Do Your Job

“Do Your Job.”

It’s about the most famous phrase in New England sports history. 

It’s the mantra that has powered the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl winning seasons.

I say it all the time, but in the school-speak version: “Do your work.”

I know it’s true for my class, but I suspect it’s a universal truth - if you do your work, you’ll get good grades.

When I see students who are not getting good grades in class, it’s almost always because they’re not doing the work. And, it’s usually not because they don’t understand, it’s because they’d rather sit and chat. 

We’re at the end of the first quarter. Report cards come out next week. Your grades are probably just about done. You can ask your teachers about your grade. 

If you’re not happy with the grade, now is a time for some honest reflection. Did you do your work?  Did you finish assignments or just let time slip away until it was too late to complete your work? Did you sit and talk while you should have been working?

It’s not too late to change your approach to school. It’s really pretty simple:

• If you do your work, you’ll get good grades.

If you get good grades, lots of good things happen: Your parents will be proud of you. You’ll be proud of yourself. You’ll have more choices on where to go for high school. You’ll get the better classes in high school…and so on.

• If you don’t do your work, you’ll probably get poor grades. 

If you get poor grades, lots of bad things will happen: Your parents will be on your case. You’ll feel bad about yourself. You’ll have few if any choices on where to go for high school. You’ll get the lower, slower classes…and so on.

Just do your job - do your work.