Speech on December 2, 2009, to Paperchain Bookstore Manuka Year 10 Excellence Awards, care of ACT Government Department of Education and Training.
I love this time of the year. I know that the closer we get to Christmas, the closer we also get to events like these, where all the hard work of the year is rewarded, and perhaps more importantly we will soon have a chance to enjoy the summer sun without worrying about more hard work awaiting us on the other side of the new year.
Of course the end of the year is also exam time, a grueling task for many, myself included. I can still remember vividly that feeling the pit of my stomach, as insecurities gnawed away at any self-composure and confidence I may have had in my knowledge of the subject even 5 minutes before the exam had begun.
Good times.
I was always jealous of the kids who seemed to excel at everything. While I could ace an English exam, I couldn’t for the life of me grasp any advanced mathematical concepts. That’s probably exaggerating a little; I couldn’t grasp even basic mathematical concepts. My mother hired tutors, I sat practice exams, I studied with other students, I stayed after classes to ask questions… yet still barely made it through my year 10 maths exam.
There’s that feeling again, it never really leaves you.
Let me be honest. I HATED maths. I don’t mean in a run of the mill, I can’t be bothered way, but rather as a deep loathing, fueled by my continued failure to understand or apply certain concepts. I was even more frustrated by the fact that the same questions seem to come up in every practice exam, albeit in slight variations. Just when I thought I was getting it, another marked question came back with that dreaded red 0, in all its depraved glory.
For me, maths was the captain of Team Edward, while I was firmly a role-player on Team Jacob.
Although maths seemingly had an advantage, I didn’t give up. In many ways, I couldn’t have given up even if I wanted to. I felt responsible, for so many reasons, to pass that exam.
Responsibility has so many connotations to it. When we’re very young, and our parents tell us we’re responsible for taking care of the new puppy in the house, we’re delighted. A few years later, when we’re a little older, our parents remind us of our “responsibility” to walk the dog every day. We don’t find it that thrilling anymore. When they remind us that it’s our “responsibility” to take out the garbage or do the dishes, we look for the nearest exit. At least, I know I did.
Yet at the same time we assign responsibilities to all sorts of people around us with an aura of awe. We praise the team captain whose responsibility it is to lead his or her team, regardless of personal injury or suffering. We can’t get enough of athletes who push themselves on the field, then turn to the camera and tell us it’s their job to do what they do.
We see heroes on the screen overcoming personal conflict to fulfill a sense of responsibility and duty, cheering on those who do and jeering at those who give in to their own insecurities or failures.
As parties working with and for young people, and I’m sure the Chief Minister and Minister Barr can attest to this, we often talk about the responsibility of teachers to inspire you, to push you to your potential, for schools to provide as many opportunities as possible across a wide range of subjects and issues for you to find your calling, your niche, your interests.
As a society we debate and discuss, and often argue, the role of parents’ responsibility towards their children, whether through encouraging exploration of topics and ideas, or simply turning the TV off, confiscating the xbox and making sure you do your homework.
We even debate our government and education departments’ responsibilities to ensure certain curriculum are met, to better allow the mental growth of our students, whether through introducing new programs and incentives, extending or limiting school hours and days, even whether schools should have uniforms, all to satisfy a responsibility to ensure all students are afforded a certain level of education upon which they can build their own destinies.
My message to you today is to never forget your own responsibilities.
You have an undisputed duty to yourself, to be who you want to be, to go after your dreams and goals and conquer all obstacles in your way.
Your responsibility is not just to dream, but to chase your dreams.
You have the responsibility, the unequivocal purpose to be great.
The most heart wrenching tragedy I have ever faced in my life is meeting kid after kid, from Bangladesh to Afghanistan to Sudan, who has not once dared to dream of greater things. Not once imagined being able to change the course of their destiny.
Can you understand what that must be like? To never hear someone say that you can be whatever you want to be? To never know how to, let alone dare, to dream of a different future, a better future?
We need you to be dreamers. As a country, as a society, as a city, as a community, we need you to dream about what you want to be, whether a doctor, a lawyer, a carpenter, a plumber, a mechanic, a business-owner, even a professional athlete or artist. Waiting just on the horizon is the next Mozart, the next Picasso, the next Churchill. Let me put it another way; the success of one person inspires and encourages the success of others. Whether you’re Tony Hawk, Shephard Foley or the next Prime Minister, right through to the local basketball coach, the teacher in your social studies class who encouraged you to read everything in sight, or the guys that run a small business who give you and your friends your first sponsorship deal so you can put on that show, or enter that competition, or set up your own event.
You have the opportunity to be any of those people, and thousands of thousands more, if you fulfill your responsibility to yourself.
There is no doubt that it’s hard. There are so many distractions around us now which make it even harder to buckle down and make the effort required, especially when there are so many examples of people around us who seem to be successful for no reason at all. I still have no idea what Paris Hilton does for a living.
You’re also faced with difficult circumstances outside of school. Alcohol and drug abuse, depression, social isolation and an increasing sense of helplessness are issues amongst our youth that we need to overcome immediately as a community. As I said we have our responsibilities, and you have yours.
Let me remind you again of that responsibility: to dream and chase your dreams. To be great.
It’s easy to let circumstances dictate your actions. JK Rowlings was rejected 12 times by publishers before someone finally accepted the Harry Potter books to distribute. Michael Jordan was cut from his varsity team before becoming the greatest basketball player so far in history. Thomas Edison famously said he hadn’t failed, but found “10,000 ways that haven’t worked”. History is filled with people who failed time and time again before one day, through their tenacity and hard worked, emerged the better for it.
President Obama said the following to a similar group of students in September:
“…at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.”
I would add there is no excuse to not be great.
Back to that dreaded maths exam. When I attended Telopea Park School I had the great privilege to be taught by a teacher named Mrs Papandrea. She was one of those amazing teachers we all encounter at some stage. You couldn’t help but smile anytime you walked into her classroom. She once told me that a person’s strength comes from their dreams; no one can take away your sense of purpose unless you allow them. That little thought stayed with me for years, right up to the year 10 maths exam.
I knew I would never top the class in that subject. I knew I stood very little chance of getting over 75%. But my dream was to help people. A LOT of people. The only way I could do that was to get good enough grades to get into a good university, so I could later in life get the kind of job that would allow me to help as many people as possible. So I worked and worked and worked… and then worked some more… and came out with a glowing 53% on the exam.
Mediocrity never felt so good.
The point is that I knew I would never be great at maths, but I could not let that stop me from being great in my own way at my own dreams and aspirations.
Today I run an international not-for-profit that uses the game of basketball to fight youth poverty and social disadvantage around the world, from Papua New Guinea to Nepal to Iraq and all the way back to Australia. It’s through this organization that I see so many kids that start out with no concept of their own self worth, their own potential for greatness. Through our programs they learn that literally anything is possible.
It is never acceptable for a child or young adult to be denied the opportunity to fulfill their greatness, whatever that may be. All of your accomplishments, being celebrated today, are testament not only to your proficiency at your particular fields, but also to your ever-expanding potential. You are inspiring not only because of the support of those around you, whether parents or teachers, but also because of your acceptance of the responsibility to achieve your very best.
The education I received and the educators I was privileged to encounter gave me the opportunity to fulfill all my dreams. Soon it will be your turn to take over the world. I know that with achievers such as yourselves, the future can’t help but be great.
Thank you."
Pierre Johannessen
