Jordan Gross - Lifelong Learner Hits The Mark

The following article, written by Janet Bonneau, St. Albans Messenger Correspondent, appeared in a Special Supplement to the St. Albans Messenger titled Graduation 2008 on June 20, 2008

Jordan and his physics teacher Tom Pfeiffer during physics class. They were doing an experiment with conductivity.
Photo by Janet Bonneau

Jordan Gross - Lifelong learner hits the mark

A common theme emerges when BFA Fairfax faculty discuss senior Jordan Gross, Class of 2008: quiet, low-keyed and unassuming.

“Jordan is in a distinguished minority of students,” said Chemistry and Physics teacher Tom Pfeiffer. “He is the kind of learner who doesn't just memorize and regurgitate information. He is able to take individual concepts, internalize them and express them in his own words. He has a knack for putting complex ideas together and is able to apply them in new and different contexts.”

Jordan is a member of the Art Club, Ski and Boarding Club, and participated in the Scholars Bowl. He volunteers at the Leahy Echo Center and Relay for Life. His senior year final semester courses included AP Calculus, Chemistry and Physics.

This fall, he heads to the University of Maine at Orono to study electrical engineering in the honors program.

Jordan also has dyslexia. His personal and academic success is a testament to the perseverance of a family to move beyond social stigmas and preconceived academic expectations. For Jordan and his parents, Nancy and Dan Gross, the issue became not so much how to deal with the dyslexia, but rather how it would fit into the scheme of a student who evolved to embody those rare qualities of a lifelong learner: an intrinsically motivated individual who possesses considerable satisfaction from mastering new ideas and concepts.

Technical explanations for dyslexia vary among disciplines. It can include specific reading problems, such as the inability to distinguish similarities and differences in words or letter sounds. In Jordan’s case, he was not able to decode words and sound them out. He did not like reading out loud in class.

“If I’m reading and there are words I’ve never seen before, it might click because I think it’s a word I already know,” said Jordan.

“My main problem is reading it and then saying it right after. I can’t read out loud at all, I interpret it differently. When I read in my head, everything’s clear and it all makes sense.”

The problem was not identified until 4th grade, at which point Jordan began receiving help. Nancy played a large role. Everything he had to read for homework, they read together. What also helped him were audiotapes, graphic novels – and Pokemon cards, which contain words with Greek or Latin roots.

“He’s incredibly bright so he’s adapted and has lots of coping strategies. Once he’s seen the word and heard the word together, he can remember what it is,” said Nancy.

Jordan gravitates to the science of electricity, motion and chemical reactions; and to the unknown quantities of calculus.

“I like calculus because it’s just manipulating equations. Probably because the language arts and history never interested me, and math is sort of out there, unknown quantities you need to find,” said Jordan.

His intuitive understanding of math was evident early on. Nancy smiles as she recalls a six-year-old Jordan on a shopping trip.

“He asked how much something was, then asked me for the 23 cents to make up the difference for something he wanted to buy. He had done the math in his head.”

But his real fun takes another direction, at Pelkey’s Archery in St. Albans. There, he is a competitive archer on their road team.

“I can shoot 90 meters, about the length of a football field,” he says.

Jordan becomes more animated, more expansive as he explains the intricacies of the recurve bow he shoots, a traditional bow with a riser and just one string. He draws pictures to illustrate its shape. He explains having pushed himself to go beyond the basics for opportunities that he hopes will someday lead to the Olympic level.

On a recent trip to Arizona he met Olympic hopeful Brady Ellison. “It’s almost like he shoots best when he’s having fun at these competitions,” said Jordan.

“Work hard to achieve what you want, but also play hard and have fun at the same time,” is Jordan’s motto.

Jordan left the BFA Fairfax graduating stage on June 15th with the following awards: the Pro-Merito Award; President’s Award for Educational Excellence; American Citizenship Award; University of Maine at Orono Dean’s Scholar Award; BFA Challenge Award; Eleanor Karos Berry Scholarship; Outstanding Senior in Science Award, and the St. Albans Messenger Award.

“We just really proud of how hard he’s worked, he’s just never given up,” said Nancy.

To understand the skills and concentration Jordan has developed in archery is to fully appreciate the student who has pushed beyond any academic barriers to hit the bull’s-eye.

Janet Bonneau catches Jordan during a lighter moment