Gunnison Valley Gazette | 2009-06-25 | Page 6

Schools Page 6 The Gunnison Valley Gazette 2A All-State Softball Congratulations to Hailey Allred for being named to the 2A All-state Salt Lake Tribune Softball Team for pitching. Hailey, a senior this past year, is the daughter of Boyd and Annett Allred of Gunnison. Spotlight on Education Sooner or later Hailey Allred Do Your Best by DONALD HILL South Sanpete School District Superintendent Do Your Best is sponsored by: Peterson Refrigeration and Mechanical 550 South Main, Gunnison • 528-3365 Thursday, June 25, 2009 One of life’s cold, hard truths is making a decision that involves sooner or later. When people choose to delay something, it usually indicates that it is only a matter of time before it’s all going to catch up with them. In regards to health, it is things like the late-night snacking; the burgers you grabbed on the go; the fries you had when you should have had something healthier; the soda you had when you should have had water; the gym you were too busy to join; the flight of stairs you were too tired to climb; the habit-forming laziness; the endless excuses, etc. These, and many other poor health choices, all come with a price; and, one day, you’re going to start paying for them. It may come in the form of a massive heart attack that cuts you off way before your time; it may manifest itself in a long, miserable illness; or it may come in a hundred little aches, pains, and internal glitches that will rob you of the Golden Years for which you have worked so hard. The concept of sooner or later applies to numerous decisions in all walks of life: school, family, religion, careers, yard work, house work, love, and education. All of life’s choices provide us with daily situations that cause us to evaluate and determine to do something sooner or later. In the world of education, sooner or later plays a significant roll in the choices made by students. Often these choices include the following: not going to college, not studying for a test, not saying no to drugs, not taking the difficult classes, not doing your own work, not doing your best, not practicing hard, not obeying your parents, etc. These ill-advised educational and life choices, just like the poor health choices, all come with a price that affects one’s life later. To put this in perspec- tive, imagine if I were to walk into a high school and offer the students a check for $500,000, $750,000, or $1.6 million, which check would they choose? I am sure they would all take the $1.6 million. Ironically, in real life though, many of them are actually settling for a check with a lower amount because they have chosen to worry about their education later rather than sooner. The $500,000 ($16,488/ year) actually represents the life-time amount a high school drop out will earn; the $750,000 ($22,437/year) represents the life-time amount a person with a high school diploma will earn; and the $1.6 million ($45,776/year) represents the life-time amount a person will earn with a fouryear college degree. A recent study in Michigan emphasized this shortsighted dilemma by concluding that educational readiness is falling victim to procrastination, not only with high school students, but also with parents. The study determined that students, along with parents, did not have high enough expectations when it came to class selection, posthigh school education, career selection, and life-time goals. Spotlight on Education is sponsored by “ONE SIZE FITS ALL!” Shanelle Winn 85 East Center Street, Gunnison • 528-7161 The one that didn’t get away Kimberly Christenson For more information or to sign up now for classes beginning this school year, please contact Kim. Phone: [phone] Cell: 435-851-2880 265 S. 260 E. Centerfield, UT 84622 [e-mail] What’s your favorite Sub? Kayla Bartholomew Turkey on White with American Cheese BODY BARN 62 South Main Gunnison 435-528-5955 Mon - Sat 5 am - 10 pm Closed Sundays MEMBERSHIP PRICES Single Adult 19 & Older 16 - 18 year old 13 - 15 year old Couples Family (4) 62 & older Adult Day Usage 18 & Younger Day Usage Monthly $25 $15 $10 $40 $50 $15 $4 $2 Yearly $200 $150 $100 $350 $500 $150 On a recent fishing trip eight year-old Jakob Osentowski (left) caught this 18 lb. catfish with 10 lb. test fishing line. Jakob was fishing with his parents Brandon and Kelly Pierce, his brother and sister, Kamryn and Mason and his friend Hunter Swan (right). Jakob is son of Joseph Osentowski and the grandson of Michelle and the late Howard Christiansen, Dave and Linda Osentowski, Robbie and Diane Pierce and Michael and Janice Olsen. Instead, students and their parents were more concerned about having a stress-free, warm, fuzzy feeling about life and education. In some cases, parents were found to provide very little encouragement to their children to take rigorous, challenging courses in high school because they felt the chance of failure was too great, too stressful, and may hurt their possibility of scholarships due to a possible lower GPA. In recent years, public education has taken a lot of criticism for not preparing students for post-high school education; however, some of that responsibility needs to fall back upon the students and parents for not taking advantage of the rigorous, educational opportunities available to them in high school. The bottom line is low expectations help drive low educational achievement. This is making it tough for many students to compete economically later in life. Getting a good education is, and always will be, one of the most important decisions that any of us will ever make. Educational choices that are postponed and made “later” will certainly generate problems “sooner” than expected.