Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Lessons Learned in The Watermelon Field

     A lot of lives are changed in a real estate class.  At First Real Estate School, we graduated another class yesterday.

     In real estate class there is a great variety of students.  There are young folks in their twenties.  Often we have folks well into their sixties.
First Real Estate School in Hendersonville, North Carolina

     Some people come to real estate school for a career change.  Some people just want to earn a few extra bucks.  Some people concentrate on passing real estate school.  Other people have so much other stuff going on in their lives that they barely have time for real estate school.

     It is hard, as an instructor, to know how much effort a student is investing outside of class.  Some students learn well in a classroom.  Some do not.

     As an instructor, I promise my students that I will do my part.  I promise my students that I will present the material that they need to learn.  I can not make learning the four basic kinds of deeds as interesting as your favorite hobby. 

     I often tell a story during the first night of class about my early days working on the farm.  When I was 14 and 15 and 16 years old, I spent my summers working on a farm in Gainesville, Florida.  In June, we loaded watermelons from sun up to sundown.  It was hard work. 

     Watermelons grow on vines like pumpkins.  We would go out in the field and cut the melons from the vine and stack them at the edge of the field in rows.  We would drive a big straight truck down the rows and throw the melons into the truck.  My job was to pick up a thirty pound watermelon and throw it over the sideboards of the truck, about seven feet high.  There was another guy in the truck.  His job was to catch the watermelon that I had thrown and gently, neatly stack it in the truck. This relationship worked fine as long as I did my part of the job and threw the melons high enough for him to catch.  As the day wore on, I became more tired.  Sometimes, I did not quite  throw the watermelons high enough.  That would cause the guy on the truck to have to "reach" down for the watermelon.  It would not take much of that before the guy on the truck would get tired of "reaching".  If the catcher had to "reach" down, it was because the thrower was not doing his job properly.  The catcher would reach for a couple.  Usually about the third one that came up short, he would not reach for it.  That thirty pound melon would come falling on my head. As a thrower, I learned very quickly to do my part of the job.  Do it properly.  The catcher might reach once or twice.  He will not reach forever.

     This is how I feel as an instructor.  I will do my part.  I will do my part properly. 

     If the student is absent from class, I can't throw that high.  If the student won't read the textbook, I can not throw that high.  If the student is distracted with personal problems and "life" , I can't throw that high.  If the student is too busy to do their homework, I can't throw that high. 

     I promise I will do my part.  I will throw the watermelons high enough.  I can not do the student's part for them. 

     Join us in Hendersonville, North Carolina at First Real Estate School.  You can not find an instructor that wants you to succeed more than I do.  I care.  You can tell that I care when you come to class.  Call us at 828 440 1064.  Change your life.  Change your career. www.firstrealestateschool.com 

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