Posted 8:36 am Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Former Staff Sergeant Encourages Chapel Hill Students
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Students at W.L. Kissam Intermediate in Chapel Hill ISD were encouraged to have goals and to be respectful of teachers and parents on Tuesday.
Motivational speaker Michael G. Walden of Attitude is Everything, Inc., a former staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, came to the campus and spoke to third, fourth and fifth graders.
At the fifth grade assembly, Walden was introduced and the announcement that he had worked with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson drew a big response from the students.
Walden asked the fifth graders questions about their future, like how many of them would eventually have a job or a home.
That led him to talk about his parents getting divorced and him not wanting to be at school around fifth, sixth and seventh grade.
Eventually, he said he found out that he would have to repeat a grade in school and decided to make adjustments, including his attitude.
"I had to go from a loser attitude (and) bring it up to a winner attitude," Walden told the audience.
Later, he brought students on stage and pretended to be their drill sergeant and even had them sound off with "fine, sir" when asked how they were doing.
He encouraged them to choose good friends, to respect their teachers and parents and to pursue education for whatever they want to do.
"You further your education, you make more money," said Walden.
He also told students that they should not smoke or do drugs.
Toward the end of the assembly, he asked students to stand who needed to improve in some area.
One girl stood and said she needed to work on paying attention and one boy stood and said he needed to work on controlling his mouth.
Walden explained to the students that they were the only ones who could control their attitude.
Some fourth grade students who heard Walden speak earlier had good things to say about the assembly.
"I thought it gave us information," said Nick Payne.
He said he was encouraged to be nice to others and to get good grades.
Additionally, Nick said he had never heard a speaker like Walden and thought it was funny when the speaker acted like a child who was grumpy and didn't want to go to school.
Another fourth grader, Emmanuel Martinez, said he also "learned to be nice to people" at the assembly.
The school has a motivational speaker every year "to help ease that pressure (of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills)," said Assistant Principal Kathy Harris, adding that they have previously had a man from Africa who brought drums and someone from the camp Sky Ranch.
She said counselor Brenda McWilliams had recommendations for Walden from surrounding schools who had heard him speak before.
"She's always on the look for good people," Harris said of McWilliams.
Before the fifth grade assembly began, Walden said he became a motivational speaker because of his troubled childhood.
He said he travels to 28 states, Mexico and Canada and speaks to about 100,000 people each year, including high school students.
"It's been refreshing to be here," said Walden.
Harris said that students at Jackson Elementary got to hear from Walden on Monday and that students at Chapel Hill Middle School will hear him today.
Harris said that students at Jackson Elementary got to hear from Walden on Monday and that students at Chapel Hill Middle School will hear him today.
