Imaginative Bridges - 4

What makes high school sports teams a compelling experience?

In addition to teaching, I am also a high school coach. I coach wrestling and soccer.  Sometimes I wonder why can't we get the same kind of enjoyment out of classroom experience as we do out of our athletic events?  I think we can.  It just takes a change in teaching methods and strategies.

So, what is different?

1.  Time.  The kids who are on my athletic teams spend much more time working together than they do with their classmates in their academic classes.  We practice 2 to 3 hours a day after school and then we have game days either after school or on Saturday which gives us more time together.

2.  Team Work.  Real team work.  Not working in partners in class on book work or some made up simulations.  Real teams of interdependent personnel working together for a common goal.  We are all in it together win or lose, Athlete and Coach.  Not so much for student and teacher in most situations I'm sad to say.

3. An Audience to perform for and a real mission.  On the athletic practice field we know we will eventually be competing in public and our success and/or failure will be out their for everyone to see.  Not so with most academic work in the high school.  It all happens behind the closed doors of our classroom and most of our students work is never seen by anyone.  Failures and successes remain hidden and the consequences and/or victories remain hidden behind closed doors.

4.  Parent Involvement.  Parents talk to me more about their children's participation in athletics than their participation in school.  I have more parents show up for athletic events then school events and parent teacher conferences.  I have had more parents ask me why their child is not starting in a game then I have had ask me why their child is struggling in class.  May be it's just me but most of my teacher/coach colleagues have expressed the same sentiments.

5.  Resources.  We have athletic booster who help to raise funds for sports teams.  At the high school level fund raising for academics is left up to the teachers.  It appears that in the elementary schools the PTA/PTO or Parent Teachers Association or Organization's attempt to raise funds to help get resources into the classroom.  Not so at the high school level, at least where I work.  We replace athletic uniforms and equipment more frequently than we replace obsolete classroom equipment and resources.

As I put together my Advanced Underwater Robotics Classes I have kept this in mind and I look for every opportunity to make it as public as possible.  The class functions more as a team than a traditional class and our successes are shared with everyone.

The things I think about to and from wrestling meets........