This is a time of the year when we may want to share wisdom, provide guidance, and offer advice our students can take with them as they leave us. We have shared many experiences together over the course of the semester or school year, and we have watched our students learn and mature (most of them, anyway, even if just a little bit). We have invested heavily in their learning, provided guidance as they wrestled with challenges, offered encouragement as they overcame barriers, and watched with pride as they navigated their yearlong learning path.
Now, as we prepare our students to leave us, we might send them off with advice about finding their way in what lies ahead, whether in school, work, or life. We have built strong relationships, established our credibility, and repeatedly demonstrated our caring. Consequently, what we have to offer is likely to be heard, take root, and be remembered when students recall their time with us.
As you contemplate your end-of-year message, here are some ideas to consider communicating to your students:
- Aim high. A fact of life is that you rarely achieve more than you expect. Timid people may aspire to achieve little, wanting to avoid disappointment. Bold people set their sights on audacious achievements, understanding that even falling short can mean exceptional success. Don’t worry about whether something is possible. The question is not whether you can, but whether you are willing to work for what you want.
- Stay curious. Curiosity is an underappreciated—but exceptionally powerful—force. Curious people notice things that others miss. Curious people ask questions when others merely assume. Over the course of a lifetime, curious people are more likely to achieve success than people who fail to question, imagine, and explore.
- Always learn. Learning has more to do with what you give your attention to than with what you are taught. Learning is an internal process that is informed by experience, instruction, reflection, and application. The truth is that there is virtually nothing you cannot learn. The only question is whether you are willing to focus, practice, and persist enough to gain the knowledge or master the skill you seek.
- Practice courage. Being courageous does not mean you are not afraid. Fear is a natural emotion when facing uncertainty, the unknown, or the possibility of negative consequences. Courage is finding the strength to do when is right and necessary despite the presence of fear. Courageous people can make a difference even when they are not completely successful. An act of courage can be enough to make a statement, draw attention, and shift circumstances to achieve a lasting impact.
- Set goals. Goals are powerful things. Their presence provides direction, helps to maintain focus, and mark progress. Goals remind us of what is important and help us to allocate our resources and align our efforts. People rarely achieve important outcomes without first having set a goal to do so.
- Small things matter. In life, it is often the small things that are done consistently that determine the difference between getting by and finding success. Rarely does significant success come from a single act or luck alone. Habits, preparation, and discipline are far better bets for success.
- Do one more thing. Always choose to do one more thing than is required or requested. Each small task or additional contribution may not seem like much, but over time the difference accumulates. Before long, people who were performing like you will fall behind. You will be amazed at the difference just one more thing, done consistently, can make in your success, regardless of what you are doing.
Of course, our students may not recall or choose to apply all these pieces of advice. However, they may remember and apply one, two, or three of the things we said that make sense to them and feel worth applying. If so, we will have made a difference; a difference that could last a lifetime.
