Say Yes: Find Your Passion, Unlock Your Potential, and Transform Your Life, by Kwame Alexander
Having read several of the books with Alexander’s name attached, I wanted to see if this one would be appropriate for my middle grade, high school age and working age grandchildren. I am always looking for an appropriate little gift to bring them some good cheer. I guess on this, the jury might still be out, because while I found it wildly appropriate for both the young and the adult, my husband thought it more suitable for those in the work place.
Since I was an educator, and he was a corporate head, I will go with my opinion. This would, however, be a great gift for a graduating student, since it is taken from Mr. Alexander’s commencement speech to the graduating class of the American University School of Communication and School of Education. I think both my husband and I have correctly judged this book’s value for the reading public.
Because I am reminded of my grandson’s disappointment when a foolish fourth-grade teacher mocked the inordinate amount of effort he expended to complete an assignment, I think that this book would be particularly well-suited to a class discussion with a responsible and qualified adult who hoped to inspire students, not discourage them. If that teacher could reach any young person that might be questioning his/her ability and inspire him/her to never give up in the face of unwarranted criticism, especially when extra effort is really all that needs to be encouraged and praised, not criticized, that teacher will have accomplished the very purpose of an educator, which is to inspire learning, in whatever way a student can in order to attain wisdom and maintain hope to go on and not give up.
Alexander has managed to impart the idea that quitting is the only failure we experience. We need to dust ourselves off and get up to try again because the old adage of “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”, is particularly useful as we all face our lives with its ups and downs.
In this regard, I have two important memories in my past that have always inspired me in the face of controversy, chaos, confusion, and rejection. One was the advice of my seventh-grade teacher. She insisted that I learn to keep a journal to record my effort, my successes, my failures, my emotional reactions and interaction with the world around me. It helped me navigate through troubled times by carefully examining the situation. The second was my ninth-grade teacher. He read a poem to the class, by Edgar Allen Guest, “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done”. It encouraged us all to reach for the sky, even in the face of rejection and negative attitudes. The poem recommended buckling down, starting right in, and doing it! He believed that if we aimed high, even if we didn’t reach our goal, we would still have attained some height and success, a point we would never have reached if we aimed low.
I think this poet, Alexander is onto the same wonderful idea. If you aren’t in it, you can’t win it, as my mother would say, and her advice was priceless. Keep on truckin’, and don’t give up! Believe in yourself.