As school starts locally today I want to challenge every reader of this blog to push themselves (if they are currently a student) or a student they know hard this year. I mean really push them to excel.
That does not mean requiring or expecting straight A’s that means expecting their best in all their work. Sometimes that may be a C. Grades in school are important, but work ethic and effort that comes from earning grades are far more vital long term. Good grades typically follow once a good work effort is established. I contend a hard earned C in Calculus is better long term then a easy A in General Math. A C that meant lots of extra work in Physics is a better then a un-challenging A in Basic Science. A C that required learning a new skill set in Advanced Auto Body is a better then a A in Introduction to Machinery.
The process of expecting excellence needs to start early as well. If your child, or the student you are going to help, is in elementary school then expect them too / help them work on the basics not just to proficiency but to mastery. If the fundamentals are sound the rest of the building will be stable.
Long term it does both the student and society good for a student to be pushed. The real world does not grade on a curve or reward people for taking the easy path. People who excel work at it. They are not given success, regardless of the field or the endeavor. To tell a young person that they don’t have to work hard to succeed is a lie and does tremendous long term harm.
For way to long people have accepted coaches and trainers pushing players /student athletes hard to achieve excellence on the field, court, or in the arena, etc. We do not seem to accept / expect teachers / mentors or parents to do the same academically. When a teacher pushes little precious to work hard or challenges them parents should send thank you notes, not threaten to get them fired. When a teacher gives a exam that covers not just the discussed in class but also the assigned reading material then a parent should realize that the student just learned about the real world where a job requires more then just mastery of the assigned tasks, but also mastery of tasks that allow the worker to achieve the assigned tasks.
Understand, I have NO problem with athletics or hard training of student athletes. I think athletics are a great thing and I think they teach A LOT of important life lessons - including hard work and dedication to the task -, but for MOST young people they are not the road to a stellar life they are merely a part of the entire picture that makes the mosaic of a life. Yet many parents and students view sports as far more important then academics or knowledge for the students future. That is just not a realist view for MOST student athletes.
At the end of the day there are far more demand for engineers and certified mechanics (both equally capable of providing a good living) then professional athletics. High skilled jobs are being outsourced to other nations regularly due to a lack of trained workers in the US. A issue though is that working toward a goal of a becoming a high skilled worker requires the vast majority of students and parents accepting a few things. The big thing is realizing that MOST student athletes are not Lebron James, Candice Parker or Ely Manning. If the high school athlete is good enough to get a scholarship to college alone that is exceptional. Right now if the athlete is not in the top 5 - 10% of their own team both the student and parents need to begin planning for the very realistic chance that their kid will not be attending college on a athletic scholarship. If they are not one of the top 2 to 3 stars within their conference / district the likelihood of pro career is unlikely at best. Sure there are exceptions, and I am not trying to crush dreams just advise that having a solid backup plan based on a solid academic education is something most high school athletes need to consider.
I am not trying to be negative just realistic. If sports it not a great career shot for the student then start working right now on either getting the student ready for a college run where sports are a means to a career building degree or begin preparing for a route where sports is a accessory or complementary part of their whole lives.
So, this year I challenge everyone that reads this blog to either become a young person who is, or help a young person toward becoming, exceptional at working hard academically. There are thousands of good high paying jobs out there for people that work hard and value knowledge. There will always be someone making more money doing something that looks easy but the reality is that no one exceeds without devotion and hard work. Find something to excel at which will provide you will what you want to have in life and invest your life in it, but remember if that does not work out be prepared to pursue another route. Learning to work hard and push yourself in school academically will prepare you both for plan A, and B and plan K when it is needed.
