Lessons from Spartans

I know it is no surprise how excited I was with a Spartan victory at the Rose Bowl.  I'm pretty sure every student in our school knows that I am Green and White all the way!  Needless to say, The Rose Bowl and New Year's Day were pretty exciting for me and many other Michigan State fans.  After the game, I began to realize all the lessons we can learn from the Spartans.  It is not often I get to use my favorite team in a blog, so get ready to see a lot of Green and White!!

Lesson 1:  Begin with the End in Mind - The Importance of a Vision -

Dantonio visited California in the Spring before the season started, and he walked out on the Rose Bowl field in Pasadena.  His daughter video taped him talking to his players about this being the field they would play on at the end of the season.  That was the "end in mind"....getting to the Rose Bowl.  He tells his players on the video that this is where they will make it happen, that they will be the ones.  Every practice, every decision, every call, every game was leading to this vision.  Believing that they were the ones to make it there allowed the "underdogs" to not only make it to the Rose Bowl but to win the Rose Bowl.  Our mission and vision of every child being passionate learners, kind, caring and loving individuals, and strong leaders can and should guide us in everything we do.  I loved Dantonio's answer at the end of the game when he was asked what he was most proud of.  His response, "Completion".

Coach Dantonio shows the team the 1988 Rose Bowl plaque on the outside of the stadium.

This is a card Mike Sadler got from Dantonio the day after he committed to MSU.  He had a vision.  Mike Sadler did punt in the Rose Bowl this week!

Lesson 2:  It is all about the people and the process - It's not just about "winning" -

Former Spartan head coach George Perles, who led the Spartans to the 1988 Rose Bowl win over USC, and Coach Dantonio.

A quote from the Lansing State Journal about Dantonio sums up his success as a coach, "Dantonio is successful because of how he determines success.  Not ignoring wins and losses, but understanding they're a result of people.  He is first in the people business.  Then the football business."  Dantonio states that he determines success by how people feel when they leave his program.  He goes on to say, "If it's all about winning, it's going to, I think, take you over the edge at some point.  So I've tried to really formulate our success on the basis of those things.  Winning becomes as a product of that....People see the product.  They don't understand and don't see the process."  Dantonio says that when his guys leave MSU, he wants them to be Spartans forever.

I believe a strength of our school is that we are first in the child business.  Then the curriculum business. If it's all about test scores, it's going to take us "over the edge at some point."  We can't and don't ignore our scores or our data, but our primary focus is each child, the whole child.  People will see the product....our test scores as they are published in the paper and online.  What they won't see is the day to day process that makes all the difference in the world not only in our test scores but more importantly in the lives of our kids.  How we make our students feel every day is so important, so critical in how we achieve our vision and mission of learning, loving and leading.  I want every child who leaves our school to step forward with pride and say they are a Parma Student.

Lesson 3:  It takes a team....It takes a Village - 

I don't think there is one athlete on the field who would not acknowledge the impact the crowd had on
the game.  Beginning with the pep rally of more than 27,000 fans who came out to cheer on the Spartans to the roars in the crowd throughout the game including the last defensive stop to end the game.  Watch the video and listen to the crowd, the support behind the team:

Imagine that game if the entire stadium had been in red and cheering for Stanford.  One of the statements that was made after the game was from Dantonio and the players thanking Spartan Nation. We don't have press conferences or publicized interviews, but there are things we can do to involve, to thank, to include and acknowledge the importance of our families, our village.  It takes all of us, the entire team.  We first have to support each other.  We are a team, and there is nothing that we do in our school that does not affect each other.  Not one of these men could have won the Rose Bowl without the rest of these men:

Take a look at the coin toss.  Do you notice a difference between the two teams?  Look closely.....

MSU is arm and arm, connected, together, ONE!  There are times we need to join arms. We are stronger together.....that is a given, and I can honestly say that there is not a better group of people I would rather link arms with in teaching kids the value of learning, loving and leading!

We have an amazing Team and a supportive Village.  Let's do everything we can to involve them in our mission and vision for our kids and our school.

Lesson 4:  Motivation, Passion, and Belief-

I can't watch this video without getting chills.  Okay, maybe it's because I'm a Spartan fan, but I believe we can all learn about the importance of motivation and showing a desire and a belief in who we are and what we can accomplish.  There are so many statements and lessons throughout this video including laying a foundation, having something to prove, having to work for it, overcoming setbacks, it is only inches that separates Champions, and maybe my favorite.....you have to be willing to CHASE IT, to work for it!

With Max Bullough suspended for the game, 5th year senior, Kyler Elsworth, had to step in on defense for his first start and play in the Rose Bowl.  I'm sure everyone knows the outcome.

After the game, Elsworth was interviewed about his role in the game, especially that last play.  He said that he knew coming in that he had the support of his coaches and that they believed in him.  He also mentioned the support of his teammates.

We have to let our kids know we believe in them.  We believe in their ability to succeed.  We have to share our desire for learning, for reading, for being the best we can be.  We have to continuously motivate our kids to want it, to chase it, and to know they can do it.

Lesson 5:  Leading By Example - The Right Thing to Do is always The Right Thing to Do - 

I will admit that when I heard Max Bullough had been suspended for breaking a team rule, I could not believe it.   I admire Coach Dantonio for his decision, and I am sure it was not an easy thing to do.   I don't know what rule was broken, and I have come to realize that it doesn't matter.  It was a team rule, and Bullough broke a rule.  Dantonio stood by the consequence for breaking a team rule.....even though it meant Bullough would be out for the biggest game of the season....The Rose Bowl.  I found this statement from Bullough much earlier in the season to be somewhat ironic considering his current situation:  "For me, as much as anything, he's been an example.  Someone I can look at and just really watch, see what he does, see how he acts.  Coach D is a guy who will stand up here and he'll shoot you straight, tell you what the right thing is to do and do that, because it's the right thing to do, not because you guys like it, not because ESPN likes it, not because Mark Hollis likes it, do it because it's the right thing to do."

We lead by example every day.  Our kids are watching and listening our parents are watching and listening.  We can be examples of how to treat others, how to respond to others, how to be lifelong learners, how to handle difficult situations.  We can model problem solving, critical thinking, integrity, kindness.  We can demonstrate leadership, being proactive, preparation and planning and having a vision.  We can show kids every day that doing the right thing is always the right thing.....even if it's the Rose Bowl.

Lesson 6:  Hard Work, Practice and Preparation -

Nothing comes easy.  Coach Dantonio acknowledged that they had some setbacks along the way and had some kinks to work out.  The players talked about the hours of practice and watching game tapes of their opponent.  There were injuries, long practices, team meetings, huddle after sweaty huddle getting ready for each game, each play.  The payoff is a championship.  The payoff is "Completion" of a vision.

Having a vision for what we want our kids to learn and accomplish each year, each quarter, each unit, each day is only part of the process.  In order to make that a reality, it takes a great deal of planning and preparation.  There is not one day or one lesson that does not deserve our planning and preparation.  If it doesn't, it is a lesson we need to get rid of.  I am sure Coach Dantonio entered not only every game but every practice with a plan.  Why?  Because he had a vision, and it is the right thing to do!  I believe that he modeled so much more for his team than just how to win a football game.  I believe that each practice he modeled hard work and the importance of preparation.  What are we modeling each and every day?  Do our kids see that we care enough and have a strong enough vision to prepare, plan and buckle down with them?

Lesson 7:  Celebrate and Lift Each other Up - 

In an article earlier in the season, Dantonio talked about celebrating in the locker room after every win. He stated that wins are hard to come by and that you have to celebrate every one.  The Spartans, even Coach Dantonio, dance in the locker room after every win, and this season it has been to Rich Homie Quan's "Some Type of Way".  Watch the post game celebration below.  You will even see MSU President, Lou Anna Simon, celebrating with a dance move or two.

It is easy to lose sight of our every day victories and get lost in the struggles that we face day in and day out.  Those victories don't come easily, and we need to remember to celebrate them along the way and to celebrate each other and lift each other up.  Our kids also need to be celebrated on a regular basis....in big and small ways.  It may be with a pat on the back, a "job well done", a Parma Praise,  or a postcard at Wednesday assembly.  Let's not forget to celebrate our success, our small steps and big leaps, our victories along the way.  Let's DANCE!

Final Lesson:  What is our Rose Bowl?  It isn't test scores or report cards.  Our Rose Bowl is what our students do with their lives after leaving Parma Elementary School.  It is the type of person they each become and how they treat others.  Every step along the way is important, every grade level, every lesson.  Just as every practice and every game leading to the Rose Bowl led to the Spartan victory.  What we do every day leads to "completion" for our kids.  Let us do everything we can to help them become the best they can be!  Our Rose Bowl is the student who comes back as a successful adult to say thank you.....or even the one we never hear from again but know that he or she has made it and is making a difference in this world.

Here's to you!!