As a teacher, community worker, after school program director, and neighborhood advocate, I cannot tell you how many kids I meet that want to become famous: a pro-ball player, a singer, an actress. . .you name it. Even my own daughter wants to become a rock star. They mostly dream of the money I think. You and I know that the chances are one in a million for that singing diva in my library tutoring group to become the next “Jenny from the block.” But she doesn’t see it that way. She sees it as not impossible.
To each student who expresses this desire to me I ask: ‘How hard are you willing to work for that goal? Are you willing to put a million hours towards achieving that goal? Are you willing to pick yourself up after you fail? Are you willing to make sure you’re educated and that you study that goal?’ You’d think I’d get resounding yeahs but I frequently get blank stares. Work hard? Fail?
One student thoughtfully look at me and said, “Well, I’m willing to put in one hour every day after I play my play station to practice my basketball skills. If I try out and I fail, then I’ll do something else. My dad is a garbage man. . .I’ll probably do that.” Now read this clearly, there’s nothing wrong with a garbage man at all. It’s the student’s attitude.
More and more I see that so many of our young people lack an understanding of perseverance, and diligence. Rather than working towards perfection or excellence, they work towards ‘good enough‘. The problem is that ’good enough’ short changes them.
Are you a teacher or parent that rewards ’good enough’? Do your students get A’s for ’good enough’ writing or do they get A’s for writing that is excellent? Are you a parent that allows your child spell check rather than a dictionary? If we have to teach character education, then let’s teach the qualities of diligence and perseverance.
The next time you have a student tell you that he/she wants to be something famous–don’t tell them there’s a one in a million chance. Tell them that they need to have diligence and perseverance. This way, even if their goal changes or they don’t make the NBA–they still will the tools for success.
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