Speaker inspires West Bank parents

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 3, 2009

By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

EDGARD – Although the crowd may have been a little smaller than he would have liked, author and inspirational speaker Stephen Peters electrified the assembly at West St. John High School.

Principal Erica Merrick got the evening’s agenda rolling with a little homegrown inspiration courtesy of the school’s cheerleading and football squads. She then got down to the meat of the proceeding, introducing Peters as the man who inspired many teachers in the parish prior to the start of the current school year.

“He motivated us so much, we wanted the parents to hear what he had to say, “ said Merrick.

Peters then took the podium and wasted no time driving his point home. He immediately involved the audience using his trademark call of “check?” and spoke about the baggy pants worn by one of the football players.

Referring to the way in which those wearing baggy pants must walk to keep them from falling to their ankles, he said, “They walk like that every day. They get shot every day in Compton (Los Angeles).”

Peters then related teaching his own son that lesson during a speaking engagement he had in Compton. Peters apparently dropped his son off on the roughest street corner in Compton to see if he would be at home with the people he was emulating. Needless to say, his son was not happy when he saw Peters’ limousine driving away and overjoyed when he saw it drive back around the block.

“What I had to do as a parent was bring him back from fantasy into reality,” said Peters.

That story touched on what would become the theme for much of the evening. Peters’ philosophy is one of getting back in touch with today’s youth, and he gave the crowd a number of avenues to pursue that goal.

One of his books is called “Do you know enough about me to teach me?”, and it deals with knowing the needs and talents of each student. He said each student should be valued the same and that it is the responsibility of parents and teachers to create an environment conducive to learning.

He did not let the students totally off the hook, though. His talk also centered on doing things right the first time and self-empowerment.

He told the people about his loving but difficult childhood and the successes of each member of his family, successes brought about by the hard work of both parents and children.

“It is what you put in that will determine what you pull out,” he said by way of summation.

After the talk, the assembled shared a dinner of fried chicken and jambalaya. The community meal seemed a fitting end to the proceedings.