Kids say the darndest things!

Is anybody else old enough to remember Art Linkletter? Art was a TV host and author in the 1950’s and 1960’s who wrote a book entitled “Kids Say the Darndest Things!” Anyone who has ever raised kids or worked in middle school knows just how true this title is. I mention this because I was visiting with students about their report cards on Wednesday in the cafeteria. One student proudly showed me his report card with 5 A’s and 1 B. “Wow”, I exclaimed, “That’s a really great report card. Did you know my grades in middle school were never that good?” And the kid stopped, looked at me, and asked, “Then how did you ever get to be principal?”

I laughed as I told him that grades are not always a great predictor of future success. I explained that I was bored in much of middle school and high school and that it wasn’t until college that I finally got serious about learning. It wasn’t until I saw that education had a purpose beyond just filling up reams of notebook paper with notes that I would forget as soon as I turned them in. It wasn’t until I took classes from some passionate professors who ignited my smoldering fuel that I grew to love learning. Thankfully every Taylor student is not the underachieving slacker I was. I can attest to the fact that many of your kids want to learn. And our teachers are eager to teach them. So it is with great joy that we honor our straight A and 3-5-4.0 honor roll students next Friday. I hope you will be able to join us as we celebrate their accomplishments.

“I think, at a child’s birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity”. - Eleanor Roosevelt