At-risk kids struggle with many of our principles when they first start the T1L1 program. From Compassion to Respect to Humility, they are all hard to master for a kid challenged by everyday activities such as school, sports, relationships with family and friends, and work. At Teach One to Lead One, we use the core principles to teach at-risk kids how to live their lives more positively.

Excellence is one of the principles that’s often forgotten and is both easy and difficult to learn. Once an at-risk kid figures out that excellence can become part of their life, things start to turn around for the better and they find that they have talents in a lot of different areas.

At T1L1, we teach at-risk kids what they’re really good at along with things they need to improve upon. Often, kids are self-conscious when assessing their strengths and weaknesses, yet given the chance to figure out where they want to go in life, at-risk kids thrive. Through mentoring and learning principles like excellence, at-risk kids gain a ton of confidence and aren’t afraid to ask for help or feedback from mentors when they really need it.

Excellence is a principle worth making a habit

Excellence is defined as “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.” It is also used in setting standards in performance. At T1L1, we want at-risk kids to make excellence a big part of their lives. Using it should become a habit that’s applied to almost everything they do, especially areas that need work like grades, studying and learning to get along with parents.

Excellence is a principle that should never be forgotten. If you are a T1L1 mentor, how have you taught your kids the principle of excellence? We’d love to know.