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University of Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl speaks Thursday night at the News Sentinel's Academic Achievers dinner, sponsored by Edamerica, at the Knoxville Convention Center.
Photo by Saul Young
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University of Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl speaks Thursday night at the News Sentinel's Academic Achievers dinner, sponsored by Edamerica, at the Knoxville Convention Center.
East Tennessee's best and brightest high school students were honored for their hard work and success in the classroom Thursday night at the News Sentinel's Academic Achievers awards program and dinner at the Knoxville Convention Center.
The Academic Achievers program, which has honored more than 6,600 students since its inception in 1985, is sponsored for the second consecutive year by Edamerica, a national student loan provider with headquarters in Knoxville.
Keynote speaker Bruce Pearl, the men's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, extolled 311 students from 63 East Tennessee high schools to continue to set and meet great expectations as they make the transition to college and beyond.
"You're the best and the brightest we have and you are literally our future," said Pearl to a crowd of nearly 1,000 people that included students, parents and educators.
"When you go off to school and beyond, don't put a limit on where you set the bar."
Pearl said low expectations were perhaps the biggest obstacle when he took over as UT coach three years ago. The common thought was the Vols were relegated to third place - or worse - in the SEC East behind powers Kentucky and Florida.
Pearl, whose Tennessee team won its first outright SEC title in 41 years this season, said one of his first tasks was to upgrade expectations.
"We're not going to win the SEC championship every year, but we're going to have something to say about it … the SEC championship is going to have to come through Knoxville."
Thursday's honorees have accomplished much as their high school careers come to an end.
Morristown East High School valedictorian Brandi Canter carries a 4.4 grade-point-average, and plans to attend Tusculum College to study mathematics.
"I do everything possible to get the grades I have. I come straight home (from school) and do my homework," said Canter.
Pearl told the students to always do their best and keep their eyes on the prize, but enjoy the ride.
"Be the best you can be at everything you do, but enjoy the process of learning. They say adversity builds character, but I don't believe it. I believe adversity reveals character. … I know no other way to build confidence than through hard work."
That's the philosophy ascribed to by Roane County High School's Chancey Carothers, who sports a 4.12 GPA and plans to major in pharmacy at East Tennessee State University.
"The key to being a good student is just trying and doing your best," said Carothers.
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 19
alfrizzle097 writes:
High achievement should be lauded, but not treated as a remarkable feat. The fact that we look at high performance in the classroom as an anomoly lowers expectations in and of itself.
I attended Roane County High School myself a year ahead of this group of students and Chancey Carothers. The primary problem there is low expectations. The instructors expect little of the students and the students expect little of themselves.
The primary difference between a school like Roane County and, say, Oak Ridge is the expectations. The students' natural abilities are generally equal.
It is nurture, not nature.
SUMMATION: Good job to these students, but don't become complacent.
DandyVol writes:
I guess the grade point average must be on a different scale now. When I went to school, the highest grade point average that could be achieved was 4.0
stumpy writes:
Those GPAs are on a weighted scale. You get high marks for honors and advance placement classes.
SmokyMntHiker writes:
Valedictorian and he's going to Tusculum? That school is one of the worst in this region academically. Not a "smart move" for an apparently bright student.
rayhjenkins writes:
Interesting this is in the "Sports" section. The only connection to sports is the fact Pearl is the Men's Basketball coach.
The focus of the article - and the event - had nothing to do with sports.
jopad#212858 writes:
bflynn has obviously lost sight of what the education system is about!! It is about educating students to prepare them for life, NOT PROVIDING SETTINGS FOR ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT. It is unfortunate so many people place athletics above the education system itself. A national championship in any sport is to be enjoyed, an education with good grades is to be cherished throughout life. bflynn try eliminating sports and see what happens--then try eliminating the education system and see what happens. I am a UT fan (and have been for over 65 years) but I know education is far mor important than sports--in fact I firmly do not believe ANY athletic coach should be paid more than a class room teacher!! A teachers job is far more important than a coach.
wvuvolfan writes:
the article in the KNS paper was in the local section.
vol88 writes:
bflynn2...do you work at the Kingston Pike McDonalds or the one on the strip?
rbromley7#241642 writes:
I would hope that Coach Pearl could improve his group of players so that they would demonstrate some academic achievement. At times, I wondered if they were a smart enough group that could exhibit discipline or skill in having a half court game or at least be able to execute screening skills for their best shooters, especially from the 3-poing range. While we played with the big boys this year, our graduation rate does not come close to others. There are universities that are in he top 20 every year and still manage to have excellent graduation rates. Why can't UT? The women's program seem to meeting that standard.
VOLS85 writes:
rbromley - kudos to you...excellent point
ggriggs939#223122 writes:
It is noteworthy that we have a coach who will stand up and encourage students to work hard to achieve success in the classroom. Many are interested only in the athletic skills of their group. Having Coach Pearl address the group was a good stroke since he is not only articulate, but is honored and respected as a person and in a position that is easily and quickly criticized. We continue to denigrate and destroy our heroes because we lack confidence in ourselves and want to put them and their accomplishments below our own so we feel good about ourselves. We don't want to believe we are building a house of cards.
Without heroes, we have no basis for expectations
in any area of our lives, thus it is great to have Coach step forward and speak to this group. His selection as the speaker was appropriate based on his record of accomplishment in his relationship as a coach and educator of young people.
hcjournals#206623 writes:
Hey itsme......I'm from Memphis, and I resent you trying to represent my city.......Back off, junior and keep it real in Frayser............
TurboFan writes:
I can only think of 6 UTBB players (5 Buzz recruits, 1 CBP) that have finished playing during CBP's tenure. One was dismissed before his first season, two were dismissed before his second season, two graduated, not sure about the last one but he was a transfer thus was in school for 5 years. Anyone with better memory than me?
ggriggs939#223122 writes:
Wimp Sanderson said that every player graduated who wanted to do so.
That generally holds true whoever the student might be. Strict personal discipline is needed to complete the work required for a degree with the exception of the real brains, but many of them do not really apply themselves.
If a player wants to goof off or sandbag during the time he should be studying, it is not the fault of the coach. Coaches are not allowed nowadays to sit in class or arrange for someone to take an exam for a student, at least at UT.
Many are in school just to get a shot at the pros. Some return later when they realize they need a degree to earn a decent living.
It is a mystery why athletes are held to a standard different from the general student population. The average graduation rate of the incoming freshman class is about 35 percent, so anything above that is a plus.
birddogtails#1349595 writes:
I did a quick check between Coach Roy William and Coach Bruce Pearl contract. Williams has a months salary perk if his players meet the student body grad. rate.
bricker865 writes:
ewww...another outsider from Armpit U.
jopad#212858 writes:
bflynn I have never answered a response to one of my posts before but have to respond to your latest telling me to "shut up". I do get a check each month for retirement and for SS. Do you have any idea why---because I went to college, earned my B.A. and M.A, which prepared me to succeed in life and make my senior years financially stable. I owe much of this to teachers and professors who took an interest in their students. I owe nothing to a national championship. The unfortunate thing is there are too many people like you who seem to need national championships or sucessful athletic seasons to make life worthwhile. Understand, sports are a form of entertainment, not a basic need in life. I do feel sorry for people like you who must have their sports teams be the very best in the land in order to find fullfillment in their lives. Kudo's to those who posted here in support of Coach Pearl and his commitment to academics.
bricker865 writes:
itsme....jealously's a female dog isn't it?? Otherwise why would you be here? As far as thugs go, we're not quite there but we're trying to get ourselves up to Mempiss standards.
TurboFan writes:
I didn't acknowledge anything. Where I was going was to show that Pearl got rid of the problems pretty quickly (only one of which did he bring to UT) and two (possibly three, don't know about Patterson) of three graduated.
Calipari has been at Memphis 5 years (what was Memphis grad rate prior to Calipari?). Let's see where Bruce is in two more.
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