Educational Post: Reaching Their Potential

I am a sucker for sports analogies and Jeff Utecht's blog "The Thinking Stick" provides an interesting comparison between the MLB draft and the development of players to the development of students in the classroom. Utecht's post "Reaching Their Potential."

I believe Utecht's focus on potential - and his sports parallel are worth thinking about.

When I was first hired at my school I got into a debate with my current but now former principal. As a former college athlete I was transitioning from an environment where I was constantly provided feedback highlighting how I could improve. After games we would break down game film - and let me explain you may spend a good 5 to 10 seconds on a nice shot, pass, move, or play. However, you will spend several minutes breaking down the mistakes or the areas to improve. This always was helpful for my development as a basketball player and thinking - I wanted to know how to improve. I began to thrive on this desire to always get better. When I watch the NBA I see players games and I see how they can improve even if they are the best players in the league (see Durant the best scorer in the NBA, or Lebron the most complete player in the NBA - I can still provide a detailed list of what they should work on this summer because there is always room to improve).

I believe this individualized critique is essential because it helps each individual reach their potential. The most frustrating point is the potential is never fully realized - but as a teacher or coach we are here to help spark the motivation and guide the evaluation of our students.

This post asks many of the same questions and I am curious if my rant made any sense but again blog posts help clarify my thinking - and hopefully spark the thoughts of my readers.