This is my VLOG that covers a UDL principle and talks about it's application through the venue of technology.

Is success Just a mindset, or are there other factors external or otherwise?

Is success Just a mindset, or are there other factors external or otherwise? 

   Thomas D. Kuczmarski, President and Founder of Kuczmarski & Associates Inc., states in his book that "Innovation is a mindset ‐ a new way to think about business strategies and practice. This thinking drives every aspect of a successful, dynamic organization and penetrates every element of business, creating a clear and enduring vision. Innovative companies are set apart from their competitors and have the potential to fuel future profitable growth and build long‐term investments." He clearly links success with innovation, and innovation with a mindset. He maintains that looking at things from a new perspective allows people to bring entirely new visions to the world and gives value to those folks who are willing to take a leap of open mindedness as they pursue their interests.
   Larry Elder, a lawyer with a successful radio show in California, said in his book that in order to be successful one must "work hard, make sacrifices, focus on education, delay gratification, avoid bad moral mistakes, and maintain optimism". Growing up as a black boy/man in a diverse Latino district during the 1950's, 60's, and 70's, Elder has a unique perspective. He talks about how his dad worked multiple jobs, went to night school to get his G.E.D. and opened his own successful business. This inspired Larry to do the same. He received his Law degree and immersed himself in the world of politics so he could offer his unique view to the world.
   Booker T. Washington, the famous slave turned free black leader, and the famous orator of the Atlantic Exposition, noted that in order to speak in public successfully, one must be so interesting that the audience cannot help but listen. He talks about how people want facts, not fluff, and that if one wants to be a successful public speaker, they must have something of true value and importance to say, else the event will be in vain. He notes that a speaker must must not just see the benefits of what he is saying, but must truly feel and believe in what he is saying.
   Thomas Shapiro, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Brandeis University notes that success is entirely economic. Families who enjoy passed-down wealth (in the form of money and social connections) from previous generations have an automatic leg up towards success. Those without these resources have a cap on their success and do not have a chance to access the world. As a college professor who was born a Latino during the height of racism in America, he knows this first hand, and can back it up statistically. He shows how Black men in particularly suffer from this lack of a kind of safety net, which makes success difficult.

   So what is the verdict? Is success all about mindset? I would argue no. Looking at the men above, it is clear that a similar thread runs through the cloth of success. That thread involves not just mindset, but hard work, a strong moral center, open mindedness, and strong familial and cultural support. Kuczmarski is open minded and always ready to innovate and try new things in a company. Larry Elder has a strong sense of hard work and is not willing to accept his current circumstances as finite and immovable. Booker T. Washington operated from a moral framework that insisted on genuine care for his fellow man. Thomas Shapiro highlights the importance of thinking of future generations so that one's children may benefit rather than thinking for immediate self gratification in the moment. While each of these men highlight and demonstrate strongly one of each of the previously mentioned aspects of success, they all demonstrate every aspect to some degree. One might notice that these men are not locked in ivory towers just spouting off whatever is socially popular in the academic world at the time. They are men who have actually lived lives of overcoming and success. They have seen the benefits and difficulties of successful living first hand. In the context of education, I think the parallel is clear. We need to provide students with a curriculum that encourages hard work, meaning that students are given the opportunity not just to succeed, but to fail and learn to try again. Students need the opportunity to solidify their moral standing through literature, writing, and exploring different philosophies. They need to learn how to be open to different perspectives so that they can look at every situation in life through different lenses. Finally, schools should be communal environments that reinforce the idea of a family. This means that teachers do not just teach students how to read, write, and do arithmetic, they teach them how to serve others, resolve conflicts, and lead their peers. When talking to administrators, we should not tell them what to do and insist that these traits be incorporated immediately! We should simply start by leading by example. If administrations would see our classrooms succeed in developing successful students by implementing these policies, it would help start a movement in the buildings we teach in, and eventually the districts those buildings are apart of. The best refutation of people who think that success is simply a mindset and nothing else, is not to talk their ear off until they just "agree to disagree", but to show them first hand what implementing ALL aspects of success looks like in the context of an education environment. So please, if you agree with me, do not be a self righteous pain in the but, be a leader.

Works Cited

Elder, Larry. Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card-- and Lose. New York: St. Martin's, 2008. Print.

Kuczmarski, Thomas D. Innovation: Leadership Strategies for the Competitive Edge. Chicago Ill.: American Marketing Association, 1996. Print.

Shapiro, Thomas M. The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery: Booker T. Washington. New York, NY: Airmont Pub., 1967. Print.