An Ideal First Day
ASWBAT complete a class Do Now.
ASWBAT define excellence in their lives and in BUILD.
ASWBAT identify a defining moment that led them to want to excel.
Agenda
Hand Shake
What is excellence?
Taking Positive Risks
Defining Moment
Vocabulary
Excellence
Positive Risk
Defining Moment
Salient Takeaways
To be in BUILD requires a Commitment to Excellence.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Taking positive risks is necessary to excel.
Homework
Signed Commitment of Excellence
MJ Article (Optional)
The bell marking the beginning of third period rings at 10:37. As I enter the hallway I see hundreds of faces I do not recognize and have never met. Glancing down at my roster, I wonder if the smiles and the eyes that meet mine belonged to La Diamond or Oscar. Within the next five minutes I will find out.
At 10:52 the bell rings again, and the time was really now here. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” I say. Wide eyes and a few moving lips were all I saw. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” I say again. This time a few brave students responded. Looking down at their schedules, they meekly and rather quietly stated “Good morning, Miss Garner.” Pleased with their attempt at a mature salutation I begin my greeting.
“My name is Miss Garner. You may call me Miss Garner or Miss G. I will be your entrepreneurship instructor this year. Many of you may be wondering why you are standing in the hallway when every other student - I pause and give the teacher stare to a straggling upperclassman- is in their classroom. When you signed up for BUILD, you made a decision to be different. And this IS different, and it should feel that way. When you signed up for BUILD, you also made a decision to act like a professional. I wanted to start our very first class with a professional greeting. In just a few seconds, I am going to shake each of your hands as you want into the classroom. Once inside, you will find a sheet of paper and a note card on your desk. Please fill out the card completely and wait for instructions. Please do not say a word as you are walking in as I would like to maintain a calm, professional environment for our time together today.”
Finishing my opener, I see a number of bright, puzzled faces and hear the “she is trippin’” statement from a young woman in the back. I smile and shake the hands of the students walking into the classroom.
As the last student enters, I notice that they have followed my instructions: they are all silently completing the cards. After 120 grueling seconds pass, I ask all students to stop what they are doing, put their pen or pencil down, and track the speaker. Tracking, I tell them is when you focus all of your attention on the person who is giving information. I thank them for their excellent professionalism and conduct my very first role call. I instruct students to tell me something unique and special when I call their name. Modeling the expectation, I call my own name and respond “I am one of the first people in my family to graduate from college.” Timid and a bit apprehensive, they all oblige, and I begin and finish the list. I thank them again for their willingness to share something about themselves.
I now direct students to the Do Now for the day. I cold call LaRena to read it to the class. Loudly and clearly: “What is excellence? What is something in your life you excel at?” Next, I point to the objectives. This time, Brian is the target: “AhSwaBat” he begins. “All Students Will Be Able To,” I chuckle through. “Oh, All Students Will Be Able To…” I thank both “volunteers” and ask students to fill out the information on their Do Now sheet. I tell them that everyday we will begin with a warm up activity. This will jump start us into the day’s lesson and ensure we are on the right track. They begin.
After three minutes, I ask them to stop, and I cold call "volunteers” again.
Azeem tells of his success on the basketball court. Bernetta recounts her A+ in math class. Fred boldly reveals his passion for, you've got it, talking to girls and subsequently getting dates. Realizing he still has a little eighth grader in him, I smile and move on. I display Webster’s definition of the word and tell of my desire to be the best entrepreneurship teacher in the country. This desire to excel and this track record of excellence, I also tell them, is another thing that makes them different, and it is what BUILD is all about.
I provide a preface to my own personal history by telling students that the first step to excelling is TAKING POSITIVE RISKS. Byron defines risk as something you do that might not work out. I thank him for taking the risk of defining the word for the class and hand him $10. His eyes light up like a Christmas tree as do those of his peers, and with a smile I say to the class “Some risks are worth investing in, like all of you.” As I detail my own life and experiences to the place where these fantastic young minds and I meet, I see that the students are sincerely interested, and I finish telling them again: all of my accomplishments were possible because I took positive risks to excel.
Dasja eagerly volunteers (really this time) to pass out the Commitment of Excellence. As a class, we read over the entire document, and I reinforce my commitment to them. Some students have a shocked look upon their face as they realize that a component of this class will be after school and that they won’t actually start their businesses until their sophomore year. I counter this with a question: “Is it worth the positive risk?”
Continuing on with this initial lesson, I share the story of Suzanne, BUILD’s founder and current CEO. I tell them of her days as the “business lady” and her choice to support business owners and teenagers in East Palo Alto over the incredibly lucrative job at a big law firm in New York, of Michael Jordan’s determination to be the best basketball player when he was cut from the team in high school, and of a student at Tech who wanted so badly to leave BUILD but whose team made it to the final round at the Business Plan Competition. Bringing this concept back to something of relevance, I finally get their attention back.
“All of these individuals had a defining moment,” I tell the class. “They encountered something that changed the way the thought about themselves and their dreams and their goals.” For Suzanne is what the thought of what would happen to these students if they dropped out of high school to start a business. For Michael it was being cut. For Byron it was not feeling successful. For me it was eating cottage cheese.
The puzzling looks return.
“After my freshman year of college,” I begin, “I was told that I had to eat cottage cheese. I was not asked or given the option. In fact as it turned out eating cottage cheese was a matter of life or death. For the eleven months prior to this time I starved myself. I lost nearly 25 pounds, leaving only 96 on my 5’8” frame. My blood counts were at a level that should have put me down for the count. Miraculously they did not. Despite this information, I still refused to eat. I was in a selfish, self-absorbed world, and nothing mattered to me more than being thin. So, I was forced into a hospital and on my first day, forced to eat cottage cheese. As the weeks during this time passed, of the many realizations I had was that the person I had become was very unlike the person I used to be. As I started to regain strength and anticipated my return home, my spirit changed, and I made a decision to get better and to use the greater part of my life to focus not on myself but on others. For the remainder of my college career and until this point, I have not backed down from that commitment. If it weren’t for the anorexia, I may not be here with you today. I took a positive risk to get better. If that didn’t happen, I may not be here with all of you today. I took a positive risk just now, too.”
”When you join BUILD, you join a family of students, parents, mentors, community leaders and staff members who dedicate much of their time and lives to helping each and every one of you grow. What distinguishes our family is that unlike a lot of regular families and classes, one of the most important parts is developing a culture where we know one another’s strengths and weaknesses and stories. After all, our stories are what make us special.” Now, the kids look even more in shock. In fact, they are speechless.
Shocked and speechless yet focused, I hand each student a piece of paper, and I invite them to join the BUILD family by sharing a defining moment. I tell them that the moment they share should be an event, situation, or time in their life when something happened to change who they were or where they were going with their life.
“Are you going to read this?” I hear from the back. “Everyone is,” I respond. I tell the class the procedure, and as silently as they listened when I shared my defining moment, the students begin to write. With ten minutes remaining in our first class of the year, three student moments are read, and to my excitement, the day is successful. They all identify themselves. I congratulate all of them for taking that positive risk and with a smile, I close out the class.
The bell rings again. It’s 11:42, and two of my newest students are joining me for lunch. How very lucky I am. They’re sold.
ASWBAT define excellence in their lives and in BUILD.
ASWBAT identify a defining moment that led them to want to excel.
Agenda
Hand Shake
What is excellence?
Taking Positive Risks
Defining Moment
Vocabulary
Excellence
Positive Risk
Defining Moment
Salient Takeaways
To be in BUILD requires a Commitment to Excellence.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Taking positive risks is necessary to excel.
Homework
Signed Commitment of Excellence
MJ Article (Optional)
The bell marking the beginning of third period rings at 10:37. As I enter the hallway I see hundreds of faces I do not recognize and have never met. Glancing down at my roster, I wonder if the smiles and the eyes that meet mine belonged to La Diamond or Oscar. Within the next five minutes I will find out.
At 10:52 the bell rings again, and the time was really now here. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” I say. Wide eyes and a few moving lips were all I saw. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” I say again. This time a few brave students responded. Looking down at their schedules, they meekly and rather quietly stated “Good morning, Miss Garner.” Pleased with their attempt at a mature salutation I begin my greeting.
“My name is Miss Garner. You may call me Miss Garner or Miss G. I will be your entrepreneurship instructor this year. Many of you may be wondering why you are standing in the hallway when every other student - I pause and give the teacher stare to a straggling upperclassman- is in their classroom. When you signed up for BUILD, you made a decision to be different. And this IS different, and it should feel that way. When you signed up for BUILD, you also made a decision to act like a professional. I wanted to start our very first class with a professional greeting. In just a few seconds, I am going to shake each of your hands as you want into the classroom. Once inside, you will find a sheet of paper and a note card on your desk. Please fill out the card completely and wait for instructions. Please do not say a word as you are walking in as I would like to maintain a calm, professional environment for our time together today.”
Finishing my opener, I see a number of bright, puzzled faces and hear the “she is trippin’” statement from a young woman in the back. I smile and shake the hands of the students walking into the classroom.
As the last student enters, I notice that they have followed my instructions: they are all silently completing the cards. After 120 grueling seconds pass, I ask all students to stop what they are doing, put their pen or pencil down, and track the speaker. Tracking, I tell them is when you focus all of your attention on the person who is giving information. I thank them for their excellent professionalism and conduct my very first role call. I instruct students to tell me something unique and special when I call their name. Modeling the expectation, I call my own name and respond “I am one of the first people in my family to graduate from college.” Timid and a bit apprehensive, they all oblige, and I begin and finish the list. I thank them again for their willingness to share something about themselves.
I now direct students to the Do Now for the day. I cold call LaRena to read it to the class. Loudly and clearly: “What is excellence? What is something in your life you excel at?” Next, I point to the objectives. This time, Brian is the target: “AhSwaBat” he begins. “All Students Will Be Able To,” I chuckle through. “Oh, All Students Will Be Able To…” I thank both “volunteers” and ask students to fill out the information on their Do Now sheet. I tell them that everyday we will begin with a warm up activity. This will jump start us into the day’s lesson and ensure we are on the right track. They begin.
After three minutes, I ask them to stop, and I cold call "volunteers” again.
Azeem tells of his success on the basketball court. Bernetta recounts her A+ in math class. Fred boldly reveals his passion for, you've got it, talking to girls and subsequently getting dates. Realizing he still has a little eighth grader in him, I smile and move on. I display Webster’s definition of the word and tell of my desire to be the best entrepreneurship teacher in the country. This desire to excel and this track record of excellence, I also tell them, is another thing that makes them different, and it is what BUILD is all about.
I provide a preface to my own personal history by telling students that the first step to excelling is TAKING POSITIVE RISKS. Byron defines risk as something you do that might not work out. I thank him for taking the risk of defining the word for the class and hand him $10. His eyes light up like a Christmas tree as do those of his peers, and with a smile I say to the class “Some risks are worth investing in, like all of you.” As I detail my own life and experiences to the place where these fantastic young minds and I meet, I see that the students are sincerely interested, and I finish telling them again: all of my accomplishments were possible because I took positive risks to excel.
Dasja eagerly volunteers (really this time) to pass out the Commitment of Excellence. As a class, we read over the entire document, and I reinforce my commitment to them. Some students have a shocked look upon their face as they realize that a component of this class will be after school and that they won’t actually start their businesses until their sophomore year. I counter this with a question: “Is it worth the positive risk?”
Continuing on with this initial lesson, I share the story of Suzanne, BUILD’s founder and current CEO. I tell them of her days as the “business lady” and her choice to support business owners and teenagers in East Palo Alto over the incredibly lucrative job at a big law firm in New York, of Michael Jordan’s determination to be the best basketball player when he was cut from the team in high school, and of a student at Tech who wanted so badly to leave BUILD but whose team made it to the final round at the Business Plan Competition. Bringing this concept back to something of relevance, I finally get their attention back.
“All of these individuals had a defining moment,” I tell the class. “They encountered something that changed the way the thought about themselves and their dreams and their goals.” For Suzanne is what the thought of what would happen to these students if they dropped out of high school to start a business. For Michael it was being cut. For Byron it was not feeling successful. For me it was eating cottage cheese.
The puzzling looks return.
“After my freshman year of college,” I begin, “I was told that I had to eat cottage cheese. I was not asked or given the option. In fact as it turned out eating cottage cheese was a matter of life or death. For the eleven months prior to this time I starved myself. I lost nearly 25 pounds, leaving only 96 on my 5’8” frame. My blood counts were at a level that should have put me down for the count. Miraculously they did not. Despite this information, I still refused to eat. I was in a selfish, self-absorbed world, and nothing mattered to me more than being thin. So, I was forced into a hospital and on my first day, forced to eat cottage cheese. As the weeks during this time passed, of the many realizations I had was that the person I had become was very unlike the person I used to be. As I started to regain strength and anticipated my return home, my spirit changed, and I made a decision to get better and to use the greater part of my life to focus not on myself but on others. For the remainder of my college career and until this point, I have not backed down from that commitment. If it weren’t for the anorexia, I may not be here with you today. I took a positive risk to get better. If that didn’t happen, I may not be here with all of you today. I took a positive risk just now, too.”
”When you join BUILD, you join a family of students, parents, mentors, community leaders and staff members who dedicate much of their time and lives to helping each and every one of you grow. What distinguishes our family is that unlike a lot of regular families and classes, one of the most important parts is developing a culture where we know one another’s strengths and weaknesses and stories. After all, our stories are what make us special.” Now, the kids look even more in shock. In fact, they are speechless.
Shocked and speechless yet focused, I hand each student a piece of paper, and I invite them to join the BUILD family by sharing a defining moment. I tell them that the moment they share should be an event, situation, or time in their life when something happened to change who they were or where they were going with their life.
“Are you going to read this?” I hear from the back. “Everyone is,” I respond. I tell the class the procedure, and as silently as they listened when I shared my defining moment, the students begin to write. With ten minutes remaining in our first class of the year, three student moments are read, and to my excitement, the day is successful. They all identify themselves. I congratulate all of them for taking that positive risk and with a smile, I close out the class.
The bell rings again. It’s 11:42, and two of my newest students are joining me for lunch. How very lucky I am. They’re sold.
posted by Leslie Garner at 11:55 PM
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