Book: Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time

Being a member of Wong's family yet you flunked? It's ridiculous. However, it really happened to Stanford Wong. Pity him, his intelligence was the other way round. While all of his family members are bright, especially his dad and sister, he is the only sportsman among them. Basketball is his true passion, not the academics or books.

Credit: http://sveta-randomblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-review-of-stanford-wong-flunks-big.html

Long ago, his life was much more miserable! He was the worst person in school; no one wants to befriend him. However, things began to change when he was attracted to basketball. Being observant to the Team A games, he managed to imitate their movements and lastly, joined the basketball team. And what made him so proud is, he was the first and only sixth grade who succeed to be in the A-Team, the greatest team in his school.

Nevertheless, bad news came when he was going to enjoy the summer holiday. He flunked in English! He got F! His dad did not allow him to participate in a basketball camp in the summer. His awful grade was sticked on the refrigerator. His failure in sixth grade would prohibit him from continuing his studies. He had to pass it to be in the A-Team. To make matters worse, he was going to summer school!

No one in the team had gone to summer school. He had to maintain his reputation as the A-Team. Everyday, he sneaked to the class. And everyday, he had to be tutored by Millicent Min, his enemy since child. However, as time flows, he and Millicent were able to be together. And to my surprise, Millicent's help was working! She succeeded to make Stanford read and think about the book. And his English teacher began to like his book report.

Eventually, he passed English. And he live happily ever after... :p

This book taught me that every people has different skills and abilities, and they are not inherited.

“O mankind, verily We created you from male and female, then We created you in tribes and races so that you can know each other...”

(Surah Al-Hujurat:13)

People are different!
Credit: http://aoao2.deviantart.com/art/We-re-different-204348189

Yes, you might say that most intelligent people have the same background. However, once in a blue moon, one can find the similar thing like happened too Stanford Wong. His dad went to Stanford University. His sister also the same. And his father put his high expectation for Stanford to do the same. That's why his name is Stanford Wong. Yet, that high expectation made him crazy. He is different. Somehow, he is passionate in basketball, but his dad had never accept it. He did not even go to the game when Stanford played and won. However, after Stanford's attempt to run away from home, he began to change. He tried to spend more time to talk with Stanford. The most surprising act was he decided to refuse the offer to have a job with higher reputation just to reduce his time working. And that's what a loving dad should do. Not that I am saying people to just apply for a low-paying job, but try to spend your time with your family. They are your life. They are your heart. Without them, who else can make you happy? Something to ponder about...

Besides, Stanford had also reminded me the importance of being observant. All people are able to succeed when they are observant. For example, Stanford observed the A-Team players in their game for a long time. And once he got the chance to play, he just imitated them and it worked! That unique quality made him to vanquish his goal to be one of the best basketball player. In the real life, we learned history of our nation. Had you ever think why we did that? Well, a cliché answer. One who forget the history will repeat it back. That's for the failures. What about the good ones? We must follow it if we ever face the same problems.

“These stories are told to you so that you collect the lessons from them.”

Credit: https://www.probe.org/history-and-the-christian-faith/

One of the main problems we face now as Malaysians is the economic problem. Maybe we could do some research about the economics problem in 1997 and how we survived. I guess it could help, isn't it?

In conclusion, this book is really great as a motivation to be better in any field. Although it contains a bit about the 'monkey love' between a boy and a girl, just ignore it. Take the lessons, throw away the bad things.