Student Choice

John Wooden posted the following note on the Bruin's bulletin board on the values of the choices we make:

There is a choice you have to make, 

In everything you do.

So keep in mind that in the end, 

The choice you make makes you. 

The world of today's adolescent is wrought with choices, some good and some not so good. Definitely more choices than most of us grew up with.  But, with these choices comes the consequences of the path chosen. 

One of the most valuble skills we can provide for our students is the ability to see the effects of choice. 

How to measure the causal relationships of choices made. And, how to create a balance between choices made for safisfaction today and choices made in preparation for tomorrow. 

One of the most troubling trends I have noticed in recent years is the lack of understanding of the ramifications of what is done today and how it will effect the future.  Whether students have simply grown up in a society that values immediate gratification or if they have simply lost hope in a sense of the future, high school students today have great difficulty in dealing with any issue that requires them to see beyond today and most definitely if they must see beyond tomorrow. 

Students need to develop the steps necessary to set goals, develop plans, create paths for success, recognize obstacles, adapt to change and actualize success.     

The "I want it now", attitude of the 80's and 90's will not suffice in a world where the only constant is change.  Students need now, more than ever a sense of future and the path necessary to get there.  No longer can the path be culminated in an end but must be toward development of skills for change.  No longer can the students of today depend on a career path that may not be there a decade from now. Technology has changed the game and continues to do so with each new device, program or operating system.  

The choices students make today will serve them only if they understand that the greatest ability is in the ability to see ahead of the curve and look to a future where change is the norm and the skillsets for success are the ability to think critically, communicate effectively and work collaboratively.  

        

John Wooden's Expectations of Team Members

• Always be a gentleman.
• Always be a team player.
• Always be on time whenever time is involved.
• Always be learning.
• Always be enthusiastic, dependable and cooperative.
• Always be earning the right to be proud and confident.
• Always keep your emotions under control without losing fight or aggressiveness. 
• Be spirited, not temperamental.
• Always work to improve, knowing you can never improve enough. 

Although Coach Wooden presented these to his basketball teams more than three decades ago, these basic rules are a perfect set of expectations for educators to share with their students of how to act in both in and out of the classroom.  Each of us could model these as the bas

We are all called to be polite as we deal with each other, face to face or in groups.
As the acronym goes, Together Each Achieves More.
Being on time is a sign of respect toward those we will work with or work for.
The quote states, "Live as if you will die tomorrow, learn as if you will live forever."

We will all work with someone else in our lifetime, cooperation is an absolute must.

Our actions earn us the right to be proud.

Balance in our emotions is the key to understanding and respect.

We must believe in ourselves.

Never be satisfied, always strive to improve.

If we as educators could get our students to live out these basic guidelines in our classrooms and schools, how much better off would our students be as they face a world that is in a constant state of change?  How much easier would their transition be, into our adult world?  And, how effective would they be in their role as an adult, with co-workers, friends and family?

30 MINUTE STUDY PLAN

"Failing to Prepare, is Preparing to Fail."

                                                               - John Wooden -

How many times have you, as a teacher, heard a student make the claim that they studied for over three hours the night before and still didn't do well on the test?

Now we all know that studying a little bit over a longer period is the best method to learn material for the long haul. But, we also know that our students are champion procrastinators.  They spread themselves to thin with school work, clubs, sports, social activities. And we also know that most teenagers know that the world might end anytime so why study at all until you absolutely have to.

Knowing all of this, I put together a suggested study routine to assist our procrastinators, overschedulers and soothsayers, in their methods of study.  This study plan works on 30 minute session to maximize time and memory.  For most people our brains can only retain about a half hour of material at a time.  If we study for two hours straight we will remember the first fifteen minutes and the last fifteen minues of what we study and very little from the middle hour and a half.  Thereby wasting a good hour and a half of functional time.  Unless the brain is given the opportunity to shift gears and restart, the brain functions best in half hour increments.  (Think about television shows. 30 minute sitcoms. Hour long dramas with commercial breaks about 13 minutes apart.)   

I go over this study plan with each of my classes to help students understand the ways our brain works and to assist them in improving their study habits and to maximize their abilities to learn.

Study Smarter

not Harder!!!

It's The Teacher - John Wooden

From John Woodens' book "My Personal Best"...

No written word nor spoken plea,

Can teach our youth what they should be.

Not all the books on all the shelves,

It's what the teachers are themselves.

No matter what comes about: curriculum, textbooks, technology, media, methodology, it will always come down to that relationship created by a teacher who cares enough to demand the most from the talents of each student. Both those talents they may be aware of and those that are discovered along the learning path.    

The Role of Mentor

This is a copy of the original from John Wooden.  This copy was given to me by another teacher in my Master's cohort at Concordia University.

I am reminded of the importance of being a mentor, whether we are a parents, siblings, teachers or coaches.

The values we live are going to be mirrored by the people in our life.  Many of the students we teach spend more time with us as educators in the classroom than they do with their own parents. 

How invaluable is the job we do, as older brothers and sisters to the students entrusted to our care. 

John Wooden's Four Steps For Effective Teaching.

Confucius said,

“I hear I forget,

I see I remember,

I do I understand”

Explanation

Demonstration

Imitation

Repetition

Whether you are teaching addition and subtraction, or the quadratic formula, the bones of the skeleton or the eight steps of digestion, a lay-up or the intricacies of the half court trap, to be an effective educator the steps do not change.  The educator must be able to provide the student each of these four levels of the teaching process in order to impart knowledge.

Explanation must include both the basic how, what, when and where, but most importantly the why.  If the learner cannot understand he value of the information or skill, the knowledge will not be passed on to long term memory.  In order to become a useful part of the student's knowledge base, there must be a need to associate it to previous knowledge as well as future need.

Demonstration must be done without a preconceived idea of what the learner knows.  The demonstration should address all aspects of the skill from the most rudimentary step to the ultimate conclusion. Demonstration must include the basic steps from beginning to end. Even the most experienced student should find value in reviewing the  basic components of a process or skill.

Imitation must provide the opportunity to succeed without a fear of failure but an incorporation of failure with correction as a means of understanding.  Students should be provided the opportunity to mirror the instructor throughout the process or skill.  It is through imitation that the student gains an understanding of the concept and a confidence in their own ability to succeed.

Repetition must be enough to develop a comfort level while keeping the information fresh.  Avoid at all costs the drill and kill that is detrimental to the ultimate goal of learning. Repetition should provide insight for both the instructor and the student as to the level of mastery and the need for further instruction and/or practice.  Repetition should serve as the measuring stick as to the next steps in the learning process.

John Wooden's - Five Things to Share

In the book, The Essential Wooden, A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership, John Wooden shares a list of the important things to share.

Five Things To Share.

Share the Work

Share the Credit

Share the Enthusiasm

Share the Information

Share the Love, Care and Concern

Sharing the work is a natural part of the educational process.  That sharing takes place on many levels in the classroom, between teacher and student, student to student, as well as students in a collaborative group. Students must engage in sharing, whether it is the knowledge the work or ideas. It is the idea that the educational process is more efficient if we embody the concept of TEAM, Together, Each, Achieves, More.

Sharing the credit is often a very difficult idea to get across to students who have been brought up believing that you are measured by the grades you have or the honors you receive.  Students need to create value not for what they accomplish but for who they are.  Students who can measure their success through satisfaction of knowing who they are and understanding the value of their own individuality are typically not concerned about getting credit, but are more concerned with the overall success of those who surround them.

Sharing the enthusiasm extends from the value of passion for all we do. The Lasallian term for this is zeal.  The difference between good and great typically correlates directly to passion for the work.  That enthusiasm is a direct result of the passion demonstrated by the teacher for the subject being taught. That same passion can be contagious amongst the students and even in return to the teacher.

Sharing the information is the basis of the educational process. Sharing comes through clear communication between educator and student and student to student. Realizing, that students learn and communicate utilizing a varying range of modalities.

Sharing the Love, Care and Concern, is the basis by which an educator maximizes the educational process for each student by creating a classroom environment that is inclusive and based upon mutual respect and trust:  an environment where students can approach the unknown with little or no fear, an environment where students are allowed to make mistakes as a part of the learning process, an environment where students are encouraged to participate fully in the learning process.  

John Wooden - A Source of Endless Inspiration

While each year I begin by introducing my students to the Pyramid of Success created by John Wooden, it is his seven point creed that tends to have the most impact on students in getting them focused on the importance of maximizing each moment of each day.

Passed down from his father these points still ring true, no matter the time or place.   How simple yet true our own lives could be if we could find a way to live our lives under these guidelines.

John Wooden's  Seven Point Creed  

• Be true to yourself.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Help others.
• Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
• Make friendship a fine art.
• Build a shelter against a rainy day.
• Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

For more on John Wooden visit http://www.coachwooden.com/