good morning Santa Claus
one of the most recognized beloved
believed in icons of American culture so
how does children begin to believe in
Santa Claus they had an experience
created primarily by their parents
perpetuated by society stories are told
movies are made he’s at the mall he
shows up at special events pictures are
taken
who wouldn’t believe in Santa Claus and
as believers in Santa Claus
children behave better during Christmas
time they may talk back less they may
get along with their siblings a little
better all because they want something
they want to stay on the good list and
off Santa’s naughty list they also go to
sleep early on Christmas Eve with just a
little bit of nudge because they want
one thing presents lots of presents
so hopefully the same process they used
to believe in him in the first place
through an experience so as children get
older maybe a friend at school tease for
still believing in Santa Claus maybe an
older sibling revealed where the
presents were hidden maybe a sneak peek
down the stairs on Christmas Eve cut mom
and dad in the act of putting presents
under the tree
or maybe the mall Santa just had a
really bad beard whatever the experience
was that experience created a new belief
and now so much Santa’s naughty list
you don’t get much play from that it’s a
simple example of a powerful concept our
experiences drive our beliefs beliefs
influence action
and actions drive results results create
a new experience and the cycle continues
but beliefs beliefs are so powerful
beliefs are catalyst beliefs are what
make people accomplish amazing things
and beliefs are what hold people back so
what does this have to do with education
what does this have to do with education
everything as a community college
president I’m very concerned about what
our students believe because those
beliefs are the difference between
what our students believe to be true
about themselves matter so what does
this have to do with education
everything every educator teacher
administrator librarian custodian anyone
who works in education should ask
themselves this one question are you a
belief maker or a belief breaker and
again I ask why does this matter I am so
concerned with what our students believe
because I want them to be successful but
I’m very concerned about what kind of
experience we create for our students
that creates healthy beliefs do we
create experiences that help them know
what it means to be successful do we
create experiences that help them
realize how to overcome adversity and
challenge our nation’s community
colleges attract some of the grittiest
students and higher ed that you’ll ever
meet
and if you work in a community college
you know these students
you know them because they never miss a
class you know them because they do the
best work they show up on time they
graduate on time with a 4.0 and they do
all of that with the odds stacked
against them they may be working
multiple jobs to put themselves through
school they may be raising children
alone as a single parent they seem to
use their adversity to fuel their
determination so what did they believe
and how have their experiences created
those beliefs we also attract some other
kinds of students students who secretly
wonder do I belong here they show up
looking for confirmation of that belief
and it doesn’t take much for them to
confirm their beliefs one of the most
common experiences our students have in
community colleges that confirm that
belief as they test into a developmental
class but if they do make it into a
class you know these students they sit
at the back of the class they don’t make
eye contact and they pray the teacher
doesn’t call on them so why are they
where they are what experience did they
have that created these beliefs it could
be that they never had a positive
academic experience in their whole life
maybe they were embarrassed at school
because they couldn’t read or spell as
well as classmates maybe they were told
indirectly or directly you’re not
college material or maybe simply they
just didn’t have parents who went to
college
so what happens when these students hit
a challenge in the college setting is
they confirmed their belief they quit
and that is not our desired result we
also attract these students these
students had some academic success they
didn’t have to work very hard at it when
they were in bed mom and dad just made
sure that a few tweaks on the science
project just made it just a little bit
better or while they were sleeping they
just edited the paper just a bit they
may have been told all their lives
you’re so smart
probably earned a trophy for
participating in a sport in which they
did not excel and so what do they
believe maybe mom and dad even lawn
mowed in front of them all their lives
to remove any hurdles any challenges any
any barriers to a boy their feelings
getting hurt so when these students show
up in college and they experience a
challenge it blows their mind
they’ve never failed before they’re
smart they’re talented so for example
let’s say I’m just making up a name
Sarah it’s a D on a math test bursty
she’s ever made in her life
instead of taking accountability and
being responsible perhaps she never went
to class maybe she never turned in her
homework and instead of going to talk to
the instructor what does she do she
calls mom mom calls me
and mom tells me something must be wrong
with that faculty member because she’s
never failed before what happens
Sarah transfers to another institution
takes her beliefs with her not the
outcome that we want so as we talk about
beliefs there are some things I want you
to know that I believe I believe very
very much that community colleges are
uniquely situated to change the
narrative from can’t – can I believe
it’s really not about finishing college
at all
it’s about equipping our students for as
long as we have them for life after
college college is hard but life whoo
that’s a little harder so our students
may not know what beliefs they hold or
they may not label them as beliefs so
one of the first things we can do as
educators is to help them identify the
beliefs they do hope secondly we need to
know what beliefs we want them to hold
about the institution about what it
takes to be successful in college and
about themselves what I want students at
Lone Star College Tomball to believe is
that we care about you and we want you
to learn and to grow I want you to
believe that you belong here and I want
you to know it’s going to get tough and
there are going to be challenges and
we’re here to help you but it’s your
responsibility to do your part
so the beliefs I want students to hold
about what it means to be successful in
college challenges and being challenged
are good things and challenges can be
overcome it’s okay to quit if
something’s not working and you need to
take a different route it’s okay to have
to work hard to understand something how
you pursue your goals should have a
positive impact on you and those around
you and pursuing worthy goals takes time
and it takes effort with healthy beliefs
about growth resilience instinct and
tenacity you can transform talent into
potential and adversity into achievement
now what do I want students to know also
about themselves your intelligence and
it doesn’t matter how smart you are how
rich you are what your family background
is hard work and grit overcomes all of
that your future is not limited by your
past history or your current
as we think about these beliefs and the
ones we want our students to hold about
our institutions about success and about
themselves we have to think about the
experience everything matters the first
time the student shows up at this
college campus it matters the
registration process and that experience
it matters what happens in the classroom
it matters and all of that together
creates this experiences that are going
to create beliefs so how can we create
meaningful intentional purposeful
beliefs to create experiences for our
students that create beliefs that lead
to action that lead to results when we
think about that then we can answer the
question are you a belief maker or a
belief breaker thank you very much [Applause]
one of the most recognized beloved
believed in icons of American culture so
how does children begin to believe in
Santa Claus they had an experience
created primarily by their parents
perpetuated by society stories are told
movies are made he’s at the mall he
shows up at special events pictures are
taken
who wouldn’t believe in Santa Claus and
as believers in Santa Claus
children behave better during Christmas
time they may talk back less they may
get along with their siblings a little
better all because they want something
they want to stay on the good list and
off Santa’s naughty list they also go to
sleep early on Christmas Eve with just a
little bit of nudge because they want
one thing presents lots of presents
so hopefully the same process they used
to believe in him in the first place
through an experience so as children get
older maybe a friend at school tease for
still believing in Santa Claus maybe an
older sibling revealed where the
presents were hidden maybe a sneak peek
down the stairs on Christmas Eve cut mom
and dad in the act of putting presents
under the tree
or maybe the mall Santa just had a
really bad beard whatever the experience
was that experience created a new belief
and now so much Santa’s naughty list
you don’t get much play from that it’s a
simple example of a powerful concept our
experiences drive our beliefs beliefs
influence action
and actions drive results results create
a new experience and the cycle continues
but beliefs beliefs are so powerful
beliefs are catalyst beliefs are what
make people accomplish amazing things
and beliefs are what hold people back so
what does this have to do with education
what does this have to do with education
everything as a community college
president I’m very concerned about what
our students believe because those
beliefs are the difference between
what our students believe to be true
about themselves matter so what does
this have to do with education
everything every educator teacher
administrator librarian custodian anyone
who works in education should ask
themselves this one question are you a
belief maker or a belief breaker and
again I ask why does this matter I am so
concerned with what our students believe
because I want them to be successful but
I’m very concerned about what kind of
experience we create for our students
that creates healthy beliefs do we
create experiences that help them know
what it means to be successful do we
create experiences that help them
realize how to overcome adversity and
challenge our nation’s community
colleges attract some of the grittiest
students and higher ed that you’ll ever
meet
and if you work in a community college
you know these students
you know them because they never miss a
class you know them because they do the
best work they show up on time they
graduate on time with a 4.0 and they do
all of that with the odds stacked
against them they may be working
multiple jobs to put themselves through
school they may be raising children
alone as a single parent they seem to
use their adversity to fuel their
determination so what did they believe
and how have their experiences created
those beliefs we also attract some other
kinds of students students who secretly
wonder do I belong here they show up
looking for confirmation of that belief
and it doesn’t take much for them to
confirm their beliefs one of the most
common experiences our students have in
community colleges that confirm that
belief as they test into a developmental
class but if they do make it into a
class you know these students they sit
at the back of the class they don’t make
eye contact and they pray the teacher
doesn’t call on them so why are they
where they are what experience did they
have that created these beliefs it could
be that they never had a positive
academic experience in their whole life
maybe they were embarrassed at school
because they couldn’t read or spell as
well as classmates maybe they were told
indirectly or directly you’re not
college material or maybe simply they
just didn’t have parents who went to
college
so what happens when these students hit
a challenge in the college setting is
they confirmed their belief they quit
and that is not our desired result we
also attract these students these
students had some academic success they
didn’t have to work very hard at it when
they were in bed mom and dad just made
sure that a few tweaks on the science
project just made it just a little bit
better or while they were sleeping they
just edited the paper just a bit they
may have been told all their lives
you’re so smart
probably earned a trophy for
participating in a sport in which they
did not excel and so what do they
believe maybe mom and dad even lawn
mowed in front of them all their lives
to remove any hurdles any challenges any
any barriers to a boy their feelings
getting hurt so when these students show
up in college and they experience a
challenge it blows their mind
they’ve never failed before they’re
smart they’re talented so for example
let’s say I’m just making up a name
Sarah it’s a D on a math test bursty
she’s ever made in her life
instead of taking accountability and
being responsible perhaps she never went
to class maybe she never turned in her
homework and instead of going to talk to
the instructor what does she do she
calls mom mom calls me
and mom tells me something must be wrong
with that faculty member because she’s
never failed before what happens
Sarah transfers to another institution
takes her beliefs with her not the
outcome that we want so as we talk about
beliefs there are some things I want you
to know that I believe I believe very
very much that community colleges are
uniquely situated to change the
narrative from can’t – can I believe
it’s really not about finishing college
at all
it’s about equipping our students for as
long as we have them for life after
college college is hard but life whoo
that’s a little harder so our students
may not know what beliefs they hold or
they may not label them as beliefs so
one of the first things we can do as
educators is to help them identify the
beliefs they do hope secondly we need to
know what beliefs we want them to hold
about the institution about what it
takes to be successful in college and
about themselves what I want students at
Lone Star College Tomball to believe is
that we care about you and we want you
to learn and to grow I want you to
believe that you belong here and I want
you to know it’s going to get tough and
there are going to be challenges and
we’re here to help you but it’s your
responsibility to do your part
so the beliefs I want students to hold
about what it means to be successful in
college challenges and being challenged
are good things and challenges can be
overcome it’s okay to quit if
something’s not working and you need to
take a different route it’s okay to have
to work hard to understand something how
you pursue your goals should have a
positive impact on you and those around
you and pursuing worthy goals takes time
and it takes effort with healthy beliefs
about growth resilience instinct and
tenacity you can transform talent into
potential and adversity into achievement
now what do I want students to know also
about themselves your intelligence and
it doesn’t matter how smart you are how
rich you are what your family background
is hard work and grit overcomes all of
that your future is not limited by your
past history or your current
as we think about these beliefs and the
ones we want our students to hold about
our institutions about success and about
themselves we have to think about the
experience everything matters the first
time the student shows up at this
college campus it matters the
registration process and that experience
it matters what happens in the classroom
it matters and all of that together
creates this experiences that are going
to create beliefs so how can we create
meaningful intentional purposeful
beliefs to create experiences for our
students that create beliefs that lead
to action that lead to results when we
think about that then we can answer the
question are you a belief maker or a
belief breaker thank you very much [Applause]
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