A Boy Named Tom

Long ago, maybe 40 or 50 years ago, a nine year old boy struggled with school. He was interested in math but it wasn’t easy for him. Science classes were cool; they demonstrated how things worked and the results of some actions. But the boy didn’t understand the why of their working. It seemed to him to be one of the many mysteries of life. He wondered when he might get it. In fact he pined for it.

Classmates seemed to get it. They jiggled in their seats with upraised arms begging the teacher to call on them! Our guy didn’t do that. His name is Tom. Our guy. Nine years old and wondering.

He participated in class when they discussed sports and reading assignments in English. He even liked civics classes. After all he read the paper – sort of – and heard his parents talk about news articles. So he knew what was current and what wasn’t. TV filled in some of the gaps. So did the library. His mom was a big reader and took Tom to the library at least once each week. She encouraged him to explore it on his own and he did, but at first he was nervous about walking into the adult sections. The card catalogue was huge and mysterious. And the dictionary was gigantic! A thousand pages at least, maybe two. Still, he flipped through the big book on display near the card catalogue. He followed a few words at first, then several each time he visited the library. He learned how each word had roots in other words – and languages! So much to learn.

Tom wondered when he would learn it. Not if; when.

This was before cell phones and the Internet. Tom wouldn’t know about those things for many years yet. For now he had the out of date encyclopedia set at home (10 years out of date!) and the weekly library visit with mom. School had a small library, too, but it was more for reading skill development. He knew that. His teacher worked with the librarian to provide a reading list appropriate to each student’s ability. He was encouraged to explore other titles but there was a required list he had to work through first.

The librarian was nice. But her collection was small. She seemed disappointed in the collection. Tom wondered about that, too.

Later when Tom was in high school, he remembered his early years of libraries. It was hard to believe that his school had such a large library, but the city library was huge in comparison. By high school Tom was pretty good at navigating the study aids at both the school and city libraries. He was now able to create questions to research. He was learning how to direct his own study program and he loved it.

On summer vacation his family visited the state university. They popped into the library and learned it cooperated with his city’s library. So, if he wanted a book on anything at all, all he had to do was request it and the librarian would arrange a loan of the university library’s collection for just that book. Tom was delighted. His mind wandered to much larger topics and questions multiplied. He recalled his science classes from elementary grades and now wondered why something reacted the way it did in the classroom experiments. He was able to study these things on his own now, at his own pace.

More importantly, he was free to associate one topic with any other one. Physics and math were common paired topics. So too were mechanics, math and biology. Tom became fascinated with how biologic systems functioned, and how man-made parts or systems might replace something in a real life, an animal or human.

After completing high school Tom went on to the state’s primary university campus. He completed all the required courses slotted for him for his degree, but sophomore year he was free to explore subject matter that might just lead him toward his major. What that was he didn’t know. But he had inklings.

Physics played a role in his academic planning. So did engineering. Biology, too, hovered nearby. Tom’s mind skipped ahead to man-made biologics – what if man could replace human body parts when the originals wore out or became diseased? Tom thought about that a lot.

Selecting a major field of study was difficult but Tom settled on engineering with physics as a primary field of interest and biology as a secondary curiosity. Tom took these interests to heart and eventually got an engineering degree in bio-engineering. His studies coupled three fields of major study into one and his graduate degree seemed inevitable.

Tom worked hard and learned how artificial blood was invented. He met the team of researchers who were designing artificial body parts that would replace parts of hearts, and lungs. Later he met a team working on artificial bone transplants that would actually grow into existing bone fragments.

Yes, Tom earned a masters of engineering degrees in biology and physics eventually. But he went on to earn a PhD in bio-engineering working closely with that state’s premier medical school. Together they were destined to accomplish much that would benefit mankind.

Tom is not a miracle. He is the result of a caring, competent and ever expanding educational system that supported Tom through all his years of development. His ideas and effort are his own. But he was supported at every turn to maximize what his curious mind would seek next. Together he and his society made wonderful things happen.

In today’s climate the same is possible. In fact it is happening every day with other Tom’s and Mary’s and Julia’s. Only now the names have changed to Pedro, Dietrich and Angelina. Today the internet is spewing forth tons of information – related and not – and mobile devices are allowing access to that data by phone and wi-fi connected think pads and computers of every description.

Information is whizzing in every direction being used by the curious Tom’s of our age. It will be a wonder to learn what they are able to do with it. And how we all will benefit as well!

Now that’s a miracle!

October 26, 2015