Written by Sophia Malcom, 6th Grader at Dutch Ridge Elementary School

Sergeant Major Weaver, a local veteran and educator, virtually met with me to share his thoughts on how to use growth mindset in our everyday lives. His insight and perspective gave me a lot to write about, and I can’t wait to share it with the Beaver community.

To begin, recently retiring from the military was a gamble, “It was a gamble to retire from the military after 30 years in order to take this position as an instructor at the Beaver Area Middle School/High school.” Sgt. Maj. Weaver had a lot of accomplishments, so leaving the military was hard. Fortunately, he believed in himself and was inspired by the leadership of Sgt. Maj. Gadra, the past instructor at Beaver. Sgt. Maj. Weaver’s kids were close to Sgt. Maj. Gadra because they participated in the program as well. Leaving something so secure and Sergeant Major Weaver moving to a new environment was hard, but he believed in education and helping younger people deal with the stress of today’s world.

This opportunity wasn’t guaranteed. Despite these obstacles, Sgt. Maj. Weaver retired at the end of June 2018 and didn’t get fully hired until September 2018. He believed in himself and this once and a lifetime opportunity, and it was worth the gamble. He could have stayed in the military for another four years, but the position at BASD wouldn’t be there in four years. It was important for him to stay motivated through this process because learning something new after doing something else for so long is hard.

His first year teaching was the 2018-2019 school year, which was a typical experience. Learning an entirely new job and not trying to march in the same boots he was replacing was a challenge. Last year was his second year, and it was going as expected until COVID-19 hit, “It knocked everyone off their axis for a minute.” For Sgt. Maj. Weaver, online learning, where he got his degree, really helped because now with online learning in high school, it was second nature to him. After what happened with COVID-19 last year, he was excited for starting the current school year, but it didn’t start how he thought it would. Even though it still isn’t ideal, it is important for him to stay motivated.

In order to empower his students, Sgt. Maj. Weaver developed an acronym called PUSH. P stands for persistence. In a situation, remaining persistent is important. Committing to something and seeing it through no matter what pays off. U stands for unleashing your potential, “Try to dare to be different.” Everybody is unique and should “Face everything with a teachable attitude.” People of all ages should be open to learning new things. S stands for seconds well-spent. You have to think that time is irreplaceable; you have to live life to the fullest. “It’s worth more than anything.” H stands for heightened sense of well-being. Being prepared for the future, committing to personal goals, having a focused mindset, and keeping your priorities in mind can motivate you to do so much in life.

Essentially, Sgt. Maj. Weaver’s advice is to stick it through, bad times don’t last forever, and we have to remember that when making choices in tough times. After reflecting on this conversation, this is what I could take away from it. First, giving into the pain and sadness affects our lives in a negative way. Bad habits form just as easily as good habits. Second, even in dark times it is very important to stay positive. If we have a positive attitude it could add value to our lives and someone else’s life. Adding value to other people’s lives is very important. “One of the best things we can do as human beings is help each other out.” Finally, not being opposed to learning new things, listening to other people, and understanding their situation is important. Try to add value to people’s lives, give a hand, or just simply listening could help wonders. Everyone has control of themselves to a certain extent. As we all know, we are going to make mistakes, but we can learn from them and become better individuals.

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