My alma mater and team spent the majority of the time of their season opener dropping passes, getting penalized for mistakes they should not have been making, and just plain being outplayed. High expectations are unbearable at times - most of the game I waddled back in forth in my mind between being absolutely frustrated that after off season preparations, this is the team I was looking at - a possible 4 (or more) loss season compared to a team that produces the opportunity to compete for championships. One of the major downfalls of football fans (and sports fans alike) is that we are in the game of comparing this year's team to the one from last year. My alma mater lost one game during the season, albeit, to our biggest rival and had the opportunity to compete in the college playoff. There's no need to talk about their lackluster performance in said game! In many ways, this year's team is already at a huge disadvantage because not only are the expectations high due to tradition but it has become the norm.
Teachers are guilty of this too - we have the best intentions - but September is hard y'all. Let's not kid ourselves, teaching is hard work despite the month of the year (well minus June and July) but the newness of September will make even us veterans wish for things of the past. We are thinking about the goal line when we are sitting on the 20 yard line in our own territory.
So some takeaways from starting the season with a 1 in the loss column...
This Is Not Last Year's Team - and teachers know it but inevitably our memories are of where we took the team in May. It's the equivalent of only remembering the final score of the game and forgetting the important details that led to the score - the number of first downs, time of possession, turnovers, and more. It is one of the reason that Kindergarten is so dear to my heart - I love the emotional and social development of a five and six year old as much as the academics. In pregame talks, analysts will talk about the dynamics of a team by referring to the number of underclassmen and upperclassmen (in college). At least in that instance, the new members of the team have the opportunity to learn the system from somewhere who has been there before. In a classroom, it all falls on me. What are the non negotiables for our classroom? Every classroom teacher has to teach their class how to do school in their environment but in Kindergarten, most of the time the majority of the class is brand new to the whole experience of a full day of school. This week, my little ones reached a huge milestone in our little world by reading from their book boxes for six minutes independently. There's a million things I have not introduced this year - I felt especially behind this week but I know there is power in going slow. However, it's hard when you know all the things at stake. Time is always the enemy but there is power in knowing you have to teach each team the fundamentals of the game for there to be sustainable success.
I thought about this during the game. When the team that had a high preseason ranking simply because of their performance was not performing. In reality, it is a completely different team and dynamics are different. I am guilty of critiquing the players and coaches, is there a fan that isn't? Essentially, my bar of reference is the team that lost to Clemson in December of 2015 and while there are some of the same players on the team, some of the major contributors are playing on Sundays now.
We Are All In This Together - the beginning of the year is monumental. There are so many feelings of inadequacy that creep in among the deadlines, to do lists, planning, and prep. At the end of the day, I am teaching them the playbook in September. Everything we do during these early days will guide our learning the rest of the year. So on the days when I am completely exhausted and there's still a million more things to think about or do before tomorrow, I have to frame my mind around the plays that I have taught that they can carry out successfully or the plays I have taught that they are struggling with. Those little things you teach them to do and reteach them to do (sometimes more than a few times) matter and are a game changer for the October days. The team that you build within those classroom walls is only as strong as the weakest member as you move through the year. It's critical but it's exhausting, teaching the smallest little bodies to be in control of their own little world and not worry about everyone else's. There are adults who cannot even do it.
Everyone wants to be a part of the "team" when you are winning and everyone wants to give their two cents when you lose. And that is the difficult part of teaching - the criticism and the critiques from people who are not playing the game with you. Everyone thinks they are an expert. At the end of the day, life is all about perspective. As I was watching my alma mater lose their season opener, perspective flooded my memory along with a few emotions. Disappointment - I know that preseason rankings are ridiculous but why does my team always get ranked high coming into a season only to fall hard? Frustration - what in the world did they do all off season? Anger - why is the running game not more effective or why is the defense continually making ridiculous decisions and costly penalties? But then...you think back to being a child growing up listening to this team on the radio because they were not legitimate enough to be televised and 5 win seasons were something to be aspired. Twelve wins, not in a single season, but across three years and it suddenly makes you rethink the criticism and being content to enjoy the simplicity of just enjoying a winning season.
Stay in Your Own Lane - this is hard for the little ones and it is even harder for some adults! Littles are always worrying about what everyone else is doing so in a world where we are inundated with social media and people's highlight reels, it is so easy to get overwhelmed. When your highly tauted football team loses their first game, it becomes the perfect time to focus on the importance of this sentiment. There are just people out there who are rooting for someone else to lose instead of cheering for their own team to win - it's life. It's a hard lesson for a type A people pleaser. I have to continually remind myself to focus on the little things and the most important compass for anything in the classroom or teaching - those littles. When someone asks about "why do you still teach?" I could probably share a story to warm your heart or one to make you laugh or go on and on about how I still get really excited to have a plan, carry it out, and watch them learn something because I facilitated their learning. But at the end of the day, when there are an absurd amount of beginning of the year tasks eating you alive, you rely on your resume or your "strength of schedule".
I have spent the last couple of weeks processing how my team must feel after starting the season .500 and with a big home game looming this weekend, the first one they have been an underdog in since 2000. I am enough of a realist to just want to play well but I am crossing my fingers that maybe victory can be ours. The glory of a championship cannot simply be found in one game, championships are won in the day to day details. The fact of the matter is if you can't handle when your team loses, then you don't deserve to love them when they are winning.
So some takeaways from starting the season with a 1 in the loss column...
This Is Not Last Year's Team - and teachers know it but inevitably our memories are of where we took the team in May. It's the equivalent of only remembering the final score of the game and forgetting the important details that led to the score - the number of first downs, time of possession, turnovers, and more. It is one of the reason that Kindergarten is so dear to my heart - I love the emotional and social development of a five and six year old as much as the academics. In pregame talks, analysts will talk about the dynamics of a team by referring to the number of underclassmen and upperclassmen (in college). At least in that instance, the new members of the team have the opportunity to learn the system from somewhere who has been there before. In a classroom, it all falls on me. What are the non negotiables for our classroom? Every classroom teacher has to teach their class how to do school in their environment but in Kindergarten, most of the time the majority of the class is brand new to the whole experience of a full day of school. This week, my little ones reached a huge milestone in our little world by reading from their book boxes for six minutes independently. There's a million things I have not introduced this year - I felt especially behind this week but I know there is power in going slow. However, it's hard when you know all the things at stake. Time is always the enemy but there is power in knowing you have to teach each team the fundamentals of the game for there to be sustainable success.
I thought about this during the game. When the team that had a high preseason ranking simply because of their performance was not performing. In reality, it is a completely different team and dynamics are different. I am guilty of critiquing the players and coaches, is there a fan that isn't? Essentially, my bar of reference is the team that lost to Clemson in December of 2015 and while there are some of the same players on the team, some of the major contributors are playing on Sundays now.
We Are All In This Together - the beginning of the year is monumental. There are so many feelings of inadequacy that creep in among the deadlines, to do lists, planning, and prep. At the end of the day, I am teaching them the playbook in September. Everything we do during these early days will guide our learning the rest of the year. So on the days when I am completely exhausted and there's still a million more things to think about or do before tomorrow, I have to frame my mind around the plays that I have taught that they can carry out successfully or the plays I have taught that they are struggling with. Those little things you teach them to do and reteach them to do (sometimes more than a few times) matter and are a game changer for the October days. The team that you build within those classroom walls is only as strong as the weakest member as you move through the year. It's critical but it's exhausting, teaching the smallest little bodies to be in control of their own little world and not worry about everyone else's. There are adults who cannot even do it.
Everyone wants to be a part of the "team" when you are winning and everyone wants to give their two cents when you lose. And that is the difficult part of teaching - the criticism and the critiques from people who are not playing the game with you. Everyone thinks they are an expert. At the end of the day, life is all about perspective. As I was watching my alma mater lose their season opener, perspective flooded my memory along with a few emotions. Disappointment - I know that preseason rankings are ridiculous but why does my team always get ranked high coming into a season only to fall hard? Frustration - what in the world did they do all off season? Anger - why is the running game not more effective or why is the defense continually making ridiculous decisions and costly penalties? But then...you think back to being a child growing up listening to this team on the radio because they were not legitimate enough to be televised and 5 win seasons were something to be aspired. Twelve wins, not in a single season, but across three years and it suddenly makes you rethink the criticism and being content to enjoy the simplicity of just enjoying a winning season.
Stay in Your Own Lane - this is hard for the little ones and it is even harder for some adults! Littles are always worrying about what everyone else is doing so in a world where we are inundated with social media and people's highlight reels, it is so easy to get overwhelmed. When your highly tauted football team loses their first game, it becomes the perfect time to focus on the importance of this sentiment. There are just people out there who are rooting for someone else to lose instead of cheering for their own team to win - it's life. It's a hard lesson for a type A people pleaser. I have to continually remind myself to focus on the little things and the most important compass for anything in the classroom or teaching - those littles. When someone asks about "why do you still teach?" I could probably share a story to warm your heart or one to make you laugh or go on and on about how I still get really excited to have a plan, carry it out, and watch them learn something because I facilitated their learning. But at the end of the day, when there are an absurd amount of beginning of the year tasks eating you alive, you rely on your resume or your "strength of schedule".
I have spent the last couple of weeks processing how my team must feel after starting the season .500 and with a big home game looming this weekend, the first one they have been an underdog in since 2000. I am enough of a realist to just want to play well but I am crossing my fingers that maybe victory can be ours. The glory of a championship cannot simply be found in one game, championships are won in the day to day details. The fact of the matter is if you can't handle when your team loses, then you don't deserve to love them when they are winning.
No comments:
Post a Comment