Among the most gratifying emails we receive are those from parents who say they’ve given copies of The Go-Giver to their children, and teachers who suggest it to their students. This one, though, goes above and beyond:
We recently heard from Don Gandy, a high school principal in Valparaiso, Indiana, who wrote to our National Marketing Coordinator, Kathy Zader.
Hi Kathy,
I am the principal at Wheeler High School, in Valparaiso, Indiana. I began reading The Go-Giver in early January in hopes of finding a book to give to all of our seniors in the school community (145 seniors in this class). This book truly inspired me to realize, in parable format, the importance of the “Golden Rule.” It was one of those WOW moments that hit me to truly see what is important in life.
My athletic director, Randy Stelter, and I are going to do a team-taught reading of The Go-Giver to all our seniors. We believe that this book will equip our seniors to deeply understand the principles of giving, and we want them to realize the importance of community. We are a public high school of approximately 600 students in grades 9–12. Every year the next senior class will read this book. It is our gift to them as they leave our school.
We would love to have the authors come and speak to our senior class about the book and give them their insights. Please let me know if this is possible and what the fees would be.
Thank you for listening and considering our proposal. Your book has touched several of our faculty members in a positive manner.
Donald L. Gandy, Principal, Wheeler High School
I got in touch with Don, and the upshot is, I will be addressing the Wheeler High School seniors in a few months. (And no, I will not charge a fee — neither John nor I charge speaking fees to schools.)
In subsequent posts, we’ll share some of the encouraging letters we’ve received regarding the progress of Mr. Gandy and Mr. Stelter’s work with the Wheeler High students. In getting to know them, I must tell you that seldom have I known people with a more go-giving spirit than these two men. Isn’t it wonderful to learn of educators who are this devoted to the growth of their students?!
Do you know of any other schools who are teaching the principles contained in The Go-Giver? We’d love to know about it.