Although I have poked some fun at Physical Education teachers lately, no one knows better than a Phys. Ed. teacher what the real secret of teaching is.
The secret to teaching in the public schools is really all about being a good public school student. The better your students are the better your teachers are and the better your school becomes.
In sports the better your players are, the smarter your coach becomes. You can change managers all you want until you find the smartest one in the world but he still won’t be able to make the Kansas City Royals win their division, but get better players and hang on to the good ones you’ve got and before you know it you’ve got a championship team.
Good students just like good ball players are developed over time and for a student to be successful it takes that student’s personal commitment to succeed more than it takes another person’s personal commitment to make that student succeed.
That really is all there is to the secret of teaching, and coaching, as well. Certainly good, knowledgeable and dedicated teachers who can show students the way are important but unless their students pay attention, work hard and personally dedicate themselves to succeed, we’re all just on a bad team waiting for the season to end.
I once had a student who came to school every day with a tennis ball. That was it; just he and his tennis ball which he liked to bounce a lot. What do you figure he was thinking or looking to learn? Unfortunately, I was not the tennis coach and the class was not part of the tennis team…of course I took it away (In case you were going to suggest that?) but he just got another one. He was very good at that.
And I had other students over the years just like him who would bring various and sundry objects to school but hardly ever their books and pencils and paper etc.
I often wonder about the parents who send their kids off to school this way? What are they thinking their children are going to be doing in school when they leave their home so obviously unprepared?
What do you suppose is their lesson plan for their children’s success?
When it comes to education and coaching too, everybody needs a plan for winning, not just the teachers and the coaches. That’s the real secret.
ipledgeafallegiance 