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Attitude and Effort



THE VICTOR by C.W. Longenecker

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not,  you don’t
If you like to win but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

Today the seventh graders read The Victor.  It's the end of the trimester, and they need a bit of self reflection.  My other option was to start class saying, "Hey, when you sit in class and do jack (Is Jack capitalized in this situation?), your grade sucks.  When you think you're an idiot, you are."  I think I made the right decision to have them think about what the poem means and reflect on its relation to their grades.  It's all about attitude and effort.  The poem helped as we discussed doing their best and staying positive.  Perhaps I should have taken the same advice this evening as I was driving home in the dark.  My attitude and effort are less than positive when I make the trip to and from work in the dark.  "I can't workout this evening," I told myself and called Homemade Pizza to order pizza (The Miesian--Less is more on our version of this classic Italian Margherita-fresh Roma tomato, roasted garlic, tons of basil and our impeccable creamy Mozzarella.) for dinner.  At least I added wheat crust, right?!

Comments

dw said…
Good one! We always struggle with what's the best thing to do. If getting made-to-order pizza is yours, then i think you're doing allright. IMHO.
11:06 PM
LH said…
Margherita's always a great choice. I may share the poem with our sixers. thx!
8:44 PM
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