With these past few snow days I've been getting school work done, spending time with friends, reading, and watching the Olympics. I'm always amazed by the stories they tell of these Olympic athletes that train for hours every day just for that one moment that comes every four years.
It got me thinking about teaching and what our "gold medal" moments are. Our "gold medal" moments are the moments when a student looks up at you during a lesson and you know right then and there he has finally got it! He just made that connection that you've been trying your hardest to make him see. You've practically been jumping up and down in front of the class hoping to get their attention long enough that something you're saying will sink in and, even if it's just one student, it has finally paid off! Does this happen everyday? No, not necessarily, but thank goodness it happens more often then every four years!
No I'm not saying we, as teachers, are Olympic athletes, but we certainly train just like do. We may not spend hours skiing down a hill going close to 80 mph or sliding head first down a tunnel made of ice, but we do spend hours preparing lessons and grading papers. We may not look back at our latest training run and figure out what needs to be adjusted next time hoping to scrape off just a second or two, but we do look back at quizzes and tests and try to figure out what exactly those students didn't understand. Then go home and create a whole new approach for the next day hoping to reach those students we didn't the first time. We may not learn how to change our triple loop into a quad loop, but we do attend workshops and network with other teachers hoping to learn and share new ideas for helping our students learn and be successful. We may not have the Olympics every four years to stand up and show the world what we've been training for, but we have those "gold medal" moments occurring in our classrooms all the time that make it worth all the time and energy. We don't have to share those moments with anyone else, sharing it with our students is enough.
No, we may not be Olympic athletes, we're teachers.
I really enjoyed reading your post! You're right, we may not be Olympic athletes, but we definitely train just like them! I put 110% into my job, and I wouldn't change a thing! It is all for those "gold medal" moments as you called them. They make it all worth it!
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI love that you are talking about the "Gold Medal" moment. I loved seeing students' eyes when they finally "got it". I always called this the "Light bulb" and would mention about how the light bulb just went off. I feel like you could do a really cool bulletin board with the "Gold Medal" moments or even an activity.
Great analogy though using the Olympic athletes, there are many times when I feel like I train like an Olympic athlete to prepare for a lesson or an upcoming school year. I also agree that those "Gold Medal" moments make all the prep work worth it! I love seeing students get it and the smile/look on their faces.
Great blog!
Jillian