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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Speaker David Kohout spoke to Canfield Village Middle School fifth- and sixth-grade students and went up into the audience to make sure he was connecting with the students with his message of ‘You fit in’ and to make sure they understood they were standing in the presence of greatness on Aug. 30.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Speaker David Kohout visited Canfield Village Middle School to relay his message of ‘You fit in’ to fifth- and sixth-graders on Aug. 30.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.While racing to empty toothpaste tubes, two Canfield Village Middle School students helped speaker David Kohout get his message of ‘You can’t put back in what you have already put out’ across to fifth- and sixth-graders on Aug. 30.
By ABBY SLANKER
Canfield Village Middle School students were standing in the presence of greatness on Aug. 30. Speaker David Kohout visited the school to deliver that message to the seventh- and eighth-graders and then the fifth- and sixth-graders and challenged each student to be a difference maker.
Kohout’s presentation, Talk is Cheap, focused on building character, establishing confidence and instilling hope in the lives of young people. Kohout discussed several topics, including responsibility, leadership, friendship and bullying, by stressing a ‘You fit in attitude.’
“Talk is cheap, but the message isn’t. Who will you be in the next 5, 10, 20 years? I challenge you to not quit. You can be part of the problem or part of the solution. My job is to make you part of the solution,” Kohout said as he addressed the fifth- and sixth-graders.
To further his message, Kohout called down two students from the audience and asked them to race to empty a tube of toothpaste into a bowl. When the students were finished emptying the tubes, he then asked them to put the toothpaste back in the tubes.
“OK, now put the toothpaste back in the tubes. Oh wait, you can’t put the toothpaste back in. You can’t put back in what you already put out,” Kohout told the students. “If you put something out there, you need to know you can’t get it back. Chaos equals consequences. Every time.”
For the remainder of his presentation, Kohout focused on the five elements of a relationship: love, trust, respect, understanding and forgiveness.
“We are all ordinary people doing extraordinary things. You need to keep doing the right thing, even when everyone else isn’t,” Kohout said.
Kohout focused on making sure the students understood that it is okay to be different and there’s nothing wrong with them.
“You’re going to be you. There’s nothing wrong with you. You are not dumb just because you can’t do things other kids do. You just do them differently. You are here for a purpose, and so am I. Most of our battles are won and lost in our brains. Repeat after me, There is nothing, nothing wrong with me,” Kohout said.
Kohout founded his company, Talk is Cheap, Inc., in 2006 and has spoken to more than 550,000 students in the United States, as well as internationally.
“I have learned, over all my years speaking to students, that nobody is different. We are all the same,” Kohout said.
To close his presentation, Kohout challenged the students to make a difference.
“What’s your excuse? What happened to you? Why are you so mad? No answer will do for me. Quit whining and get up and make a difference. You are a Cardinal. You fight as the Fighting Cardinals. You are on the team. You need to become the best you can be. You do fit in,” Kohout said.
To further inspire the students, Kohout invited them to pick up a pebble on their way out of the gym to remind them they have a purpose. He also gave each student a rubber bracelet emblazoned with the word Greatness to remind them they are always standing in the presence of greatness.