Cultivating Excellence in our Students

17.07.09

Cool Kids Learn, a provider of academic enrichment programmes to students in the Southeast region of the US, recently hosted a conference themed ‘Cultivating Excellence’ where more than 300 student volunteers and business, government and education delegates were in attendance.

Kim Robinson, Executive Director of the Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP), was invited to give the keynote address at the conference held in May this year in Miami, Florida.

Further to sharing the SSP model with the audience, Kim spoke on the value of cultivating excellence in our students.

Defining excellence as “greatness plus character”, Kim went on to say that excellence was both about brilliance and achievement, in addition to courage, self-love, cross-cultural understanding, compassion, integrity, respect and responsibility.

“A shrinking planet, a more competitive world and complex issues such as global warming, growing inequality, piracy and environmental degradation require superior approaches,” Kim said.

She asserted that “only first-class minds, hearts, and souls exercising wisdom, vision, generosity, determination, honesty and creativity will resolve the fundamental problems we face”.

Kim’s speech offered practical approaches to cultivating excellence: attend to students’ basic material needs, listen to young people, mentor, ask for their opinions, read, affirm young people, expect excellence, demand responsibility, find something a student is good at and encourage the student to flourish, and live a life worth emulating.

The conference was a success for Cool Kids Learn and SSP.

According to Kim, it was an opportunity to share lessons and experiences and expose an audience of US stakeholders committed to academic excellence to SSP’s vision and work.

Please visit www.coolkidslearn.org.

For more information, contact:
Kim Robinson
Executive Director
Student Sponsorship Programme
E-mail: sspsa@nbc.org.za