How Do You Measure Excellence?

FOR MY NIECE:

As is for any job, training, education and knowledge of the field are all required. So, what’s the big deal about someone’s GPA and how well he/she performed in high school? How about a young man or young lady that can turn a cabbage into a masterfully created culinary work of art; or that student who likes to express his/her feelings through graffiti at the back of his/her books? They deserve a chance, too!! Too often we find that these children are ridiculed by the very people who should  be aiding in their development. How many of the greatest entrepreneurs and famous individuals in the arts were scholars? Not many, I’m sure. So why do we place so much emphasis on book smarts?

I’m very happy to say I’m holistically developed and managed to cultivate a similar tradition in the students I taught. I taught for a number of years, and on occasion I might end up with a child that blows your mind with his/her brilliance. On the other hand, I might end up with a child that no one else wants to deal with: the non-reader; the one who can never grasp math (no matter how basic); the one who does absolutely nothing; and the wailer (the one who bawls crocodile tears at any inkling of being given a book). So what am I to do? Am I to make these special children feel out of place and mock their inability to master a book? Am I to make them feel small for being unable to get above 90%?

I did what teachers are supposed to do: I tapped into their special skill, or anything that they love (from Dora to Spiderman; from drawing to poetry) and I honed their reading abilities through art… expression! Did they get 100%? No, but a talent may be discovered in the process; a self-esteem may be built… you never know. Don’t let your children feel less of a human being because their GPA is not what you want it to be. Chances are, your child may be the next Pablo Picasso, Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg. You never know… give children a chance.

My niece recently won several awards in the culinary and visual arts competitions in Jamaica. If she never gets a chance to achieve a high GPA, I know she is gifted in other areas that she will surely be successful in!

Congratulations my big girl, Janel! Way to go!!! I love you and I want you to keep working hard at your dreams! You have continued a tradition of excellence and I am very proud of you!

 "Excellence may be disguised; but excellence is excellence no matter the form it takes!" ~JGIC

Jodi-Ann is an Environmental Studies major in Nova Scotia, Canada.