Below is the speech shared with students and staff at the Academic Assembly held on 12 February 2021.
Good morning staff, students, and distinguished guests. Today we acknowledge the hard work of many students in 2020. I want to welcome back our returning Year 12 students and commend them on their excellent ATAR achievements, and congratulate those students receiving a gold award today. But school isn’t just about being publicly recognised for your efforts, the most important part of school is your own recognition of your continual growth and improvement. You might not be recognised today for your efforts, but your improvement and continual growth is key to success.
School is like running a marathon, but many of us consider it as a sprint. A marathon is a long distance event, it takes time and on the journey you have to be able to find and maintain internal motivation. In contrast the sprint is a short, sharp, quick event, it is over before we know and while there we need motivation to the start the race, we don’t usually need to look for ways to continue to self motivate. We should all aim to view school and our academic growth like a marathon. It requires a constant effort throughout the year, not just when an exam is coming up, or an assignment is due. It is not a sprint. Each lesson is like our training. Lessons set the pace for our marathon, and without the proper training it would be really hard for us to finish. The teachers are our coaches. They give us everything we need to finish the marathon, it’s up to us to use that information to our advantage. An anonymous quote I found states, “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow”.
This is pretty similar to a previous school mission statement where we were striving to achieve today and lead tomorrow. To be able to lead tomorrow, we must engage with our teachers feedback to grow and learn today. So how do we do this? How do we ensure that every day we are learning and growing? As hard as it may seem, it is important to take something out of every lesson you have. Enter the classroom with a goal. Having a quick short term goal to achieve that lesson combines with other skills you’ve learnt to help you prepare or train for the long haul school marathon.
Eddies is a great place to be able to grow. Individual learning is encouraged and teachers work around the clock to tailor learning to give all students the best chance to achieve to their individual potential. Teachers help us develop stronger characters and contribute to the vibrant spirit we love about Eddies. It’s not about being the best in your class, the best in your subject or the best in your year, its about being the best you can be and about improving yourself
I know that I have stood here and given you information about how to achieve that you’ve heard before. So it poses the question, if we know this stuff about learning, about growth, about goals about improvement, about the value of our teachers, why is it that many of us are not reaching our full potential? What do you think is holding you back? Is it a fear of not receiving a mark that reflects your effort? Sometimes, we worry more about taking the risk than considering the potential for growth. We fear putting in the effort and not immediately getting the outcome we wanted. So as you leave today, think about what is stopping you. How can you overcome the barriers and allow yourself to grow? If you can’t think of a way to take down those barriers, ask someone for help, and if someone asks you for help, take what you learnt yesterday, and lead today. Because “Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow”.
Jack Hodges
College Vice-Captain Academic