Empowering Educators. Message-Bringing out the Best in You!

For our 25-26 academic school year, Mr. Rico Sharp. Thank you, thank you. Good morning. Can we give thanks to Mr. Orlando Norwood? Amen. What a wonderful leader that we have here at this school. As featured by Mr. Rico Sharp, I was here last year talking with you guys and had a wonderful time, and I'm back, and I'm back to celebrate your success. I understand that last year when I came, that you guys were a C-rated school working to become a B-grade school, and Mr. Norwood informed me that you succeeded in becoming a B- at your school. Oh wow, we have to do a whole lot better than that. You have a reason to celebrate. You have a reason to be excited. You have a reason to really feel good about your accomplishment because you did something outstanding, and it's been a long time since this school has made that type of advancement. But before I get into what I want to share with you today, I'm going to ask you to do something for me. If you would stand to your feet and look at somebody. I know you've got some grits and eggs on your stomach and you want to enjoy sitting still for a minute, but we do have— we did this last year and it's called affirmation. And so I'm going to ask you to look at somebody and tell them, you have greatness on your life. You can do all things. There is nothing that we can't accomplish. There is nothing that we can't achieve together. We are striving for excellence. We are striving for greater. And today we're going to bring out the best in us. And here's the thing, you matter. You matter. I matter. I matter. Teachers' lives matter. Teachers' lives matter. And I speak on your behalf. That your best is yet to come. Now give yourself a round of applause. All right, thank you. You may be seated. You may be seated. I want to talk to you today about bringing out the best in you. Bringing out the best in you. What does it mean to bring out the best in you? It means to first of all discover what potential you have inside that you've not yet tapped into. It means to take a deep, intimate, and personal look inside and to ask yourself this question: am I giving my all? Am I doing my best? Am I operating at the peak of my potential? That's right. and the capacity of my potential? Am I really allowing for my gifts and my talent to be extrapolated? Am I really pouring my all into my assignment here at Jones High School? Or am I holding back something? Am I giving 50% of what I have to offer? Am I giving 75% of what I have to offer? Years ago, we used to sing this song called 99 Bottles of Beer. And a half won't do. Anybody familiar with that song? All right. And sometimes as educators, we find ourselves going the distance to what is expected of us. I travel around and I speak to people all around the world, and one of the things that I have found, particularly in the educational industry and the corporate industry, is that most people work just enough to keep from getting fired. That's right. And it's paid just enough that people quit. Sometimes we find a medium, a sweet spot, a comfort zone where we begin to operate at 75%, 85%, 95%, and we tend to hold back on that 5%, that 10%, or whatever that percentage is that we're not really giving. And we have our reasons, and our hearts and minds will justify it. But when it comes down to moving from a B school to an A-rated school, 75%, 85%, 95%, 99.5% won't do. This is the moment, this is the time where you have to really dig deep and bring everything out of you that you have within you. The good book says that a good man or a good woman from the good treasures of their heart Bring forth good things. What good thing is it that you have inside of you that this school has yet to learn about you? What is that potential? What is that talent? What is that gift, that uniqueness, that creativity, that authenticity that you possess on the inside that is your most intimate treasure, your most fulfilling treasure? What is that that you're holding back on them? What is that? That can make the difference between this school going from being a B-rated school to an A-rated school. And I say to you that bringing out the best in you is not something that happens in a comfort zone. It's not even something that happens at the snap of a finger. It's something that has to be intentional. It's something that has to be planned. You have to be diligent about it. It requires sacrifice. It requires sacrifice. It requires for you to work hard. It requires for you to put in some overtime in your extrapolation. It requires for you to continue to look inside and learn more about you that perhaps you don't know about yourself. One of the traps or temptations that educators fall into, and I want you to hear me very clearly on this, It's because we come to educate others, our focus and our spectrum sometimes moves from ourselves in terms of continual development. But in order for you to bring out the best in others, you have to continue to develop you. You have to continue to develop you personally. You have to continue to develop you professionally. That's right. And you have to continue to develop you interpersonally. And you have to focus on making sure that you continue to educate yourself, to empower yourself, to inspire yourself, to inform yourself, so that you can have more and more and more to give to those you are educating. There's going to be times where you're going to need to do something that requires you to improve you, that is not a part of your job requirement, that you're not going to get paid for. But if you invest in you and continue to support you and build you up, the more you put in you, the more you will have to bring from within. Don't lose focus on why you're trying to educate others, that you're continuing to educate you. Because the more you have to give, the more you'll be able to give. As you continue to educate others and you If you cease from educating you, eventually your students learn and you stop learning, and eventually you lose your momentum of being able to inspire others. You almost become irrelevant. When everyone else is learning and growing and being inspired, if you're still stuck in the same place you were 2 years ago, if you're still in the same place you were 3 years ago when you came to this school, then you're beginning to lose your momentum. And I want to inspire you today to continue to focus on building you up. Why? Because you matter. What you do, who you are, what you bring, what you teach, how you relate to others— you matter. And I understand that it gets tough sometimes because as teachers you have to set aside a lot of what you desire to do personally for the purpose of making sure that you're effective in inspiring your students. Sometimes you have to come to work early. Sometimes you have to stay late. Sometimes you have to prepare teachers' conference. Sometimes you have to have the students stay after so you can speak with them. Sometimes you have to go home and put your children to the side and your marriage to the side and cooking and stuff like that to the side while you do homework just to try to keep up with what's going on at work. And I understand that you can get frustrated, you can get tired, you can get stressed, you can be under pressure, but I need you to know that you're making a sacrifice that is going to raise up a new generation of leaders. You're raising up the next governor. You're raising up and you're inspiring and you're educating the next president of the United States of America. And you'll be surprised just how much you can make a difference in the lives of others when you really go full force and give your all. What are we doing this year in the '25-'26 school year? We're taking this school from a B-rated school to an A-grade school. And I want to ask you this question. Yes, go ahead. And I want to ask you this question, and I want you to answer it as you answer it genuinely and sincerely. Do you believe in you, that you have what it takes to make this school an A-grade school? Do you believe in the person sitting next to you? Do you believe in your colleagues? Do you believe in the other people that they have what it takes to take this school from being an A-rated school? Do you believe that we can do it? If you believe that we can do it, say, yes, we can! Yes, we can! Will we do it? Yes, we will! It's going to require more than just a conviction. It's going to require more than just inspiration. During those moments where you get frustrated, you feel like you've had enough, you can't take it anymore, I need you to dig a little deeper. And those moments where the student gets in your face and disrespects you, I need you to dig a little deeper. I need you to not allow for your vision to become blurry by the stress and the frustration of the job and the duty that you were sworn into. Perform. I need you to always keep a clear mind about what it is that you're working on. What is your end goal? What is your objective? What are you trying to accomplish? Together we achieve excellence. Together we inspire nations. Together we can raise our children. Together we can make Jones High School an A-rated school. Together! I say to students when I talk to students and I ask them, what, what is, what's your grade? What kind of grades are you making? And if they say, I'm making D's right now, I say, well, if you can make a D, you can make a C. You're just one step away. And then when some say, well, I'm making C's on my report card, I say, well, if you can make a C, you can make a B. You're just one step away. And then when some say, I'm making B's on my report card, I say, if you can If you can make a B, you can make an A! And I came here today to say to all of the educators at Charles High School that if you can make a B, you can make an A! Come on, shout it again! We can do it! We can do it! We will do it! We will do it! No, no, no, that's not good enough. That's not good enough. Come on, let me hear from your heart. We can do it. We will do it. By the end of the year, it is done. There are certain principles. There are certain practical applications that you can apply to going from a man of peace. to becoming an ASU. Number one, focus on the one in front of you. Before you can bring out the best in others, you have to bring out the best in yourself. But when you bring out the best in yourself, you begin to direct that energy and that knowledge and that education and the love that you have toward the one that's in front of you. And when you do that, you don't just see a student You see a person, you see a life, you see a soul, a soul that needs you, a soul that is dependent and relying on you. As I said before, you're a surrogate mother and surrogate father to a lot of these kids, and they're looking to you not just for education but for inspiration. They want to know that you care about them. They want to know that you love them. And one of the things that I have found when I go into leadership workshop for educators is that most educators, they lead with their brain, with their mind, with their education, and they leave their hearts at home. But you're dealing with a generation of students that can tell the difference when you are relating and having dialogue with them from your mind versus your heart. People know, just like you know. You know when you're communicating with people If they're being genuine and sincere with you. The first practical application is that you have to see them not just as a student, but as a person, as a soul, as a future. And the second one is that you have to lead with your heart. You have to put your heart into what you're doing. And if you're doing it half-heartedly, well, 50% won't do. That's right. 75% won't do. 99.5% won't do. You have to engage your entire heart. Not just do it from your degrees, but do it from your passion. No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. You're here to build people To build souls, to build these students until they're able to build themselves. People that I'm most grateful for in my life outside of my parents are the educators who took the time to look beyond my frustration, my ignorance, and my immaturity, and saw a soul that they would invest themselves in. And it is for that reason that today I'm traveling the world inspiring others. It is people like you that have taken on this role and this responsibility. And I know there are times that you are overworked and underpaid. I understand that. I wish you made a million dollars a year. But I— I wish I did too. But I want you to work and to put your heart in it as if you're making a million dollars a year. I want you to give to these children as if you're taking up your own kids, because you are! And then thirdly, and this is the final one, thirdly, don't give up. Put up with the resistance. Be tenacious. Use every ounce of resilience you have To make the impact you know you're able to make. Continue to stay in the face of adversity and let adversity know that I am built for this. I am Jones High built for this. I am Jones High ready for this. You see, you are a special school. You're a special educational institution, and you're leading the way. And I want you to understand, the other institutions, they notice what you're accomplishing. They know that you're transitioning from a, from a C to a B, from a B to an A-rated school. They know people's eyes are on you. They are watching you. They have their ears open. And you have an opportunity to lead with inspiration. You have an opportunity to do some things that will change history and change the reputation for this school. And I believe in you. And I want you to believe in yourself. Thank you. And I want you to believe in each other. And when I come back here for the 2026-2027 school year, I want to hear one thing from Mr. Orlando Noble, and that is, Rico Sharp, we did it. We went from being a D-rated school to an A-rated school. Can we do it? Can we do it? Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I am Rico Sharp. Keep your lives mattering. All right, once again, everyone, please give it up for Mr. Rico Sharp one more time, one more time.