The only way you'll earn $500/hour

I just had the esteemed honor of presenting scholarships at the local high school tonight. 

Again this year, I can't help but be frustrated as a I walk away at the conclusion of the evening. While there were a few significant improvements from last year, there's one big thing that weighs heavily on my mind. 

Why aren't kids applying for scholarships?! Like really!!! I'm not just saying this as a current teacher, but I am saying this as a former scholarship winner. I worked diligently my senior year to literally fill out every scholarship application so that I could maybe sorta kinda qualify for. I just sat through a two hour presentation of scholarships awarding more than 150 individual scholarships, yet the names called were the same ones over and over. 

Now I don't want to discount the hard work, good grades, and years of homework that these students completed but this begs the question of where the heck are the other 350 kids in the senior class?? What are we as educators, and we as schools, not doing? What are we doing that discourages or doesn't encourage all students to fill out these scholarship applications??

There are definitely the top of the class, high achieving, highly intelligent students applying for scholarships. There's also the other extreme of students, who come from nothing, and have nothing that are being pushed to fill out applications because they are involved with various programs or clubs. What about the in between? What about the average kids with average grades and average dreams? 

Who is pushing them? Anyone? There's one thing I've learned as a teacher-- don't ever discount someone because they don't shoot for the moon. Just because someone doesn't want to be an orthopedic surgeon, doesn't mean they are less deserving of a scholarship. Being realistic is actually refreshing!

High school isn't easy, but applying for scholarships is 90% of the battle senior year. Parents that let their kids float through school are doing them a disservice. People are begging to give free money to high school kids. Push your kids!! Even if grades aren't perfect, community service is lacking, or they aren't atheletes. Push! Teachers and schools can only do so much, but the kids have to have the initiative to check the scholarship board (daily!). 

I was able to hand out four $1000 scholarships with absolutely no requirements. No gpa, no service, no religion, no family heritage, no nothing required. It's quite possibly one of the easiest scholarships to apply for and yet students don't apply. I'm not sure what the answer is but it has to be a combination of kid, teachers, schools and parents pushing. 

"Knowledge is the eye of desire and can become the pilot of the soul."

There is a scholarship for every student. Just apply!

Some of my kids in Htown who received scholarships... A combination of good kids, parents who pushed, an open career center and teachers who care...