The 12 year old girl hated gym class! (Ok, I’ll fess up this one is about me…)
It was torture! Especially this tumbling stuff! We lined up and the evil gym teacher (if you’re still out there – you know who you are…) blew her whistle and counted: 1 2 3 GO!
The first kid in line ran up to that thick roll of canvas and flew over it, rolled and landed on her feet.
Yeah, right… give me a break! Which is exactly what I was afraid of!
As the line moved in its inexorable forward momentum, I would sneak backwards – one kid at a time – until finally the evil fiend would blow two loud blasts on that whistle and we’d be on to another task – You know, something easy – like walking on water!
Years later – another gym, another teacher:
This one was a tiny, Japanese Aikido master. As I watched, intrigued, he stood in the middle of a large circle of students who ran around him – throwing themselves into the air, somersaulting, and gracefully landing on their feet as they continued around the circle.
The teacher caught me as I inched towards the exit. I explained my background as a failed – and terrified – tumbler. He grinned, nodding his head.
“5 minutes,” he promised,” and you can do… I show you!”
And amazingly he did.
All that summer as I fearlessly flew through the air, I thought about teachers.
How much of what we believe about our ability to learn is about the skill of the teacher and their ability to understand the pathway to each students learning style?
What do you think?
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