Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out (Robert J. Collier)

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Currently, two of my senior English classes are writing a connections report on four texts. They have to find two connecting threads that run through the four texts. The time frame for the work is 6 weeks. We are now in week 4.

It's a big piece of work. To help them do this, I created a few charts for them to complete. The first chart highlights some key areas that COULD lead to those two connections and the second fleshes out the two connecting threads they've chosen for their report.

Both classes are working through those charts and if they spend some time on them each period (small efforts), they will give themselves a real shot at an Excellence grade.

Of course, some students want to leap ahead without doing the groundwork (the small efforts).

To my mind this is a real case of the tortoise and the hare. My money is on those doing the repeated small efforts, day in and day out.

Same thing goes for adults, by the way.