Advice to Students and Educators on the New School Year

Today marks a fresh, new school year for millions of students all around the country.  I hope that this year is filled with exciting adventures and opportunities for all who embark on this educational journey with a greater outlook on the outcome. 

How serious are you about your student(s)' education?  How serious are you about your education?  As the demand for education increases, we  too, must increase our own demand to educate ourselves. Grab this thing by the horns and don't fall off of the ride lol.  And IF you do fall off, GET BACK ON IMMEDIATELY.  We must remember that failure is not meant for fatality, it is meant to teach us, to mode us, ...to strenghten us.


Let us be patient with our elementary school students and remember that the young people are our future leaders.  We must train them, mode them, and guide them.  We CANNOT use our authority to break their spirits and crush their dreams.  Yes, dreams and wishes are attainable and they DO come true.  It is our job to allow them to believe that. It is our job to equip them with everything that they may need in order to make their dreams happen. It takes a village to raise a child. We must not forget that.

To our middle school students, let us grow to learn who we truly are.  Our biggest agenda is not to fit in with the rest of the crowd, but to stand out amongst the great ones.  You must educate yourselves and remember that you are the student for a reason.  Once we get aquainted with ourselves, we will realize that we are highly intelligent beings with the capacity to learn beyond measurable standards.  Then we will be ready for high school.

To our High School students;  the time is now to really get your hands dirty.  We have no time to waste.
 
Freshman; Everything that you do now, will affect you for the remainder of your high school life.  Why not just get it right the first time.  Take all precautionary measures RIGHT NOW, to build a strong foundation for the years to follow.  If you can maintain a 3.5GPA or higher for this one year, it is highly likely that you will graduate with honors.

Sophomores; you have not made it yet! Build upon whatever you did last year. If you did good last year, do better this year! If you didn't do your best last year, then do better this year. Now is the time to fix it. Don't wait. you can't afford it.
 
Juniors; whatever the past may be, the ball is in your court.  College Prep is at the forefront (It really began in 9th grade).  Your focus should be, senior year...? how do I get there from here...? what do I have to do to get into college...? what college do you want to go to...? how can you get scholarship money...? college tours...? (click here for more information about 4th Annual Atlanta Area College Tour lol) ...what do you want to do in life...? your goals...? apply to colleges and universities...? etc.

Seniors; Congratulations to you... there is light at the end of the tunnel, however, you are not at the end of the tunnel.  The only cure for Senioritis is to watch your peers receive their caps and gowns and your name isn't called because you don't have enough credits.  I hope that scared you because that is a saulty feeling. Get everything taken care of, don't miss a beat, get all of your assignments turned in and HAVE FUN ...but not too much fun.  Take a moment and enjoy being a leader, senior year will go by in a blink of an eye.

To all my college students, whatever your degree may be, whatever your year may be, Dr. Melvin Peters said it best; "This is not a damned race! Take your time....but get finished! College is about more than a degree." Plain and simple!

God Bless and Good Luck,
Blake E. Odum, CEO

---