YOU WILL FAIL (Brian Katcher)
The other day a fellow teacher spoke to me about a student she was worried about. An eighth grader, he was highly intelligent. However, he didn't apply himself, and his attendance was so poor that he was in danger of having to repeat the grade. But when she told him he needed to buckle down, he responded that he didn't need school, as he was going to be a rich soccer player as an adult. This warmed my heart. And it made perfect sense. As a professional athlete, he'd have money to spare, and wouldn't need the basic math and reading skills he was struggling with. But then the teacher told me something that hadn't occurred to me: what if the kid didn't make it as a soccer star? Then he'd just turn into a twentysomething with no education or marketable skills. I'll admit, the idea gave me pause. It also made me think of my own dreams when I was a young man with a heart full of dreams and a trunk full of spray paint. When the possibilities were endless. I ...
