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From The National President:
American Education Week
Message
 Greetings,
Observing American
Education Week is a tradition that keeps us reminded that children
are our most important resource. Into our schools walk the future of
our nation. Into our schools walk the best that parents have to
send. Children are a life long investment, an insurance policy that
never elapses. They are the most vital and most exhaustive resource
the world has. We begin at home, where history begins, to teach them
respect, values, courage, character, and principles. Believe in
them, invest in them, and praise them.
To ensure our children
receive the best education possible, we seek the best schools with
the best teachers, knowing that children’s formative years set the
stage for their future. We must keep them motivated and engaged.
Train them while they are young and teach them well. Employ
interventions that challenge and invoke. Children imitate and it is
our duty and our responsibility to model behavior through precept
and example whether at home, in church or in our community. What is
essential is “how” we do it. Be aware that children live up to
expectations. If we expect much, we get much; if we expect nothing,
we get nothing. The call is URGENT.
It is our bountiful
duty as leaders to impress upon young minds that education is a
lifeline and it is the final answer if they are to succeed in life.
Education is power, and the surest way to achieve this power is to
stay in school. This should be a law enforced without hesitation.
Teachers cannot do it all. In many instances, parents have come to
expect more and more from teachers and less and less from
themselves. We as a cooperative force must set standards in
preparing our children and not accept anything less than the best
from them. Get serious. Challenge them. Teach them that a quality
education is a must; that it is not only a priority, it is to be
expected. This should be a national law. With the existing climate
of diversity throughout the nation, teach them the computer, teach
them a second language, and, of utmost importance, teach them values
and how to become leaders.
As we train these young
minds, we are to assure them that every opportunity should be their
opportunity. As a role model, liken yourself to the image portrayed
in the story of an old man who built a bridge to cross a chasm. A
critic asked the old man why he wasted his time building a bridge,
as “you’ll never again pass this way.” But the critic didn’t put off
the old man. He told him, “I am building the bridge because
youngsters must pass this way. Good friend, I’m building the bridge
for them.” The truism is that it takes all of us working together to
connect and reconnect for our children. This is reality.
Sisterly with love,
Doris
Doris Browning Austin,
Ph.D.
20th National President
Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.
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