The English Lesson It Took Me 20 Years To Learn

Erudite: having or showing great knowledge or learning.

In my Honors Composition class during my freshman year of college, the professor assigned weekly essays.

I wrote my first one and poured my heart and soul into it. It was sharp, to the point and cut out all the fluff.

She gave me a C+. I was mortified. OK. Maybe she just didn’t get me. I’d give her a week and then come at her again.

Week 2…Essay 2…Attempt #2.

I hit the computer lab with an air of confidence, ready to rack up some points for my literary genius. Tap tap tap! My fingers flew over the keys, and in 30 minutes I was done like Domino’s Pizza.

Here you go Ms. Leonard. I await your apology from your mistake last week.

It’s Friday and the professor arrives with her stack of papers. She begins handing them out, and my heart leaps for joy when she hands the paper to me. But, then it comes smashing back to earth upon realizing, I’d gotten an even lower grade. It was a C this time. I’d lost the plus.

Looking at the A+ essay of one of my classmates infuriated me even more. She was using words that no one EVER uses in conversation. It sounded to me like Ye Olde English.

Nope. This couldn’t be all it took. Ye Olde English?? I decided to give it another go in Week 3. Computer lab…type…turn in…wait. Friday came, and I halfheartedly put out my hand to receive the paper.

WHAT?? Another C? Impossible. I was smart and I wrote well. What was this C stuff about? I swallowed the lump in my throat and went up to the professor. I calmly explained how I thought simply and wrote simply. I wanted to cut to the chase…you know, get in and get out.

She told me, “well, you need to be a bit more erudite in your manner of writing.”

“What? I don’t even know what that MEANS!!”, I screamed…well, in my mind at least.

I would have googled it, but Google didn’t exist yet. In fact, Al Gore had just released the internet, I think. It was the early 90’s, and Cyndi Lauper was still seeing her True Colors.

Back to the lab I went. This time, I decided to find a few words with more than five letters to include. I wrote all of the fluff I could think of then went back to the classroom and petulantly CHUCKED the paper at the professor. Well, not really but I dreamed it.

Friday came. The professor arrived with her stack, and I sarcastically held my hand out. A minus. What? Seriously?

OK. Maybe there was something to having more words at your disposal. She wanted to see that I had some command of the English language more than just conversationally. She was pushing my buttons and pushing me to read more.

I didn’t like it and didn’t write for a long time. Twenty years later, after having read tons of words and subscribing to Merriam-Webster’s Word of The Day email, I can finally say I appear quite erudite when I write and when I speak.

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About The Author

My name is Robert Kennedy III. I’m a leadership and communication speaker, trainer and author. I recently released 7 Ways To Know You Were Meant To Lead on Amazon. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or on my website, RobertKennedy3.com