Carsons the dumbest kid in fifth grade! the kid continued.

Ben looked the other way. He wasnt in the mood to argue.

Hey, Carsons the dumbest kid in the world! someone else called out.

Now wait a minute! Ben thought. I know Im dumb. I have plenty of test grades to prove that. But surely somewhere in the world there has to be someone dumber than I am!

It was time to draw the line. Im not the dumbest kid in the world!

You are too!

I am not! Ben insisted.

Couldnt be anybody in the world dumber than you are, Carson!

The two argued back and forth until the teacher called the class inside.

Later that same afternoon, there was a math quiz. Afterward, the teacher had each student pass his test to the person behind him to correct as the teacher read out the answers. Ben knew what was coming next. Each student would have to report his or her score to the teacherout loud!

Ben stared with disgust at the big fat zero on the top of his paper. This oughta be good, he thought. When everybody finds out what I made on this quiz, theyll never let up.

Thats when Ben began to scheme: Maybe if I mumble, he thought, the teacher wont understand me. So when the teacher called his name, he muttered, Nnme. And it worked!

Nine! Benjamin? How wonderful! Class, can you see what Benjamin has done? Didnt I tell you if you just applied yourself you could do it? Im so proud of you!

Nine right meant Ben had twenty-one wrong, but nine was still a lot better than his usual grade. That must have been why the teacher just kept raving onat least until the girl who had graded Bens paper decided to set the record straight.

He said none, she spouted. You know, noneas in not any!

After a short pause, a chorus of laughter broke out around the room, and the teacher just shook her head as she sat down in her chair. Ben wanted to disappear into thin air. But he couldnt. So he just smiled and tried to pretend that the laughter didnt bother him.

A few weeks later, Ben peeked at his midterm grade report. He was not surprised to see that he had failed most of his subjects. His brother Curtis received a report that wasnt much better. When Ben got home, he dropped his grade card along with his books on the table, hoping his mother wouldnt see them until after he was in bed.

No such luck. His mother picked up his grade card and looked it over carefully. Bennie, is this your midterm report? she finally asked.

Yes, maam, Ben replied, but it doesnt mean much.

No, Bennie, she answered, it means a lot! If you keep making grades like this, youll spend the rest of your life sweeping floors in a factory. And thats not what God wants for you!

His mom pulled Ben and Curtis close to her and looked right into their faces. Boys, I dont know what to do. But God promises in the Bible to give wisdom to those who ask. So tonight Im going to pray for wisdom. I am going to ask God what I need to do to help you.

Ben and Curtis didnt know what to think about their mothers words. Had she gone off the deep end? Did she really think God was going to tell her how to help them get better grades?

Two days later, the boys found out how God intended to answer their mothers prayer, and they didnt like it. God says we need to turn off the television, Mrs. Carson told her sons. You may choose two TV shows to watch each week. Well spend the rest of the time reading.

The boys tried to object, but their mother wasnt finished. You are also to write two book reports every week about the books you read. Then you can read your reports out loud to me.

Gods answer didnt seem very wise to Ben and Curtis. But they did what their mother asked them to do. They turned off the television, walked to the nearest branch of the Detroit Public Library, and checked out a stack of books.

The boys were grateful that their mother hadnt said what they had to read. That meant they were free to choose books they were interested in. Ben loved animals. So he read all the animal books he could find and then moved on to plants and rocks.

The Carsons lived in a section of Detroit near some railroad tracks. Soon, Ben found himself collecting rocks in little boxes and taking them home to look up in his library books. Before long, he could identify almost any rock he found. He was proud of himself, but he thought it wise not to mention his new hobby to anyone at school.

One day Mr. Jaeck, Bens science teacher, walked into his fifth-grade classroom with a big shiny black rock. He held it up and asked, Can anyone tell me what this is?

Ben waited for one of the smart kids to answer. No one did. So he waited for one of the dumb kids to respond. No one did. Finally, his hand went up. And as it did, his classmates began to whisper and giggle. Hey, look, Carson has his hand up! This oughta be good!

Mr. Jaeck was surprised too. Benjamin?

Thats obsidian. Ben answered. Suddenly, the classroom was quiet. It sounded good. But no one was sure if it was the right answeror a joke.

Thats right. It is obsidian, Mr. Jaeck exclaimed.

No one else was saying anything, so Ben continued, Obsidian is formed after a volcanic eruption. Lava flows down and when it hits water, there is a super-cooling process. The elements mix together, forcing out the air. Then the surface glazes

Right again, Benjamin, Mr. Jaeck remarked with excitement in his voice. Class, this is a tremendous piece of information Benjamin has just given us! Im proud of him. Before he went on with his lesson, Mr. Jaeck asked Ben to stop by after school and work on his rock collection with him.

Everyone was staring at Ben in astonishment. But the most surprised person in the room was Ben himself. For the first time, he realized that he was not such a dummy after all!

Ben also realized that hed known the answer because hed been reading books. As that sank in, he began to wonder, What if I read books about all my subjects? Maybe I would know more than anyone in the classmore than the kids who tease me and call me names!

Ben had made a giant discovery. But he couldnt yet imagine how much reading would change his life. He had found the key that would unlock his future and someday enable his greatest dreams to come true.