Over Christmas Break, I was able to do some reading and watch a few movies. Every now and then something will strike me in a book or a movie or something I watched on TV. It seemed that happened over and over again during the last few weeks. Needless to say, I thought a great deal about our school and our kids and our staff. I'd like to share some of these thoughts with you:
Let's start with the Spartans: If you missed the Cotton Bowl game, you missed a come from behind win by MSU. After the game, Coach Dantonio and a couple players were interviewed. Please watch the video below for some great highlights, but especially listen to the interviews at the end. (Interview starts at 5 min.)
Coach Dantonio credits the outstanding football team and the come from behind win to 3 things: Grit, Guts and Belief in Each Other.
Grit: courage and resolve; strength of character
Guts: personal courage and determination; toughness of character
Belief (in Each Other): trust, faith or confidence in something or someone
Each player had to depend on the teammates around them to do their job. As a team, they didn't give up. They hung on to their mission of being a winning football team.
Over break, I read Laura Hilenbrand's Unbroken. What an amazing story of resilience and the power of the human spirit. If you are unfamiliar with the story, it is about Louie Zamperini, an olympian and American World War II prisoner of war survivor. There is more than one section in the book where grit, guts and a belief in each other kept these men alive. Prior to becoming a POW, Louie was a bombardier on a B24 aircraft. Each man had a job to do on the aircraft. Each job was critically important. Each man had to depend on and have confidence in the other men on the aircraft to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. They survived many combat missions due to how well they worked together as a team and the success at which each man performed his own job. I don't want to give too much of the book away, but know that grit, guts and belief are seen throughout!
I watched the movie, "When The Game Stands Tall", a movie based on a true story of a football team on a 151 game winning streak. Here is the movie trailer: ( I bought the movie if you would like to borrow it.)
The coach in the movie often tells his team that he is not after a perfect game, but he always expects a "perfect effort" from each player. He stresses the importance of being dependable and being someone who others can depend on to give a perfect effort every play, every game. Grit, Guts and Belief also play a huge role in this film and in the success of this team.
So, what do grit, guts and belief in each other have to do with Parma Elementary? I believe they have everything to do with our school, our staff and our kids. I believe these are traits we need to instill in and teach our students.
It takes grit and guts to try new things, to be creative, to share ideas, to be willing to learn and continue growing as an educator. I knot that it takes grit and guts to just make it to 3:30 some days.
And, if we didn't believe in each other and know that we are each giving a perfect effort on our part in educating our kids and making our school the best place it can possibly be, we couldn't be successful as a staff. Our first grade teachers have to believe that our kindergarten teachers are giving a perfect effort to make sure every kindergartener is ready for the next level. Our fourth grade teachers have to believe in our third grade teachers and trust that when those students enter their rooms next year, they will be ready. I have to know that when a student gets on the bus at the end of the day, he/she will be treated with respect and cared for and kept safe. When students head to the lunchroom or to the playground, we know that they will be greeted with a smile, treated respectfully, corrected when necessary with kindness, and nurtured along the way. I can walk out of the office, and not worry for one second that we are in good hands in the front office. Everything there is handled with a perfect effort every day. So, how important is this belief in each other. I feel that it is crucial to our success. Being dependable and knowing that we can count on each other to do our jobs with a perfect effort makes all the difference in our school community.
I ask you to have grit and guts and a belief in each other. Take risks and share with each other. Be creative, try new things, don't give up, ever! I ask you to consider, are you dependable and are you giving a perfect effort every day? Imagine if a perfect effort is given every day by every one! Some days this will take a great deal of Grit and Guts and Belief in each other. I know our kids need it!
Articles Worth Reading:
Returning Thoughtfully and Carefully to School - @thierck
20 Quick Reads that will Change the way you Live, Love and Work
Daily Cafe Update and New Year's Resolutions @gailandjoan
10 Things Students want All Educators to Know +Justin Tarte
6 Online Videos Every Teacher Should See +Venspired
Google's Year in Review 2014: What did we search for??
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