Welcome to another new year, Dear Reader!
One of the things that helped me most during the past year was the philosophy of our current Director of the Union County Schools, Mr. Greg Clay. He has impressed upon the Central Office staff that obstacles are opportunities.
Perhaps if I’d had his vision my life might have taken a different path during the year just past.
But I don’t look back to the recent past with regret. My wife used to often say, “If I had not been where I was, I wouldn’t be where I am.” Like Hoss Cartwright’s uncle in an episode of Bonanza, I find myself in a “gud” (rhymes with food) place.
I do often in my prayers ask God to help those less fortunate. During the past decade I have learned and had it reinforced that everyone has a story. One of the most common counter stories to my life story concerns the success experienced by those who did not pursue higher education.
Succeeding generations often refer to the success that Grandpa had, even though he was a high school dropout. It is difficult to convince some of the younger generation that while Grandpa did achieve success, he had to work harder physically for that success due to lack of educational credentials.
I believe strongly in the free public education that our states have provided to United States citizens throughout the history of our great country. I would not be where I am in life without the priceless education that legendary teachers provided me in my growing years as a student of the Union County Schools.
I think in recent years that our nation has placed too much emphasis on the importance of postsecondary education. College attendance was the focus, and that drove the curriculum and standardized testing public school students received.
I believe in higher education. Without my college degrees, I could not have succeeded in the career I chose for myself. I know many people who have followed a path similar to mine and have been very successful.
But college is not for everyone, just as the military or industrial trade schools are not for everyone. The foundation of success in almost any career path is receipt of a high school diploma or the equivalent. It is sometimes hard to get today’s youth to understand that expectations for success in our society have changed, and that it is increasingly difficult to succeed without the bare minimum of a high school diploma.
One of the qualities for success that practically all employers look for is endurance—staying with a task until it is completed. Absence of a high school diploma is often an indication of the lack of that particular quality and a barrier to initial employment and future success.
There is sometimes a misconception on the part of some youth that choosing to go to the military or become a professional athlete requires little education. Unfortunately, the military is not interested in enlisting individuals without a high school diploma, and becoming a professional athlete is easier for those who were college standouts.
Admittedly, there are individuals who are not blessed with academic aptitude. For these individuals, a different route to success must be taken, one that most likely involves manual labor.
I believe every person, except for the small minority who are physically or psychological limitations, has an aptitude for something that can be a springboard to success. There are gifted builders, plumbers, electricians, computer programmers, horticulturists, heavy equipment operators, store managers, and this list could continue to great length.
Admittedly, many of these workers make more money than those of us with college degrees. I very often find myself in need of the services these workers provide. Some of the best workers I know are former students of mine who were not academically adept, but they are able to do things that I know nothing about and are making a good living.
Success in many professions does not require an advanced degree, though all do require basic educational skills such as reading directions, contracts, and blueprints; writing receipts and work orders; measuring lumber or pipe fittings; calculating payment for services rendered and maintaining customer account information.
Some American workers are self-taught, but I think this has become more of a rarity in the past few decades. Some are fortunate to have parents or close family who taught them a trade from the early years of their childhood. These individuals grow up to be productive members of society and often achieve great success.
Education is at the bedrock of American society, and it is the duty of those of us who have been entrusted with the education of our fellow citizens to do the very best we can to empower them for lifelong learning in a rapidly changing world. It is no longer enough just to teach facts and figures—students must be taught how to learn—to discover information for themselves and how to utilize essential values to use that information to become productive members of society.
It is the job of educational leaders to ensure that those under their watch are successful in this endeavor. To do less is educational malpractice.
The ultimate key for any individual to succeed as a productive member of society, no matter the path of life chosen, is a strong work ethic. I memorized the following quote from President Theodore Roosevelt when I was in elementary school: “No man needs sympathy because he has to work … Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Perhaps the greatest educator of all is the one who best leads students to find tasks in which they are interested and to do them well, then shows them how to work for pleasure.
I close in saying that the most influential teachers of all come from a child’s family. Most students attend the organized school during their developing years perhaps seven hours a day for 180 days out of the school year at maximum. The rest of the time, much more lengthy, is spent in the home.
At the beginning of a new year, what greater resolution can be made than to use your influence as a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, family friend, sibling or other relationship to foster a love for work and learning. Life is all about relationships, and all of us learn from each other all throughout our lives. Never underestimate your influence on the lives of those you touch.
Happy New Year! At this time next year may you find yourself more productive and blessed than ever before!