Kathy Cox appeared on the Fox TV show, “Are You
Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” and failed to prove that she is smarter
than a fifth grader, despite being the first contestant to take home
the one million dollar top prize.

Technically, she only proved
that she is as smart as a fifth grader, since she answered no questions
above that grade level. But we know she’s smarter, because she had a
plan and a message, and the courage to carry it through that her
political detractors in Georgia don’t have the imagination to conceive
or the guts to carry out.

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Kathy Cox is the Superintendent of
Schools for the State of Georgia. When word got out she would be on the
show, she was publicly criticized; how foolish it would be to risk her
own professional reputation and that of the state school system. After
all, she would be representing by association 140,000 Georgia teachers.
Georgia State Representative Rob Teilhet (D – Smyrna) even ran
advertising DURING THE SHOW criticizing Cox for appearing on TV while
problems persisted in classrooms.

Critics are so worried about
never being wrong, about showing vulnerability and appearing perfect
they can’t conceive their own purpose in humanity. Kathy can. Kathy Cox
is a truly a Trouble Breaker, someone who goes for it and breaks past
trouble because she knows she can. She understood exactly what she
could control on the show, what she could and couldn’t do, and used
that to inspire students (and more than a few adults).

We heard
Kathy say more than a few times, “I’m doing the best I can.” Isn’t that
a great message for students? For us all? And Kathy Cox taught millions
of people that it’s OK to be wrong. She accepted that she might miss a
question and go home empty-handed. She wasn’t afraid to try and keep
trying.

With $500,000 “in the bank” she earned the right to
deliver the Million Dollar Lesson. She was faced with a decision other
contestants had faced before, but they lacked the vision and conviction
of a Kathy Cox. Cox was there for the kids; she had committed to donate
her earnings (it’s demeaning to say to say she “won” the money) to
three Georgia schools. A lesser person would have settled for the
$500,000 and missed the chance to deliver a much more valuable prize.

With
the eyes of millions of young people on her, she proclaimed with force
and conviction, “DON’T DROP OUT OF SCHOOL.” The short-term gains
associated with dropping out pale in comparison to the huge lifetime
rewards of staying in school. Kathy Cox effectively paid $475,000 to
say that — the difference between the $500,000 “in the bank” and the
guaranteed $25,000 she’d keep if she missed the question.

I’m convinced she came into the show with a Million Dollar Lesson Plan to teach us:

- Always do the best you can. That’s all anyone can ask, and that’s always enough.

- Go for it. The worst that can happen is you might be wrong. So what?

- Finish what you start. That includes STAY IN SCHOOL.

That
plan works even without the million dollar question. All through the
show, we saw Kathy Cox go for it and do the very best she could. Yet if
she ever met a question she knew she couldn’t answer, she would prefer
to knowingly fail and go home sans money than drop out of school.

Lucky for us all she made it to the top so more people would listen to her message.

Some
Georgia politicians don’t know now lucky the Peach State is to have
Kathy Cox as Superintendent of Schools. In just one hour, she taught us
all a lesson that is worth far more than a million dollars to the
future of this country. From coast to coast and in every state, we’re
all richer today from her Million Dollar Lesson Plan.

Copyright 2008 Paul Johnson.