If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for. ~ Florence Scoval Shinn
Consider these extraordinary numbers. Many colleges have a 50% drop out rate based on a six year average. For many, the four year average is much worse. Average student loan debt at graduation is approaching $30,000. Total student loan debt in the United States is now over $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion. The number of students returning home after graduation to live with their parents is at historic levels. Non-collegians are losing minimum wage jobs to college graduates who cannot find work elsewhere. But, many students who don't go to college are finding opportunity and creating interesting futures.
How did we get here? More importantly for today's prospective college students, where do you go from here?
As a college professor and instructor, I am concerned about what I see in the classroom. I have college students that blatantly cheat on tests. Writing skills are below par for at least 50% of those I teach. Students ask me, without hesitation or fear, to give them a certain grade so they can maintain their scholarship funding or their GPA. Few students approach me about how to get where they want to go after college, but many obsess over their "vital statistics" because they have been trained to do so.
It is true that the entitlement mentality of many youth today is strong, and that is discouraging. But I do see a number of students who are focused on getting where they want to go, and it is not difficult to understand why they are successful. There are two things they possess that guarantee their future. It is not choosing a career with a promising future or getting the right kinds or amounts of scholarship money that make them successful.
The keys to their success are:
1 Having an established preparation mindset before entering college, and
2) Exercising a no excuses philosophy for completing high priority tasks.
A famous pro football coach once said, "It is not the will to win that makes you successful; it is the will to prepare to win that does it." Combined with an attitude that you alone are solely responsible for setting the stage for your success, a strong preparation mindset means that you will approach tasks, relationships and obstacles with a sense of determination and vision.
Steven Covey had it right in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People when he combined the elements of understanding your end goal, prioritizing your activities based on your commitment to the goal and being proactive to make sure you are leading yourself and others in an effective way to accomplish what you set out to do.
Without the preparation mindset and no excuses philosophy, you are certain to flounder and create uncertainty for yourself. You will also create uncertainty and confusion for those you desire to help whether they are your family, employer or friends.
I recently met with a student after class who told me that coasting through high school was really easy. She said, "All they wanted to do was get us out of there. If you were naturally smart and clever, coasting through high school is a breeze. It all changed when I got to college though. Nothing came easy, and I wasn't ready. It made me realize that I was really earning C's in high school and getting A's on my report cards. I guess the system fooled me, but I was OK with it because nothing was hard and it felt like I was successful."
This person had eight graded assignments in my class, including two tests. The tests were a C and a D. The research paper was never turned in - zero and 20% of the grade in the class. There was zero preparation mindset, and plenty of depression and resignation at feeling thwarted by the system and herself. Just as bad as the mediocre results were the sense of loss and the feeling that all the time and money invested was wasted. And so it is with a huge number of college students today.
Do you have a preparation mindset? Do you have a no excuses philosophy for completing the tasks that will lead to meeting your objectives and accomplishing your goal? If not, you will likely create a lot of baggage for yourself and possibly others.
Rick teaches at two universities in Richmond, VA. His 30+ years in management, human resources, travel and tourism, non-profit management and education have allowed him to witness dramatic changes in US education. Beyond teaching, he is now committed to helping students and their families prepare for one of their most important decisions - what happens after the high school years.
Get more information on resources at http://www.iscollegerightforyou.com or http://www.thecollegedecision.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_McKeel
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8649598
Consider these extraordinary numbers. Many colleges have a 50% drop out rate based on a six year average. For many, the four year average is much worse. Average student loan debt at graduation is approaching $30,000. Total student loan debt in the United States is now over $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion. The number of students returning home after graduation to live with their parents is at historic levels. Non-collegians are losing minimum wage jobs to college graduates who cannot find work elsewhere. But, many students who don't go to college are finding opportunity and creating interesting futures.
How did we get here? More importantly for today's prospective college students, where do you go from here?
As a college professor and instructor, I am concerned about what I see in the classroom. I have college students that blatantly cheat on tests. Writing skills are below par for at least 50% of those I teach. Students ask me, without hesitation or fear, to give them a certain grade so they can maintain their scholarship funding or their GPA. Few students approach me about how to get where they want to go after college, but many obsess over their "vital statistics" because they have been trained to do so.
It is true that the entitlement mentality of many youth today is strong, and that is discouraging. But I do see a number of students who are focused on getting where they want to go, and it is not difficult to understand why they are successful. There are two things they possess that guarantee their future. It is not choosing a career with a promising future or getting the right kinds or amounts of scholarship money that make them successful.
The keys to their success are:
1 Having an established preparation mindset before entering college, and
2) Exercising a no excuses philosophy for completing high priority tasks.
A famous pro football coach once said, "It is not the will to win that makes you successful; it is the will to prepare to win that does it." Combined with an attitude that you alone are solely responsible for setting the stage for your success, a strong preparation mindset means that you will approach tasks, relationships and obstacles with a sense of determination and vision.
Steven Covey had it right in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People when he combined the elements of understanding your end goal, prioritizing your activities based on your commitment to the goal and being proactive to make sure you are leading yourself and others in an effective way to accomplish what you set out to do.
Without the preparation mindset and no excuses philosophy, you are certain to flounder and create uncertainty for yourself. You will also create uncertainty and confusion for those you desire to help whether they are your family, employer or friends.
I recently met with a student after class who told me that coasting through high school was really easy. She said, "All they wanted to do was get us out of there. If you were naturally smart and clever, coasting through high school is a breeze. It all changed when I got to college though. Nothing came easy, and I wasn't ready. It made me realize that I was really earning C's in high school and getting A's on my report cards. I guess the system fooled me, but I was OK with it because nothing was hard and it felt like I was successful."
This person had eight graded assignments in my class, including two tests. The tests were a C and a D. The research paper was never turned in - zero and 20% of the grade in the class. There was zero preparation mindset, and plenty of depression and resignation at feeling thwarted by the system and herself. Just as bad as the mediocre results were the sense of loss and the feeling that all the time and money invested was wasted. And so it is with a huge number of college students today.
Do you have a preparation mindset? Do you have a no excuses philosophy for completing the tasks that will lead to meeting your objectives and accomplishing your goal? If not, you will likely create a lot of baggage for yourself and possibly others.
Rick teaches at two universities in Richmond, VA. His 30+ years in management, human resources, travel and tourism, non-profit management and education have allowed him to witness dramatic changes in US education. Beyond teaching, he is now committed to helping students and their families prepare for one of their most important decisions - what happens after the high school years.
Get more information on resources at http://www.iscollegerightforyou.com or http://www.thecollegedecision.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_McKeel
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8649598
No comments:
Post a Comment