“The
will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full
potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal
excellence.”
--
Confucius
By
Tommie Saylor
Kennedy
High School Principal
Winning
and success comes from within. It comes from internal fortitude, passion and a burning
desire that makes the difference between winning and losing, success and
failure. A certain amount of skill – event talent – can make a
difference. But if properly motivated, even the most untalented individual
can acquire the knowledge, skill, experience and even aptitude necessary to
master anything.
The
one thing that cannot be taught, learned and externally acquired is the
motivation to reach success. It is the craving that pushes you toward
success.
There
must be a “Why?” It’s the reason to get out of bed in the morning.
It’s the reason that drives us and keeps us going when times get tough. It’s what precipitates change. It allows us to grow. It urges us to
succeed and to win.
Finding
a student’s “Why?” is a big part of the educational process, the Relevance
portion of the Three R’s. For most students, they go to school because
for as long as they can remember, that is what they have always done.
School
is a way of life, something they do because they are told that they must.
For these students, they are not overly motivated to work hard, do well and/or take
the harder classes. As educators we need to take the time to get to know
these students, to explain to them why they must attend school and to show them
that school is the gateway to their future.
After
all, school is the bridge that gets them from where they are to where they want
to be. We need to help them find the “Why?” and then these students will
transform themselves into highly motivated, eager young minds.
For
most students, it's the difference between an “A” effort and a “D.”
It’s the clear goal of what awaits them beyond our halls.
How
and where will you lead them. Making Kennedy the school of choice. Excellence
by design.
