2026开年国旗下演讲｜真正的进步，始于“专注当下”

Today, I want to talk about a simple but powerful idea:Performance Through Presence. 

so What does “presence” really mean?

Presence does not mean simply arriving at school at 8:00 a.m.It means that the night before, you finished your homework with intention, you noticed what you didn’t understand, you identified your weak spots, and you walked into school ready to ask questions. Presence does not mean just showing up for every class on your schedule.

It means that when the lesson begins, your textbook is open, your Cornell notes are ready, your pen is in your hand, and your attention is on the lesson in front of you.Presence does not mean sitting quietly and copying what is on the board. It means that when something does not make sense, you pause, you think, and you raise your hand to ask—not because you must, but because you care about understanding. Presence means your mind is here. Not on your phone. Not in the hallway. Not in the next class or the next message.

Think about sports. I know many of you are basketball fans. In the 2018 NBA Finals, with the score tied in the final seconds against the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James created a perfect scoring opportunity. He made the right read, the right decision, and the right pass. His teammate, J.R. Smith, caught the ball. He had a clear chance to shoot or make a play. But he hesitated—because he lost awareness of the moment. Not because of a lack of skill. But because he was not fully present. The game went into overtime. And the team lost.

This moment teaches us something very important: Even the best opportunity means nothing if you are not present. And the same is true in learning. I am the Grade 9 Fire homeroom teacher, and I know that many of you check your GPA every Friday afternoon. And I also know what many of you say afterward:

“Why did my GPA drop this week?”
“How can I improve my GPA?”

So today, I want to share a small secret with you. Do not obsess over whether your GPA is 3.5 or 3.4. That difference is not where real improvement comes from. Instead, do this: Make a simple list. Put your strongest subject on one side, and your relatively weaker subject on the other.

First, compare how much real time you spend on homework for each subject. And by real time, I do not mean how long you sit at your desk. Real time means focused time. If you sit there all morning, staring at your homework while your mind is somewhere else, that counts as zero time.

Second, compare how present you are in class for these two subjects. How much real attention do you give? How often are you thinking, listening, and engaging? I guarantee you this: you will find a huge difference.

And that difference— not talent, not luck, not GPA itself— is where real improvement begins.

Lastly, I want to talk about Grade 8 Jacky—one of my favorite students. Last year, Jacky was often all over the place. In my math class, he struggled to stay focused, and his performance did not reflect his ability. But this year, something changed. This year, Jacky started to care about his learning. He began to spend time—real time—on math. Not just sitting in front of the homework, but focusing, thinking, and engaging with the material. And let me be very clear: Jacky has always been capable. He performs very well in language-based subjects such as ESL and ELA, which tells me something important— he has the ability to learn, to think, and to succeed. Last year, he did not perform—not because he couldn’t, but because he was not fully present. This year, he is present.
And this year, he is doing well.

That is the difference. If you know Jacky, or if you are curious about his change, go and ask him what happened from last year to this year. I’m sure he will be willing to share his story. I hope you take something away from my speech today.

And I wish all of you a great 2026. Thank you.

今天我想和大家分享一个朴素却强大的理念——专注当下，成就表现。

那么，“专注当下”究竟意味着什么？它不意味着你只是早上8点踏进学校，而是意味着前一天晚上，你有意识地完成了作业，留意到自己不理解的内容，找到了自己的知识薄弱点，并且带着准备提出的问题走进校园。

它不意味着你只是按课表出现在每一节课上，而是意味着当课堂开始时，你的教科书已经翻开，康奈尔笔记已经就位，笔握在手中，你的注意力全然集中于眼前的课堂。它不意味着你安静坐着、机械抄写板书，而是意味着当遇到不理解的内容时，你会停顿、会思考、会举手提问——不是因为你被要求这样做，而是因为你真正在乎是否理解。专注当下，意味着你的心就在这里。不在手机上。不在走廊里。不在下一节课或下一条消息中。

想想体育比赛。我知道你们很多人是篮球迷。2018年NBA总决赛最后几秒，骑士队与勇士队战平，勒布朗·詹姆斯创造了一个完美的得分机会。他做出了正确的阅读防守、正确的判断、正确的传球。队友J.R.史密斯接到了球，他本有清晰的投篮或处理球机会，但他犹豫了——因为他丢失了对当下的觉察。不是因为缺乏技术，而是因为他没有全然专注当下。比赛进入加时，球队最终失利。这一刻教给我们非常重要的一课：如果你没有专注当下，再好的机会也毫无意义。

学习也是如此。我是九年级Fire班班主任，我知道很多同学每周五下午都会查看自己的GPA。我也常听到你们随后说：“为什么这周GPA下降了？”“怎样才能提高GPA？”今天，我想分享一个小秘密：不要纠结于你的GPA是3.5还是3.4，真正的进步不来自这点差异。请试着这样做：列一个简单的清单，一边写上你最强的科目，另一边写上相对较弱的科目。

首先，比较你实际花在两门科目作业上的时间。注意，我说的“实际时间”不是坐在书桌前的时间，而是专注的时间。如果你整个上午坐在那里，眼睛盯着作业，心思却飘向别处，那相当于零时间。

其次，比较你在两门课上的专注程度：你投入了多少真正的注意力？你有多少时间在思考、倾听、参与？我向你们保证：你会发现巨大的差异。而真正的进步起点，正是来自这个差异——不是天赋，不是运气，也不是GPA数字本身。

最后，我想说说八年级的Jacky——我曾经非常欣赏的学生。去年，Jacky常常心不在焉。在我的数学课上，他很难保持专注，表现也未能反映他的真实能力。但今年，有些事改变了。今年，Jacky开始在乎自己的学习。他开始在数学上投入时间——真正专注的时间。不是仅仅坐在作业前，而是专注、思考、深入理解学习内容。我要特别说明：Jacky一直很有能力。他在ESL、ELA等语言类科目表现优异，这恰恰说明——他拥有学习、思考和取得成功的能力。去年他未能发挥，不是因为他做不到，而是因为他没有完全专注当下。今年，他做到了专注当下。今年，他表现得很好。这就是差异所在。

如果你认识Jacky，或者好奇他的改变，不妨去问问他，从去年到今年发生了什么。我相信他会愿意分享自己的故事。

希望今天的演讲能带给你们一些启发。祝愿大家2026年一切顺利。

刘昱辰 Sam

深圳市博纳学校G10学生

Do you struggle with studying?

I suppose most of us would answer yes.

Many of us blame talent or hard circumstances. That’s understandable, but there are things that we can’t change in this world – we don’t become Albert Einstein, and life won’t be easier just because you’re having a hard time.

There are things that we can change though – which is simple – just be there. Be there when you’re in class, be there when you have to work, and be there when you are dealing with things that are important to you.

Being there might sound simple. But when I say “to be there”, Being there isn’t just physical — it’s putting your mind fully in the moment, nowhere else. 

You might ask: what does that mean, exactly? It means that you don’t chitchat with your desk mate, you don’t sleep, you don’t think of your crush, or think of anything that is not here.

I understand it’s not an easy thing to do – we all have problems. In fact, even though I’m standing there, I can’t always be focused in class or when working.But that also makes me a perfect sample. I observed, in classes that I actually was fully there, I perform better, in classes that my mind flies away, I perform worse than I should.

Believe me, this is not an isolated case. I’ve studied and worked with many of you, and there’s strong evidence that focused people perform better than distracted ones. I’ve seen talents who wasted their talents through distraction; I’ve also seen normal people shine just by lending their hearts and minds at the right time.

Think back, it’s not a hard thing to do either – it’s just distributing time and attention. When you have to study, focus on studying; whenever you don’t need to work, do whatever you want without worrying about studies. Instead of spending extra time on trying to understand a lesson afterwards, understand it in the first place.

Some useful practice that I used include – Getting enough sleep, as you can’t focus while being exhausted; Set short-time goals and push yourself to it; whenever you’re distracted, drag yourself back; Isolation from phones and computers – they are the biggest distractions we have; And, after all, choosing courses that you’re interested in – it comes with natural focus.

In the end, this is not asking you to become an overworked book nerd. It’s in fact – a trade – better grades and more free time - in exchange for focused attention while you work. To anyone who wish to make a difference in the new year of 2026, I wish you to try this practice – focus what you’re doing right now, and don’t get distracted. I won’t say it’s the easiest thing to do, but it’s definitely worth it.

你是否为学习而苦恼？

我想大多数人都会回答是的。我们常把问题归咎于天赋或困境，这可以理解——毕竟世上有些事无法改变，我们成不了爱因斯坦，生活也不会因为你的艰难就手下留情。

但有些事是我们可以改变的，其实很简单：就在那里。上课时就在那里，学习时就在那里，处理重要事务时就在那里。

"就在那里"听起来简单，但我所说的不仅是身体在场——更是将心神完全置于此刻此地。这意味着不闲聊、不走神、不犯困、不神游天外，只想眼前事。

我深知这并不容易，人人都有烦心事。即便身为讲述者，我也无法始终在课堂或工作中保持专注。但正因如此，我成了最佳例证：那些全神贯注的课，我学得更好；那些心猿意马时，本可以掌握的知识也溜走了。

请相信这绝非个例。在与诸多同学共处的时光里，专注者表现更优是颠扑不破的真理。我见过天才因分心陨落，也见过凡人因全情投入而闪耀。

回想起来，这其实也不难——不过是分配时间与注意力。该学时倾注全力，该玩时纵情享受。与其事后补课，不如当下领悟。

对我有效的实践包括：保证充足睡眠，疲惫时无法专注；设定短期目标并自我鞭策，分心时及时拉回；隔离电子设备——它们是最强干扰源；选择真正感兴趣的课程，专注自会随之而来。这并非要求你成为死读书的呆子，而是一场交易——用专注工作换取更优成绩与更多自由时间。

致所有想在2026年做出改变的你：试着在此刻聚焦眼前事，不被杂念干扰。我不敢说这是最轻松的事，但它绝对值得。