They Know Better

One of the things that is becoming clearer to me with each passing day here with BECA: "They know better."

I'd like to think my intentions are good, but most of the time I am only guessing on what will or won't work in our program.

We know that BECA students don't have many financial resources. Many of them (and their families) are just scrimping along. 

That doesn't mean they're dumb!

In fact, the reverse is true.

They are smart. And who knows better about what will work or won't work than them?

If anything -- and this is only speculation -- what may have been missing is that they haven't had many opportunities to exercise their intelligence.

My challenge is to somehow convince them -- yeah, convince them -- that "they do know better."

This isn't such a simple matter. Growing up in their circumstances often means a lack of options and choices. That translates into a lack of opportunities to exercise the intelligence that all of them possess.

We'll start by creating a student advisory council. And take it from there.

First BECA Student Council Meeting, December 2011

And to those BECA students who are using the Google translator and trying to make sense of this narrative, I say to you:

"I believe in you."