Principal Kafele’s Message of Empowerment for Students
(An On-Line Pamphlet)
Copyright © 2006 by Baruti K. Kafele
INTRODUCTION
As one aspect of my mission to play my part toward the educational growth and
development of African American and Latino students, I offer this “on-line
pamphlet” in the form of a short message of empowerment. I encourage you to
read and study each of the sections in their entirety. I also encourage you to read
and study my “Principal Kafele’s 50 I’s for Being a Serious Student.” I am sure
that you will find the information contained on both pages to be most helpful
toward your pursuit of attaining and maintaining academic excellence.
PRINCIPAL KAFELE’S SEVEN NECESSITIES FOR SUCCESS
1. You Must Maintain a Positive Attitude
What kind of attitude do you have? Is it positive? Is it productive? If you are
going to be a successful student, you must strive to be a positive person, while
maintaining an attitude that is both, positive and productive. Your attitude
determines your direction in life. It determines whether you are going to move
forward or backward - left or right - up or down. As a student who is striving to
achieve academic excellence, you must maintain an attitude that says, “I can
achieve anything in life that I desire to achieve. No one nor anything can stop
me from achieving excellence. The only person that can stop me from achieving
excellence IS ME – and I refuse to stop myself from achieving excellence.” Each
and every morning when you wake up for school, this is the attitude that you
must possess. This is the attitude that you must bring along with you to school
every day. This is the attitude that will make you victorious in your pursuit of
achieving academic excellence.
As you enter your school each morning, you must strive to maintain a positive
attitude throughout the course of your day. Academic excellence will be yours,
despite the difficulties and challenges of your classes or even the distractions
and challenges of your peers, if you maintain an attitude that is positive and
productive. Always remember that your success is all about your attitude. You
must therefore consistently maintain an attitude that is positive and productive
that boldly proclaims that “I WILL achieve academic excellence!”
2. You Must Make the Right Decisions
Everything that you do in life is based upon the decisions that you make. Life is
full of choices and if you are in fact going to be a successful student, you must
make the best decisions possible based upon the choices that you have. For
example, your teachers give you homework. You must make the decision as to
whether or not you are going to do it. You have tests and quizzes to study for.
You must make a decision as to how hard you are going to study. In your
classroom, your teacher typically has a lot to say to the class and a lot to write on
the board toward preparing you for your tests. You must make the decision as to
whether or not you will be focused and attentive, and whether or not you will take
notes in your notebook, which I assume you made the decision to bring to class.
Once we make our decisions, consequences follow. They may be good
consequences or they may be bad consequences, depending upon the decision
that was made. When we make the decision to do and complete our homework,
the consequences are good. When we make the decision to study for our tests
and quizzes, the consequences are good. When we make the decision to be
focused and attentive and to take good notes in class, once again, the
consequences are good. On the other hand, when we make the decision to do
the opposite of the above, there are also consequences, but these typically turn
out to be bad. They usually amount to failure or working way below are potential.
I therefore strongly encourage you to always strive to make the right decisions
throughout your educational career and your life.
3. You Must Read
As a student who is striving to maximize your potential, it is imperative that you
read on a regular, continual and daily basis. Not only must you read in your
classroom, but you must also engage in reading outside of school. Reading is an
activity that will allow you to expand your knowledge base to limitless
proportions. It will allow you to learn new information and to develop and expand
your vocabulary. It will also make you a better reader. Every time that you read,
you are actually practicing your reading. As the old adage says, "Practice makes
perfect." We are typically good at the things that we practice. I therefore
encourage you to read, read and read, so that you can practice, practice and
practice.
Do not be afraid to read. Do not be so lazy that you refuse to read. You must
make reading a part of your regular routine. Just like you must breath air, eat
food and drink water in order to live, you must read books, newspapers and other
literature in order to survive and develop. I caution you however, about the type
of reading that you engage in. Negative, destructive reading is not what one
needs in order to develop. You must read literature that will enable you to grow
intellectually, which includes literature that is motivational, inspirational, uplifting
and empowering. The bottom line is that if you truly intend to maximize your
potential, you must read on a regular, continual and daily basis.
4. You Must Write
Reading is such a critically important skill. I encourage my children and students
to engage in independent reading on a daily basis. Also important is the ability to
write. So many young people struggle with the art of writing simply because they
do not engage in the PRACTICE of writing. I encourage you not only to read on
a daily basis, but to write on a daily basis as well. You must find time in your
schedule to write, write and write! When you write regularly, you become a
better writer. When I say you become a better writer, I don’t mean in
penmanship solely - I mean that you become a better writer as it relates to
sentence construction, organization, usage and mechanics. If you expect to
become a proficient writer, you must write regularly.
The content of your writing might take the form of informational essays,
persuasive essays, summaries, critiques and reactions to books and articles
you’ve read, or simply writing reflections of your thoughts. The bottom line is that
I encourage you to read and write independently on a regular, continual and daily
basis.
5. You Must Listen
Listening is a very powerful skill that far too many young people fail to take full
advantage of. Through the art of listening, an enormous amount of learning can
and will occur. In order to take full advantage of the benefits of listening, one
must strive to become an active and effective listener. An active listener is one
who deliberately concentrates on listening to the words of the person speaking in
order to fully understand the meaning of what is being spoken. An effective
listener is one who has mastered the art of listening and therefore reaps the
benefits of being a good listener.
In order to become an active and effective listener, your attention must always be
focused on the words of the person speaking, without concentrating on how you
are going to respond, or being judgmental while the other person is speaking. In
a face-to-face conversation for example, as the other person is speaking, you
must look the person in the eyes, “with your mouth closed and your ears open,”
while concentrating on what the person is saying. If, on the other hand you are
concentrating more so on how you will respond or even letting your mind drift to
things other than what is being said and therefore not concentrating on the words
of the person speaking, you are essentially missing a great deal of what the
person speaking is communicating. In order for you to truly take in all that is
being said by the person speaking, your focus must be on what the other person
is communicating to you.
As you are striving to maximize your potential in your pursuit of achieving
academic excellence, you must devote time and energy towards mastering the
art of being a good listener; particularly since so much of what you learn is based
upon how well you listen to what is being said. Additionally, always be mindful
that hearing and listening are not necessarily the same. To hear something
means that it was audible to your ears, without you necessarily concentrating on
what is being said. To listen to something means that you have deliberately
concentrated on understanding what is being communicated. How do you
become an excellent listener? It’s very simple - you become an excellent listener
by practicing your listening skills.
6. You Must Think
In addition to proficiency in reading and writing, you must also have the ability to
think for yourself. I come across so many young people who refuse to engage in
the art of critical and analytical thinking. They would literally rather have someone
else do their thinking for them. You must think for yourself. Thinking for yourself
allows you to expand your mind.
In thinking for yourself, you must go beyond being a "surface thinker" solely. You
must endeavor to think critically, analytically, deeply and thoroughly. Surface
thinkers look at everything at face value. Critical, analytical thinkers go far
beyond the surface. They look at all aspects of a topic or thing. They don’t
accept things at face value. They strive to have full understanding of a thing or
topic and therefore look at it and think through it thoroughly. For instance, when
analyzing the gap in achievement between African American and white students,
the non-analytical thinker will accept this as reality. The analytical thinker on the
other hand is going to explore and examine all of the variables as to why this
may be. He/she is not going to accept it at face value. He/she is going to look
much deeper for answers.
As you continue your journey through school, be sure to always think critically,
analytically, deeply and thoroughly about everything you are exposed to.
7. You Must Learn
As a student, your primary purpose for attending school is to learn. The question
is, “learn what?” Obviously, throughout your educational journey, you will be
exposed to a wide variety of subjects that include your core subjects of Language
Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies. As an African American or Latino
student, there’s another area of focus that deserves and requires maximum
attention. That area is exposure to your history and your culture. I have stated
for over 20 years that one of the explanations as to why so many African
American and Latino children are underachieving is because they lack a
foundation upon which to stand. That foundation is their history and their culture,
which is rooted in being able to intelligently answer the following three questions:
Who am I?
Why am I?
What is my role?
If one does not know his history and culture, one cannot intelligently answer
these three questions. In other words, when one studies the history of African
Americans, one learns that during the years of the enslavement of African
American people, it was considered a punishable crime to teach African
Americans how to read or write. This meant that African Americans had no
means of learning “who they are,” and were therefore denied the very information
required for the cultural survival and development of a people. What makes this
so relevant now is that to this day, there continues to be a wide-spread lack of
exposure to African, African American and Latino history for African American
and Latino children, which explains in large part, many of the educational crises
that we see in the African American and Latino communities across the country.
When I say that “you must learn,” I mean specifically that you must learn your
history and your culture. Specifically, you must learn African and African
American history, and Latino history. In the context of history, you must learn
who you are, why you are and what your role is, as it relates to the growth and
development of yourself and the African American and Latino communities. This
means, as stated above, you must read. You must read all that you can get your
hands on as it relates to your history and your culture. You must read, read and
read so that you can learn, learn and learn. A good place to start is on the
internet. All internet search engines can get you to the historical information that
you need. You must simply take the initiative and devote as much time and
energy as you can towards learning this crucial aspect of your overall education.
In any internet search engine, simply type in the words, “African American
History” or “Latino History” and start your journey. Again, “you must learn.”
PRINCIPAL KAFELE’S FIVE KEY INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS
1. Belief
My first key ingredient for success is belief. Towards attaining academic
excellence, you must believe that it is actually possible. You must believe in
yourself and in your ability to achieve academic excellence. It is very difficult to
move forward in life and to attain excellence if you do not sincerely believe that it
is possible. If you are one who does not believe in yourself, you must ask
yourself the question, why. In other words, what makes the next person better
than you? You can’t look at someone else as being smarter or better than you.
You have the ability to achieve anything in life that you desire to achieve. The
only person or the only thing that can stop you, is you. If you allow yourself to
defeat you, chances are good that you have done this because you do not
believe in yourself.
There was a time when I did not believe in myself and the results were
underachievement. Now I believe that I can achieve anything that I set my mind
on achieving. I refuse to allow someone else to achieve MY dreams. If it is MY
dream, I am going to achieve it. Why? Because I believe in myself and in my
ability to achieve my dreams.
You too must believe in yourself. You must tell yourself regularly that “I can
achieve excellence. I WILL achieve excellence. No one will stop me from
achieving my dreams. Nothing will stop me from achieving my dreams. I am
focused and will remain focused on achieving excellence because I BELIEVE IN
MYSELF!”
2. Purpose
My second key ingredient for success is purpose. As you enter school every
day, you must enter with a sense of purpose. A person without a purpose is a
person without direction. What is your purpose? What are you about? Why do
you go to school every day? What do you want out of your education? In what
way can your education assist you toward your pursuit of realizing your
purpose?
I am a high school principal, which means that I am an educator. My purpose is
to be the best possible educator that I can be so that my students can be the
best students that they can be. By having that as my purpose, it challenges me
to stay focused on education and my students. It forces me to continue to learn
all that I can about being a superb educator. Each day when I enter my school,
my mind is focused on my purpose.
You too must be focused on your purpose. If you haven’t determined your
purpose in life, now is the time for you to begin to think about it. Think about who
you are and what you want to become. Think about what it is that you may want
to do with your life. This becomes your purpose in life. Your purpose should
drive everything you say and everything that you do – particularly as it relates to
school and your education.
Remember, as a student who is striving to achieve academic excellence, it is
imperative that you have a purpose for going to school. Your purpose allows you
to stay focused on why you’re going to school in the first place.
3. Obligation
My third key ingredient for success is obligation. Just being born African
American or Latino means that you are a product of “a struggle” for freedom and
justice. Somebody before you paved the way for you to have the educational
opportunities that you have today. If it wasn’t for their sacrifices and
commitment, you might not have acquired these opportunities. Now it is your
turn. You must demonstrate your appreciation for those who struggled before
you by doing all you can to achieve academic excellence. You too must strive to
pave the way for those yet to be born. That is what is meant by you making your
own sacrifice and making your own commitment toward the forward flow of
progress within your community. In other words, failure and average are not an
option, you have an obligation to achieve excellence.
4. Determination
My fourth key ingredient for success is determination. In order for you to achieve
academic excellence, you must be determined to achieve academic excellence.
You must literally desire academic excellence for yourself. You must possess a
burning desire to succeed and to achieve. In other words, you must be so
determined to achieve academic excellence that you will give your all towards
achieving it.
I sincerely believe that people can achieve anything in life that they desire to
achieve, but they must truly possess a determination to achieve throughout the
process. For example, if your parents desire for you to achieve academic
excellence and ultimately go on to college, but you do not share the same
determination to achieve academic excellence, chances are good that you will
fall short of reaching your full potential. You must WANT excellence. You must
DESIRE excellence. You must be DETERMINED to achieve nothing less than
academic excellence throughout your educational journey.
5. Vision
My fifth key ingredient for success is vision. In order to achieve excellence, you
must first envision excellence. Envisioning excellence means seeing yourself
achieving excellence even before embarking upon it. Achieving excellence is not
something that happens by coincidence or by chance. It happens because you
believe that it will happen; you have a sense of purpose; you understand your
obligation; you are determined and you have a vision of excellence. Once you
have determined that you will in fact achieve academic excellence, it is important
that you can actually see yourself in your mind, achieving academic excellence
from the outset. This is called seeing excellence in your mind’s eye. Once you
can envision excellence, you must take ownership of the vision. You must make
it yours and then make your vision of excellence become your reality.
I always say that the most difficult part of achieving excellence and success is to
actually envision it first. Many of us will not dare to dream and envision. It’s like
we are trapped in tiny little boxes and will not dare to step out. If you are going to
achieve academic excellence, you must dare to step outside of the box. You
must see yourself achieving something that so many others are not achieving –
excellence! You can do it. You can achieve academic excellence if you put it
into your mind that this is what you desire to achieve. Once you have locked
your vision into your mind and you can actually visualize yourself achieving
excellence, the next step is to make it happen. Develop a plan of action, which I
will discuss in a later section, and consistently follow your plan until your vision
becomes your reality.
PRINCIPAL KAFELE’S FIVE CHARACTERISTICS FOR SUCCESS
1. Serious
My first characteristic for success is that you must be serious about learning. In
other words, your education is no joke! Your education is serious business and
you must treat it as such. You can’t go to school expecting to engage in fun and
games. This doesn’t mean that learning cannot be fun, but you must be of the
mindset that your education is a serious endeavor. You must therefore enter
school each and every day with the attitude that your education is the key to your
success and that you must be MOST serious about learning and MOST serious
about your education. Laughing, joking, being silly (at the wrong time) have their
place, but not in your classroom. Your classroom is the place where the bulk of
your learning takes place. You must therefore treat your learning as an endeavor
that is to be taken MOST seriously.
2. Focused
My second characteristic for success is that you must be focused on achieving
excellence. In other words, when you are focused, just like a projector,
everything in front of you is clear. When you are out of focus, everything in front
of you is a blur. As a student, your education is what stands directly before you.
You must approach it with a clear and narrow focus, while never being distracted
by what’s around you, nor behind you. Your focus as a student must be on
achieving nothing less that academic excellence.
3. Diligent
My third characteristic for success is that you must be diligent in your efforts. In
other words, you must be a hard worker. If you expect to achieve academic
excellence, you must WORK to achieve academic excellence. This means that
when you are in class, you are focused on your teacher, your teacher’s lesson
objective and your teachers overall lesson. You must also be attentive in class;
you must participate in class discussion; you must ask questions when you do
not understand something and you must take “copious” notes in class every day.
When you arrive home, you must maintain your diligence. Recreational activities
must be secondary. This means that you must complete all homework
assignments, you must study every day, both your books and your notes – even
when you do not have homework assigned, and you must engage in daily
independent reading and writing. The bottom line is that you must be diligent in
your efforts – a hard worker – if you expect to achieve academic excellence.
4. Disciplined
My fourth characteristic for success is that you must be disciplined in your
actions. In other words, you must strive to become self-disciplined without
having to rely upon others to always tell you what to do. This means that when
you are getting yourself ready for school in the morning, you know all that you
have to do which includes ensuring that you have all of your assignments, books
and supplies, and arriving to school on time. Once there, you know to comply
with all school and classroom rules, expectations and requirements, which
include behaving appropriately throughout the school day. Then once you arrive
home, you know that it is your responsibility to complete all homework
assignments, study, read and write. No one has to tell you or remind you of any
of the above because you are discipline in your actions toward achieving
academic excellence.
5. Resilient
My fifth characteristic for success is that you must be resilient after setbacks.
Resilient means that you have the ability to bounce back in the event that you
have a setback. For example, suppose you studied for a test and you felt that
you were prepared to do well, took the test, and scored lower than you
expected. This is not the time for you to sit around and sulk about it. This is the
time for you think about what you did wrong, think about how you can approach
your study techniques differently, study hard and to strive to do much better the
next time around, while maintaining an attitude which is positive. When it is time
to take the next test, you approach it with the attitude that I am prepared, I am
ready, and I am going to achieve an “A.” Once you achieve you’re “A,” you have
demonstrated resilience. If you do not achieve the “A,” you start the process
discussed above again. In other words, you must continue to strive to bounce
back and never allow defeat to become your reality.
PRINCIPAL KAFELE’S BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS
A blueprint is a plan. In order for you to achieve academic excellence, you must
develop a plan of action, which is rooted in the goals that you have set for
yourself. A goal is simply something that an individual sets out to achieve. In the
following sections, I will outline how to set goals and develop a blueprint for
achieving your goals.
1. Current Standing
Toward setting your goals, you must first determine where you are coming from.
Your current standing answers the question, “Where am I now and how did I get
here?” You can’t move forward if you haven’t determined where you currently
stand and why. In terms of your education, your current standing is all of your
last marking period grades in all of your last marking period subjects. On a sheet
of paper, which is called a “goal chart,” under the subheading, “Current
Standing,” list all of your subjects and list the grades that were achieved in the
previous marking period. Beneath, each subject listed, briefly summarize why
you have the grades that you have. This is where you currently stand.
2. Goals
After you have determined your current standing, you must now set your goals,
which ask the question, “Where am I going?” Your goals are the targets that you
are aiming for. They represent where it is that you expect to be by the end of the
current marking period. If you intend to achieve academic excellence, you must
set realistic goals for yourself towards achieving academic excellence. When I
say realistic, I mean that if you earned a “D” in a subject for example, you may
not want to set the goal as an “A” just yet. There may be certain skills that you
need to develop first. You would therefore set the goal at a “B” while striving to
achieve an “A.” This way, when you achieve the “B,” you will feel good about
yourself for achieving your goal. If you achieve an “A,” you will feel even better
about yourself for exceeding the goal.
On the same “goal chart,” under the subheading “Goals,” list your current
subjects. Next to each subject, write your goal for the current marking period,
which represents the grades that you are striving to achieve. Keep in mind that
whatever the goals are that you set, you must maintain an attitude that you will in
fact achieve them. Never can you allow the thoughts of “I can’t,” “It’s
impossible,” fear of failure, doubt or uncertainty to enter your thinking. Towards
achieving academic excellence, your attitude must always be, “I WILL achieve
academic excellence. Nothing will stop me. No one will stop me!”
3. Strategy
After you have set and written your goals, it is time to develop your plan of action
– your blueprint. Your plan explains everything that you are going to do to
achieve your goals. Think of it as your roadmap – it provides you with directions
for achieving your goals. Goals without a plan are virtually a waste of time.
Anyone can set goals. But the question is, how will you achieve them? What will
you do to make your goals your reality? You must develop a plan that explains
everything you will do towards achieving your goals.
On the same “goal chart,” once again, list your current subjects, but this time,
next to each subject, you are going to write an explanation of what you must do
every day and every evening toward ultimately achieving your goals. This will
include the amount of time you will devote to studying each of your subjects each
evening. As a rule of thumb, you should be devoting at least two hours each
evening toward completing homework and studying. Be mindful that although
there will be days that you do not have homework assigned, there is always
studying that must occur for future tests – particularly if you intend on achieving
academic excellence. The amount of time you will devote to studying should be
clearly specified in the strategy section of your goal chart. In addition to
completing homework and studying, also be sure to include how much time you
will devote each day to independent reading and writing.
Once your goal chart is complete, post it on your wall so that you can review your
goals and strategy on a regular basis. Below is an outline of a sample “goal
chart.” Use this as a model to develop your own.
GOAL CHART
(Your Name)
Current Standing
Math – B
Language Arts – A
Science – C
Social Studies – C
Goals
Math – A
Language Arts – A
Science – B
Social Studies – B
Strategy
Math – Write your plan
Language Arts – Write your plan
Science – Write your plan
Social Studies – Write your plan
PRINCIPAL KAFELE’S FINAL THOUGHTS FOR SUCCESS
As I bring this on-line pamphlet to a close, I leave you with five final thoughts
toward preparing you for success and empowerment. These thoughts are in the
areas of speaking, attire, entrepreneurship, college and friendships.
1. Speaking
As one who is preparing for success, you are going to be required to speak with
many different people in many different situations. This means that you must
have the ability to adjust your speaking to the people or audience you are
speaking to. For example, when I interact with my friends, I am very relaxed in
my speech and can therefore speak in “Ebonics” or even broken English and
slang, and not have to concern myself with how I am being judged. In other
words, this form of communication is appropriate for this particular setting. If on
the other hand, I am going on a job interview for example, I must have the ability
to “switch gears” and speak in standard English. Not because there’s something
wrong with the previous forms of communication that I discussed above, but
because on a job interview, I am being judged on how well I speak standard
English, in addition to the other qualifications that the employer may be looking
for. This translates into you having to practice speaking standard English as
often as possible so that when you are in situations where it is required, you are
prepared.
2. Attire
When I speak of attire, I am once again referring to the job interview or any other
form of interview where you have to make an impression on someone in order to
be accepted. Your casual attire is not your professional attire. Your casual attire
has its place, but not at the job interview. You must be able to distinguish the
two. When you go on an interview, you must wear professional attire, which for
young men is a business suit including a tie and shoes, and for young ladies is a
business suit and shoes as well. This will require you to keep at least one
business suit in your closet at all times in the event that an interview arises. This
way, you are prepared to make a positive first impression and ultimately land the
job.
3. Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship means owning your own business. Certainly, everyone is not
going to be an entrepreneur, but everyone should at least consider it.
Entrepreneurship enables you to control your own destiny. It enables you to call
the shots. It also enables you to have “peace of mind.” More importantly, it puts
wealth into your community. I strongly encourage you to consider
entrepreneurship in whatever endeavor you plan to pursue. If you want to be a
lawyer, consider opening your own law firm. If you want to be a doctor, consider
opening your own doctor’s office. If you want to be an architect, consider your
own architectural firm. If you want to be an author, consider publishing your
books – I did. You can too.
Toward becoming an entrepreneur, be mindful that it requires a degree of risk.
You are stepping out on your own, but you can do it. All businesses were started
by someone or a group of people that also took risks. Don’t be fearful; don’t
have doubt and uncertainty; don’t have an “I can’t” or an “It’s impossible”
attitude. Say to yourself that “If others have done it and attained success, why
not me? If they can do it, so can I.” Moreover, “If I fail the first time, I will get
back on my feet. If I fail ten times, I will be successful on the eleventh!” Again,
your attitude must be that “Nothing nor anyone will stop me from achieving my
dreams, my goals and my vision!”
4. College
Regardless of your current grade level, you should be planning on going to
college after graduating from high school – even if you plan on becoming an
entrepreneur. Your college degree will give you advanced knowledge towards
your business on the one hand, but it will give you something to fall back on, as
well. Too many African American and Latino students fail to go to college for a
variety of different reasons, and wind up “trapped” on jobs other than what they
planned for, or “trapped” on jobs where they are miserable, frustrated,
overworked and underpaid. In other words, they are working on a job where
there was a job opening as opposed to doing something that they prepared
themselves to do. This leads to constant and regular frustration with just getting
up in the morning to go to work. Ideally, you should be planning now for your
future, which includes preparing yourself to earn scholarships and preparing
yourself to go to the college of your choice while studying something that you
would like to make a career out of. This is called planning for your future as
opposed to just finding a decent paying job.
I hear so many people state that “college isn’t for me.” I strongly disagree with
this statement. If there are careers on the other side of college that you see
yourself pursuing, becoming successful in and ultimately being happy, college IS
for you. Those people who say that, “college isn’t for me,” must understand that
college is not the career nor the end all. College is the vehicle to get you to the
career. It’s the same thing as riding in a car. Riding in the car is not the goal.
Getting to your destination is the goal. The car is the vehicle to get you to where
you are going. I therefore strongly encourage you to see college as a vehicle to
get you to where you want to be in life. Yes, the work will be challenging at
times. Yes, the work will be difficult at times. Yes, the work will be timeconsuming at times, but you can do it. You are capable of achieving excellence.
You must put forth the effort while preventing the easy way out, such as avoiding
college for the wrong reasons. In other words, if not pursuing college is due to
laziness, this is the wrong reason! If not pursuing college is due to a fully
thought-out plan of action that will not require a college education, but will allow
you to realize your dreams nevertheless, then go for it. My personal position is
for you to go on to college, regardless of your plan. Whatever you do however,
keep your “eyes on the prize” and stay focused on making the best academic
and career decisions that you can for your future.
5. Friendships
Who your friends are has a lot to do with whether or not you will experience
academic success. It is critically important that you examine your friendships
and make a determination as to whether or not these friendships are healthy and
will therefore contribute toward your overall academic growth and development.
Toward assessing your friendships, you must ask yourself if these friends are
moving in the same positive direction that you are. If your friends are serious,
focused, diligent, disciplined and resilient as it relates to their education and their
futures, then chances are good that your friendships with these individuals are in
fact healthy friendships. If on the other hand, your friends are engaged in
behaviors and activities that are counterproductive and therefore contradict the
positive direction you are headed in, you are consequently in friendships that are
potentially unhealthy and hazardous to your academic growth and development.
As you are striving to realize and maximize your potential, I strongly encourage
you to align and surround yourself with people of like mind who are supportive of
your efforts, your goals and your vision. Friendships with people who are
negative and moving down a path of destruction are not the sort of friendships
that are going to get you to where you need to be. As it is said, “you ARE who
you associate with.” Make sure that you always align and surround yourself with
other positive, goal-oriented people.
CONCLUSION
It is my hope that you have gotten something out of this on-line pamphlet. I
sincerely hope that you find the information contained in this pamphlet to be a
truly empowering contribution towards your overall educational growth and
development as a student. In order to get the most out this information, I strongly
encourage you to read the entire pamphlet several times. I also encourage you to
study it as if you were studying for an exam. Lastly, I encourage you to
implement, or put into effect, all of the principles contained in this pamphlet. By
doing so, I am most confident that you will see tremendous results in your overall
achievement in the classroom. It’s up to you in the long run. If you truly desire to
achieve excellence, you must put forth the necessary time and effort, and make
achieving excellence your number one priority. Also, be sure to never
procrastinate, which means to put things off until later. Later comes up so quickly
that before you know it, you have missed your deadline. Don’t put off for
tomorrow what could have been done today. Stay consistent and disciplined and
victory will be yours.