Based on
Gurdon’s remarkable discovery, we may naturally assume that he was academically
gifted at an early age. However, this
was not at all the case as Gurdon was last in his classes in biology and other
science subjects. One of Gurdon’s
schoolteachers remarked:
"I believe he has ideas about becoming a scientist; on his present showing this is quite ridiculous, if he can't learn simple biological facts he would have no chance of doing the work of a specialist, and it would be sheer waste of time, both on his part, and of those who have to teach him."
Time told a different tale, as Gurdon went on to alter our understanding of cell biology by his iconic frog cloning. Additionally, he recently shared a Nobel Prize in 2012 with Shinya Yamanaka "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent." To me, Gurdon serves as an inspiration and a classic example of academic success in the face of sheer doubt. Although he was projected to fail as a scientist, he took the criticism as motivation to succeed (perhaps by the fact that "[he] keeps [the teacher report] above his desk for amusement"). Thus, Gurdon's achievements remind us that numbers and test scores do not always equal success later in life, but rather that true passion and drive for a discipline dictate the degree of professional success. Additionally, Gurdon's story also implies that a rough academic start is not the tell tale sign of disaster in the professional world. As long as you are passionate and dedicated to your work, you have as much a shot as anyone at success.
Time told a different tale, as Gurdon went on to alter our understanding of cell biology by his iconic frog cloning. Additionally, he recently shared a Nobel Prize in 2012 with Shinya Yamanaka "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent." To me, Gurdon serves as an inspiration and a classic example of academic success in the face of sheer doubt. Although he was projected to fail as a scientist, he took the criticism as motivation to succeed (perhaps by the fact that "[he] keeps [the teacher report] above his desk for amusement"). Thus, Gurdon's achievements remind us that numbers and test scores do not always equal success later in life, but rather that true passion and drive for a discipline dictate the degree of professional success. Additionally, Gurdon's story also implies that a rough academic start is not the tell tale sign of disaster in the professional world. As long as you are passionate and dedicated to your work, you have as much a shot as anyone at success.
Before learning about him in Exploring Biomedical Research, I had no idea what contributions Sir John Gurdon had made to the scientific community. Now, between this blog post and last week's presentation, I realize what an amazing contribution he has made to genetics and even future science/medical advances. However, stories like his often only include the success, leaving out the failures that preceded the success. I feel that elementary and middle school textbooks need to include stories such as this, to encourage, rather than discourage students who may not perform well academically. All throughout our school systems there are students who have huge dreams, but may lack the support and/or confidence to unlock their potential. Sir John Gurdon is a prime example that with drive and hard work, those dreams can very well become realities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Justin’s comment regarding the need to include background information surrounding key contributions in science. Sir John Gurdon is not alone amongst those who have been discouraged to follow their ideas and visions. We saw in The Genome War, Eugene Myers and even Craig Venter having to push against critics and unbelievers to ultimately make advancing discoveries and positive change in the world. The awesome thing about science is that no one knows with certainty what will happen and often through debate and discussion, one’s true passions evolve and he or she is tested to expand his or her perspective and challenge his or her beliefs. I believe that challenges and discussion fuel the scientific realm however once they turn discouraging they begin to have negative impacts. Despite the negative influences at a young age, Sir John Gurdon was able to pave the way for the science of nuclear transfers, a truly telling tale.
ReplyDeleteSir John Gurdon made some serious contributions to our understanding of genetics and cloning. His story is an important reminder that sometimes the most unlikely candidate will end up doing something extraordinary. It is awesome how he really laid the groundwork for a new way of thinking, and a new understanding about genetics and cells. The fact that his techniques are still used today is evidence to his amazing success. Definitely an inspiration for many developing scientists.
ReplyDeleteThis is a truly inspiring story. There are many stories of children who do not do well in school going on to become brilliant scientists. I kind of have to wonder what was behind their bad grades in school. Perhaps the class just moved too slowly, or perhaps there is something important to be learned here, not what our education system is failing at, but how we can better it to improve the learning of all students. As a side note, did the frog he cloned live a full lifespan? I know Dolly died relatively young, but I don't know how long this frog lived, or if the normal lifespan is either too short or too variable to tell.
ReplyDeleteStories like these always cause me to wonder about how we can improve the educational system in America. It is hard for me to believe that Sir John Gurdon became extremely brilliant over the course of his lifetime. Like Joe said in the comment above, maybe he was just bored in all of his classes? Maybe he lacked motivation even though he was extremely intelligent? Whatever the problem was, it probably could have been handled in a much better way. So many teachers make assumptions about schoolchildren simply by taking a glance at test scores. If a child is performing poorly, many people automatically assume that a child must have learning disabilities, or something of that nature. However, I think that there is always more to the story than a simple diagnosis. More research needs to be done on why certain children perform differently over the course of their educational paths. I think that this can research can eventually allow schools to have a more individualized approach to helping students, which can assist them in reaching their full potential.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very inspiring story and your comment is absolutely right. I think scores are only representation of how good you are at learning facts and apply equations. To measure a person correctly, we need to go beyond the scores,standardized and IQ tests. In case of Sir Jon Gurdon, I looked it up and saw that he was condemned because he liked to do things his way. This raises the question :"how much freedom of thought does a student have when they attend schools and colleges?"
ReplyDeleteAbout the teachers, I think they play a very crucial part of his success. I find online that every time he fails, he reminds himself of the teachers' saying and keeps trying. I guess teachers will eventually benefit their students by one way or another.
This article and the presentation introduced me to the contribution of Sir John Gurdonan which I did not know about before. His story is very inspiring. He is not the only scientist who succeed after being deterred from his ideas, and his visions. It makes me think about the educational system. Obviously, Sir John Gurdonan had the cognitive ability to become a scientist. However, his teachers did not see his potential. Why does this happen so occasionally? Is it the lack of motivation? Is it the strict program designed by the system? Students should be given more opportunities to give their opinions. More support should be given to develop a student's full potential.
ReplyDeleteSir John Gurdonan and his contributions to society have played a huge impact on the concept of cloning. His tireless efforts and hard work to research this has played a huge part in our search to clone in a beneficial way for society. Also, I am actually amazed that Gurdonan did not do well in his Biology classes and as previously stated in the comments raises the question about a faulty educational system. In my opinion, I think that high school curriculum should be similar to college in the sense that it is based on interests in research and education. I think that this could help to bring success to many students who may not do as well in the classroom.
ReplyDelete