The importance of dreaming big…for all of our students
As educators, one of the most important things we do every day is to show doubtful students that earning a college degree is not just a wild dream.
Even if no one else in their family has ever pursued higher education, and even if they cannot imagine how they will pay for it, our goal is to make sure every child graduates from high school utterly convinced that college is not just a possibility, but a certainty.
That’s why I could not be more pleased to hear about the trip 80 students from five of our high schools took earlier this month through the EMERGE program. These young people went on a whirlwind tour of seven Ivy League and Tier I colleges, including Harvard, Yale, and MIT, in only six days. At several, they got a chance to talk with students who had just completed their first year of college.
One of the best things to come out of those visits was the realization that the prospect of attending an Ivy League or Tier I school is an attainable dream for many of our students. Before that trip, one said that she had imagined those schools to be out of her reach, but after speaking with her peers and hearing what they had to say, she realized that it was a distinct possibility for her, too.
And helping our students reach for the stars is what “becoming great all over” is all about.
Comments are closed.