Words of wisdom

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking to 3 groups of students at George Wogaman Elementary School in my home town of Dayton, Ohio. The goal in all of my workshops is to help students understand the value of their education, because if there’s no buy-in, there’s no excellence or personal responsibility. The following are some things we discussed.

Group 1, 7th-8th graders: School is a contact sport, so hit the books and expect to be hit with intellectual challenges! Students must be in shape intellectually, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and morally in order to perform well in school. I encouraged them to do mental push-ups (do homework, take notes), emotional sit ups (self-restraint, anger management), and spiritual jumping jacks (respect for teachers/parents, self-respect, personal responsibility, character development).

Group 2, 5th-6th graders: Teachers can change your life. When you let your teachers teach you how to read, they’ve just set you free. When they teach you how to write, they’ve just saved your life. When they inspire you to use your mind, they’ve just made you wise. So respect your teachers. Thank them when they push you to the limit.

Group 3, 3rd-4th graders: I love working with young children because it’s like play time. I use my original jingles and games to plant seeds about personal responsibility and valuing education. Because our children love music, teachers tell me this is a highly effective approach. Yesterday I played the piano while the students sang. Man, that was scary considering I haven’t played in public in years. But the kids didn’t complain that I missed a note or two. I left them with the message, “School is your job and you can’t afford to be fired from your job!”