March Madness: Avoiding Fundamental Mistakes

March Madness

Although I really do not consider myself a basketball fan, I am not immune to the excitement and enthusiasm that hits our nation in March and culminates in April with the Final Four competition. Sadly, my Jayhawks lost their Big Eight match, so the games tonight will not really affect me one way or another. But you weren't drawn to this blog because of basketball. You are probably hoping for an encouraging word about the joys of teaching, the challenges of parent/teacher cooperation, or even some inspirational ideas to incorporate into your classroom next week.

Sorry. Basketball is on my mind. Especially since I just witnessed the end of the first game of the Final Four. I felt sure Wichita State, after leading the score nearly all game, would surely upset Louisville; however, with 49 seconds to go, the Shockers made some fundamental mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

Teaching is similar. We can be on our "A" game for the majority of the school year: we started the year bursting with enthusiasm (an 8 point lead!), we encouraged our struggling students through a crucial second quarter (only 4 turnovers in the first half!), we maneuvered through sensitive conferences and remained flexible as policies changed mid-year (Louisville tied the score). Suddenly, we find ourselves in fourth quarter.

Now is not the time to make fundamental mistakes. Now is not the moment to relax and just float through the rest of the school year. Now we have to keep making every lesson interesting. Monday, we have to make sure we connect the known to the unknown for our students. We have to show up on time and be alert to the emotional needs of every kid who walks into our classrooms. We have to care.

Why?

Because we are not playing a game. I am a teacher. I am trying to change the world--improve the world--one child at a time. I cannot change the world if I cannot influence my students, and I cannot influence my students if I am not intentionally trying to speak into their lives.

So, come Monday morning, I am going to figure out a way to connect a senior research paper to baseball because I have a baseball player who could care less about his paper but loves America's favorite pastime. I'm going to inject humor into a 10th grade test review about subject-verb agreement. (Nouns and verbs can't be arguing like an on-again, off-again teenage romance! They've got thoughts to communicate!) And I'm going to find a minute to let my ever-silent student know I saw her pictures over the weekend and thought they were beautiful.

Don't let fundamental mistakes steal your victorious school year. I know you're tired. Spring Break ends this week and nobody wants to face that classroom on Monday.

Just as Big Four games aren't won without years of preparation and conditioning, lives aren't changed overnight. We have been given a great opportunity to influence children although we will not see the results of our hard work right away.

We will change the world if we do not fail in the fundamentals.

We will gain the harvest when the time is ripe, if we do not faint.

--Bekah