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![Motivational Speaker Eric Thomas’s Address to High School Gets Intense [VIDEO]](https://victorygirlsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/iu-1-4.jpeg)
The nation has been mesmerized by the confrontations between the Republican presidential candidates for several months.
Now a confrontation of a different sort that occurred in St. Louis last month is just now going viral.
Dr. Eric D. Thomas is a black motivational speaker whose success story is an inspiration for anyone of any race. Born in Chicago and raised in Detroit, Thomas dropped out of high school after an argument with his mother and lived homeless for two years. Meeting a preacher during those homeless years changed Thomas’s life, and he eventually graduated from Michigan State University in 2015 with a Ph.D. in Education Administration. He now gives motivational speeches and produces videos and books.
Thomas charges anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 as a motivational speaker for corporate groups, but will speak for free to juvenile detention centers and underachieving high schools.
It was at Vashon High School in St. Louis that Thomas was interrupted several times by noisy and inattentive students. That’s when things got real:
You got the nerve to act the fool when somebody cares about you? You’re talking when I’m talking. Do you know that if I go to a Jewish school, those kids are quiet. If I go to a white school, those kids are quiet. If I go to a Latino school, those kids are quiet. The only kids that disrespect me are black kids.
That’s it, my own, are the only ones who disrespect me. I work in any other school and they’re taking notes. I come home, you’re talking. You’re capping jokes. You think something is funny. Look how we’re living. Ain’t nothing funny. Ain’t nothing funny y’all.
Here’s the video of the entire incident. It’s worth watching the full eight minutes.
https://youtu.be/NWDTM0rAJCc
Will Dr. Thomas’s speech change the lives of any of those students in St. Louis? There’s no way of knowing, of course, but with people like Eric Thomas in the world to inspire others, there’s always hope that people stuck in dire situations can be propelled to turn their lives around.
Slow clap, Dr. Eric Thomas. Slow clap.
GWB says: They’ve been taught – by culture and by the idiots speaking in their name* – not to respect themselves. The difficulty is that being taught not to respect themselves, they will find it very difficult to hear what this man has to say and to learn from it. They think they are respecting themselves by showing disrespect to others.
(* Sharpton, Jackson, DeRay McKesson, Marissa J. Johnson, Kanye, Cornel West, Daniele Watts, I’m looking at y’all.)
Jacmo says: It is so unfortunate that this story will never make the so-called mainstream media. This one incident, which is seemingly minor in the grand scheme of things, actually illustrates the problem with the education system within the inner city schools throughout our country. Regardless of your upbringing the first thing that should have been taught is discipline. Without it you allow anarchy to reign and once that is allowed all teaching grinds to a halt. We can blame the parents all day long, and yes that is the ultimate problem, and turning a blind eye, which solves nothing, fails the child and hands off the problem to another generation.
School boards must be the leader supporting teachers to take back their classrooms. And it should be the rule starting in kindergarten. Discipline should be the first priority. The child should learn that disruptive behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. The disruptive child is a result of upbringing and unfortunately, probably, drug abuse during the mother’s pregnancy.
We have brought this upon us by allowing generational welfare, and it is not restricted to Black children although LBJ’s Great Society was created mainly for them. By allowing the welfare state to thrive by not giving a helping hand up instead it became the handout program and has failed all those trapped in it. Unfortunately another massive investment with measurable results and accountability of educators is required. However with our civil liberty laws and the cries of the race hucksters, who make a living from crying wolf, would have to be shown that their motives are self serving. And there lies the rub, so to say, and that is why articles like this do not make headlines. Sad, so sad
Valerie says: Thank you Dr. Thomas for loving those kids enough to share the truth — education and work are a privilege, work is a blessing and striving to reach your potential provides the greatest sense of earned pride and self-respect.
I pray that all young people understand this message – each of us is so fortunate to live in America and to have opportunities to reach for our goals and to be part of the dynamic and challenging culture of success …. nothing worth doing is easy, but the journey is always worth the effort …
I have shared this story with several people — Good work Dr. Eric
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