Classroom Teacher or Strength and Conditioning Coach?

This morning I read an article about UNC’s strength and conditioning coach and how he had helped numerous basketball players transform their bodies, thus elevating their game.  Coach Jonas Sahratian quoted the philosophy of Kung Fu icon Bruce Lee: “Take what is useful, reject what is useless.  And add in your own that is unique to yourself.”

I saw immediately my own strategy as it applied to implementing change.  Of course, there were elements I was required to implement in my classroom from time to time.  But often, ideas were presented in workshops or meetings, but each teacher was left to glean what was helpful to his or her situation.  I loved workshops in which the presenter seemed to affirm my core beliefs right from the start.  Often they touted techniques or activities which I was already doing in some form or variation.   Even if those were not the presenters who caused me to change,  affirmation is also an impetus for renewing your effort, with the knowledge that a respected professional agrees with you.

More often, I would hear a mix of information at workshops, some of which I agreed with, some of which I heartily disagreed with, and some of which I realized I could change or adapt to improve my own classroom.  This is why I describe my philosophy as eclectic, and that was true throughout my career.  In the article about Coach Sahratian, he mentioned that what worked or was appropriate for one player was not the remedy for another.  Some players needed to lose weight and redefine their bodies.  Some needed to add muscle and bulk to compete at a high level and not get pushed around.  This is certainly analogous to any classroom, where a diverse set of learners not only have different needs, but different learning styles.  Much has been written about this in recent years, but good teachers have always varied and adapted their delivery of learning, even within the same lesson.  This is one reason I am a staunch adversary of “scripted lessons” and standardized anything!

Even in my summer camp days, mentors Jane McConnell and Don Moore espoused the same idea in this way: “There are 999 ways to reach a child.  And when all of those fail, there is still one more.”  Failure was not an option in my classroom.  Success was inevitable, but it took making the child a partner who could come to believe he or she could succeed.  No child wants to fail; the educator’s challenge is not to allow failure.  This can mean much more than teaching what the child needs.  It can involve healing, repairing, restoring confidence, and leaping tall buildings with a single bound.  All in a day’s work.  My Declaration of Independence, discussed at length in an earlier post, became one of my most powerful tools for student success.  And yet it was not inherently about academics.  Dr. Madeline Hunter’s education research was an integral part of my county inservice training in my formative years.  One thing she stressed was that teaching is both an Art and a Science.  I feel it is imperative that teachers not only be permitted, but encouraged, to embrace that tenet.  And in doing so, they will incorporate the key ingredient of Bruce Lee’s philosophy: “Add in your own that is unique to yourself.” For me, that was the key to the Adventure Classroom for 33 years, and continues in my volunteer efforts with all ages.