Becoming Great!

“The secret of my success is that I persevered. I didn’t give up, I didn’t say, this is a lousy job and I’m unhappy and I’m going to quit. I went through the tough times, and I was fortunate that I came out the other end.” Barbara Walters

I recently read an interview in AARP Magazine from legendary journalist and television anchor, Barbara Walters. In the article, Walters shares her feelings about working in the spotlight. However, I also believe she was sharing her personal journey and all the life lessons she gained through her professional career. After reading the piece, I immediately started thinking about my friend, Mr. Potter. Harry’s fictional life also is a road map of discovery, success, failure, joy, and pain. However, like Walters, Harry never gave up. He used every bump in the road to help shape him into a mighty wizard.

In our role as teachers, we must help our students obtain the skills needed to not only survive life’s challenges but to succeed – to thrive – to persevere. I hope with every lesson in every classroom of my school, students are learning how to move forward even when others tell them their ideas don’t make sense. Most of all, I want my students to be able to say they didn’t give up in the face of adversity because there will always be “lousy jobs” but it is in those not so great moments that I want my students to resist the temptation to quit. tlb

Source