OWNERSHIP – “Your LIFE is Yours”
Shelbyville Main Street School & Kindergarten Center is completely invested in the Social & Emotional Development of our youth w/ equal value to academic. The two areas are interrelated and often the Social/Emotional hinders or serves as a catalyst to student achievement. The point is that self-regulating emotions or recognizing feelings & perspectives of others has as much, if not more, effect on achievement than a few more multiplication facts in a minute correct.
October has been the month we focus our conversation on OWNERSHIP. This is a “Mindfulness” concept where students are self-aware and “own” their actions & attitudes. A central message is that we usually develop this by making a few mistakes. Many adults shared personal examples & some were even embarrassing but the goal was to send the message that failure is inevitable & is often necessary but we need to learn from our mistakes. This is a “Growth Mindset.” We tell our students that there is nothing that someone else can learn that you can’t. This is important because people meet expectations, especially their own. We need students to realize that the problem is not aiming too high and missing; the problem is aiming too low & hitting. The “mindset” is that if I work hard enough w/ some strategy, I will learn & I desire to take full advantage of the learning opportunities I am afforded.
Local Community-Leader, Jake Hankins, addressed students on Monday, October 1st to “kick-off” October w/ the hyper-Focus on “OWNESRSHIP.” Jake Hankins is a local business owner with Country Financial & he is also a current active Shelbyville Schools School Board Member.
Jake began w/ a “Kid President” YouTube video clip. This was engaging & motivational w/ key points: “We are more than our problems; more than our mistakes” & “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
Mr. Hankins then lead into a question w/ sort of a Robert Frost “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” effect. “There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist or take OWNERSHIP & accept responsibility for changing them.” We do not choose our station in life we begin. “Life isn’t fair; it’s tough. What defines us, is how we prepare & respond to these situations.”
Jake defined OWNERSHIP w/ “you are in charge of you; you are in control of your emotions & behaviors & are accountable to yourself.” This transitioned into why OWNERSHIP is important & examples of showcasing OWNERSHIP at school & at home such as “not blaming others & doing things for yourself.”
Jake discussed an “OWNERSHIP Mindset.” This is “positive ownership of your learning.” Instead of “I am not good at math, I give up, or this is too hard,” control your mindset w/ a more positive perspective and self-talk such as “I’ll use some strategies, this will take some time & effort, or mistakes can help me learn.”
Mr. Hankins shared a personal example regarding procrastination & developing more OWNERSHIP in early elementary school into his current life as a business owner, husband & father. He also prompted reflection as students analyzed examples.
The final stage was a challenge to the students to show OWNERSHIP in their life. He tied it together w/ the “Kid President” episode; “ordinary people doing extraordinary things & inspiring others. We can all make a difference; we can all be heroes.”
There is so much strategy into to developing our youth as the future. There is so much more than just seeking pleasure; avoiding consequences as productive citizens. Now is the time to help our youth “own” who they are; they “own” the future.
-Ryan Scott
Main Street & Kindergarten Center Principal