A Final Word

A FINAL WORD:  Far too many people in our society see the teachers as the ones who bear the responsibility for creating excellence in education; when students fail to learn, most people blame the teachers for not teaching in the correct way for each student, and people expect teachers to solve the problems of the schools and make kids smart: "teacher accountability" is the cornerstone of education reform.

They expect teachers to change their behavior, while the students appear to have little if anything to do with becoming educated. The students seem helpless, passive, insignificant or even irrelevant in their own learning--the all-powerful teacher determines all, or so it seems.

Ultimately, however, all education is self-education. The secret to academic success is no different from success in other fields of endeavor, and it involves hard work, the will to succeed, and practice, practice, practice.

As Vince Lombardi wisely noted, “The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.”

Remember, success is a choice.