Ok, that’s more than one than one word, but then again, I’ve gotten away from the single words blogs, which is ok. This blog is all about going with the flow and the moment! 🙂
Yesterday, this blog, by Ron Sen, a basketball blogger. This blog struck me with its simplicity, yet depth of thought. And as I reread this blog, much of what was written, translated directly into the classroom.
If we aren’t clear in our classroom, our students will show that to us! If the culture in our classroom stinks, our students will let us know! The teacher cannot lack for energy! Details matter!
Our classrooms are our courts, just a little different content taught and a few different ways of teaching that content.
I’ll leave you with two videos. The first is from Frank Martin, the coach from South Carolina, the “Cinderella” team of the tournament. He’s asked how he teaches defense with technique or attitude. His response: attitude. It starts with a mind set, just like at school. The attitude plays a huge part in our students and whether they are successful or fail.
The second comes from the former Wisconsin women’s basketball coach, Bobbie Kelsey. Her message, “Get your butt in the gym.” It’s a pretty good video for girls who are basketball players, but we talked about this in terms of reading. If you aren’t in the library, in your car, in your house, reading 20 minutes a day, you aren’t getting better as a reader, period. If you are practicing this skill, just like shooting, you won’t get better at it. And the best players in the world continue to refine their craft, you as an 8th grader don’t need the reading practice?? HA! “You can’t nap your way into becoming a good reader!”
I talk a lot about basketball, but dang, there so many ways I can pull this into class, and turn it into a reading piece too! 🙂
March 27, 2017 at 9:48 pm
As a teacher AND a mom to a daughter who LOVES basketball, this post hits me from both directions! I love this! I’m going to quote that line about “You can’t nap your way into becoming a good reader!” So true! And there are so many good things in this post that I can’t wait to share with my daughter as well. Great life lessons! Thanks for sharing!
March 28, 2017 at 11:12 am
Her line dealt with being a “good shooter”, but reader fits better to what we talked about in class yesterday! 🙂
March 27, 2017 at 10:12 pm
Funny, I wrote about Frank Martin tonight too. I wrote off his quote about how kids haven’t changed; it’s the adults who have changed. I love March Madness for the very fact that it brings the best out in teams, and the spirit and enthusiasm is infectious.
March 28, 2017 at 7:08 am
I have not checked out the videos yet, but agree with what you say about ‘keeping it simple’. It works in all walks of life, not just the classroom. 🙂
March 28, 2017 at 11:11 am
Indeed! We tend to complicate the stuff that really doesn’t need to be! 🙂