Excellence: It Can Be Achieved With Motivation

Spending 13 hours in a car with 4 boys can be exhausting, but also enlightening if you pretend you aren't listening and eavesdrop on their conversations. My children are inquisitive by nature and are always talking about the latest this or that. How this superhero is written in the comic book and then depicted differently on screen. You Tube channels they watch, podcasts they listen too, it is a veritable smorgasbord of conversation. They debate the best type of video game even the most integral character to a given film or television program. I find it fascinating to hear their conversations.

In school my children get pretty good grades. My 18 year old excellent grades, all Honors and AP classes, straight A's. I have always pushed education to the forefront of their values, however more so than education, thinking for oneself, makings one's own decisions and then living with them, and accepting that they will be average at some things and excel in others. To chose something they love and be great at it, no matter what it is. None of my children are athletes. One plays trombone, one is a writer, another a science geek like me. My 6 year old, well, we don't know quite yet but he is a lover of words and numbers.

Excellence is achievable. Being a prodigy might come from genetics and environmental factors, but excellence can come from nothing at all. A desire to achieve, interest, relevance, simply love of the subject or skill. I know my children are not prodigies, but they are motivated and determined to get good grades and go to college. Can I ask for any more than that? They are academics and scientists at heart asking a myriad of questions and philosophical conundrums every day. They see the bigger picture like me and often are filling in the steps as they go along. This to me is excellence. Understanding how you learn, what you excel at, and finding ways to improve that skill. All the while staying determined to be good at other things.

In my classroom and at home this is a goal I try to have every student accept and embrace. Be yourself and find what you love. Excellence comes from not only brain power and knowledge but from determination, motivation and sheer will power.