He asked me, “Can a boy live in project housing and go to a gifted school?”
The answer is YES!
Jeremy Mobley is a fifth-grade student I met several years ago. I noticed he had potential but needed self-awareness tips. I spoke with his mom about Communities In Schools and she referred him to attend Positive Action and other groups.
In groups, we discuss challenges that hinder a student from learning and succeeding in class. Through discussions in the Positive Action group, he discovered there are three basic human needs: Physical Needs, which are things your body must have; Intellectual (Mental) Needs, things your mind requires; Social/Emotional Needs, things you must have to feel good about yourself and others. These are the three tips that were important for Jeremy to believe in himself to accomplish goals and think positively.
I knew Jeremy was an intelligent student but doing just enough to earn C’s on his report card. We had a group discussion about being your own boss in class meaning taking your classes seriously. I also assisted him to use positive actions to meet the needs of his body, mind, and feelings.
He asked me, “Can a boy live in project housing and go to a gifted school?”
My answer was “Why not Jeremy?”
I said I have a book I want you to read. The book is Salt In My Shoes. The story is about Michael Jordan’s life as a child.
This book fascinated Jeremy to strive to make better grades.
Self-esteem and self-confidence were all Jeremy needed to become motivated. He went from C-student to Honor-Roll A-student!
He had to change his mindset to think and feel good about himself. In his journal, he wrote down possible positive actions to improve himself socially and emotionally. I asked him to write down short-term goals and long-term goals for social self-improvement as well as emotional self-improvement.
His short-term goal was to be a part of the gifted students, and you know already how this story ended…
YES! Jeremy is a student in the gifted classes and he succeeds in those classes. He learned that being the best makes him become stronger because he chose to control and strengthen who he is by thinking positively and believing that all things are possible.
—Rhonda Sisroe, MSW, CIS Site Coordinator, Communities In Schools of Albany/Dougherty County