With a new school year starting this week I was looking for some words of inspiration to share with our teachers, and my thoughts immediately turned to the Summer Olympics that have been going on the past few weeks. There are a lot of things that I love about the Olympics: the competition, the mutual respect, the celebration of diversity. And of course, the incredible athletes. But as I thought about it some more, I realized that there are a lot of important messages that we as educators can learn from the Olympics as we embark on another year of teaching.
1) Middot - There is something so uplifting about good sportsmanship. The athlete who helps another runner who fell cross the finish line, or who gracefully shakes their opponents hand after a defeat. 1st and foremost let us remember that we are not only tasked with preparing our students to get into a good college; we are preparing them to become 'A' students at the Game of Life, always conducting themselves with dignity, humiliation, and respect.
2) Effort - World class athletes do not reach that stage overnight. They spend countless hours toiling in the gym, practicing and perfecting their craft, making mistakes and learning from them. Our student sneed to learn that innate ability or intelligence can only get you so far (or limit you so much). Much mire important a factor in one's success is the hard work and effort we are willing to put in, and the grit, determination, and perseverance that we display. Everyone has setbacks and failures, frustrating days where it seems like we will never achieve our goals. But if we teach our students to power through those moments and keep at it we will set them up for success.
3) Overcoming Hurdles - Building off the last paragraph, there are always obstacles (not to mention opponents and competitors) that stand in the way of our goals. Will we give up when success does not come easily or will we find a way of jumping those hurdles and carrying on? As teachers, some of the most important teachable moment are the ones where we help our students process failures. And let's not forget either that we also face hurdles and challenges. Teaching is not easy. But the art of teaching demands Being so focused on the goal that nothing will hold us back.
4) Passing the Baton - Teaching can be a lonely profession. Most teachers spend most of their working days alone in their rooms with their students, rather than collaborating with peers and colleagues. And we often get so narrowly focused on our students and our subject that we lose sight of the bigger picture. The 3 year old teacher may not feel the connection to the 4th grade Hebrew teacher, who may not feel connected to the 8th grade Math teacher, who may not feel connected to the 11th grade Chumash teacher. But if we think of ourselves as teammates in a relay race we can remember that in order for the team to win the race we each must individually do the best we can with our part of the job and then pass the baton to our teammate to take it to the next level.
5) Lighting the Torch - We also can support each other by inspiring each other and our students to achieve greatness. It begins with lighting our own torch and feeling inspired, and it then continues with words of encouragement and sharing a vision and an example for others to follow. Rav Machlis once told me that just as we must light the Chanukah candles "Ad She'Haner Dolek Me'Eleha - until the candle burns on it's own" so too when teaching we must ignite each student's own inner passion for learning so that they will be motivated and excited to learn on their own.
6) Coaching - The cameras always focus on the athlete after the great performance, but, as an educator and parent, I find my eyes always looking for the coach. I love seeing the pride in their eyes when they see all the teaching pay off. No one knows the coaches name. They do not receive a medal. But everyone knows that without them none of this success would have been possible. They were the ones there with the athlete day after day, year after year, in the gym, showing them again and again how to do it right. They were the ones consoling them and giving chizuk after tough losses, and letting them know when the effort level was not enough. As teachers and parents there are some times we have to give tough love and other times we have to give comfort, but great teaching always starts and ends with love.
7) Time - What better way to show our students (and ourselves) the importance of time than the Olympics, when the difference between a Gold medal and last place can often be just hundredths of a second. Young people often take time for granted, putting off assignments until the last minute, and generally feeling little urgency since they have their whole life ahead of them. But what if we could teach to embrace youth and enjoy every minute, while still learning to plan efficiently and make good use of their time? There is a midrash that quotes Rabbi Akiva who teaches that the only two times in Tanach that the number 127 appears are the years of Sarah's life and the provinces rules by Queen Esther. The connection, explains Rav Meir Goldvicht, is that each year that Sarah lived righteously led to another province for her descendant Esther. Which means that each month was another city, each week was another neighborhood, each day another street, and each hour another house.... Every moment counts and is a gift. As the following poem (quoted by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg) states eloquently:
Every Moment Is Precious (Author Anonymous)
To realize the value of ONE YEAR
Ask a student who has failed his exam.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE DAY
Ask a daily wage laborer who has 10 kids to feed.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR
Ask those waiting for a loved one in surgery.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE
Ask the person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND
Ask a person who has survived an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND
Ask the person who won a “silver” medal in the Olympics.
So my fellow educators and parents, we start a new school year this week. Let us remind ourselves of the powerful impact we can have on our students beyond just the specific subject matter we are teaching. We can instill in them the Middot that we hope they will embrace in the way they treat others. We can teach them that hard work and effort will help them overcome every hurdle and setback that comes their way. We can remind them (and ourselves) that they are not alone, but part of an amazing relay team lighting each other's torch and passing the baton one to the next. We can teach them to appreciate and make every day count. And we can show them that we are always in their corner and on their side, cheering them on and giving guidance, with love.
Let the Games Begin...
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