Doing your best. Football player, James Harrison made the news the other day for sending back his sons' participation trophies. However, what he said, more than what he did made an impression on me. He said that doing "your best" is sometimes not enough. That sometimes you have to dig deeper and push yourself to do more. I began teaching in the late 70's when we spent a lot of time promoting a feel good, self esteem above all, give everyone a sticker, never critique their artwork kind of teaching. Now I certainly endorse encouragement when it comes to children. Our words are powerful and can be life changing. However, I think we do our children a disservice when we ascribe to what I call the "American Idol" mentality. You know, where it doesn't matter if you have any real talent or have spent anytime practicing, as long as it is "your dream" than you deserve to win. It's actually a very entitled way to look at life. I have a lot of respect for James Harrison and his young sons who are lucky to have him as a father and role model. He is teaching them not to fall back on the convenient excuse of doing "my best." Rather, he is instructing them that if your best is not enough, than keep trying, keep improving and truly earn that trophy.
No comments:
Post a Comment