Friday, July 7, 2017

Court Side Seats: Creating an Arena of Alertness and Engagement

The premium seats are always those nearest the movement, the force, the commotion. They scream privilege and royalty. Only a select few have the opportunity to interact and converse with the competitors. While the majority of the fans have to make due with the bleachers and nose bleed seats. The actions on the floor, players dash back and forth spreading the energy throughout the stadium. Their sweat letting the crowd know they are working hard for their team. Athletics at its best, agility and motion causing amusement and focus of an entire arena. The coach on the sidelines, the athletes in control of the sport: endurance, stamina and vitality. The game would not exist without the training and practice of these contenders. That is what makes the event so powerful. Having court side seats not only centers you in the action it also brings a feeling of active participation. How can we as educators create this involvement, this court side seating in our classroom? How can we guarantee the optimal seats are had by all?

The bustle and excitement of a team sport, each member fills a position, a post they defend. If they are off their game the whole squad suffers. This is an expertise that needs finesse and takes time to master. The ability for dexterity, handiness and deftness all benefiting the group. Understanding that lack of commitment and follow-through affects the enterprise and success of others. The coach can't force members of a troupe to like one another or even get along but they can provide opportunities to build a rapport and harmony needed for victory: commonality, concern and exigency. This is a skill as educators we can master if we take the time to get to know every student on a personal level. In order to find the commonalities between students. If the group is united in mission, vision and goal they will find a way to be compatible. If each recognizes their emphasis and value, they will perform their role with accuracy and tenacity. Problems arise when teams are haphazardly combined and individual niches have not been clarified. You wouldn't want your point guard to step over into the position of center, leaving a post unmanned. If students are given clear guidelines, with specific jobs to perform they will be more likely to commit to the task. Create a strong team and everyone will become a star player.

Experience and participation leads every athlete on the team to be an individual member as well as part of the league. The rigor and grit from each player determines the overall success of the group. But, if the feeling of self-determination, power and discretion is negated by the dynamics of the club the level of cooperation will decrease. The line-up will feel disenfranchised and the party will cease to function properly. Freedom and independence is as much a part of a company as cooperation and integration. Each participant must see themselves as critical to the flow of the game. Every member must feel valued and accepted as integral to the outfits success. A balance between center-stage and behind the scenes. Where sitting on the side-lines is just as important as making the shot, because every player deserves a moment in the lime-light. This feeling of empowerment occurs when, as educators, we light up the scoreboard with the stats of all students, each contributing to the overall accomplishments and triumphs of the franchise. Every community member, every participant playing a role in the victory and advancement of the class.

Court side seats, drawing you into the game. It is no longer an amusement but an action, an event of perseverance and determination. Every desk, each seat in a student-centered classroom is ring side, at the 50 yard line, behind home plate, if we design the space to be interactive and collaborative. Every student a vital position on the team, each leading the pack to victory. As an educator I understand that my purpose as coach is to help organize the team and lead it to its full potential. While the every day sport of learning is left to the athletes or learners in order for them to build camaraderie and strength in numbers. A team is only as good as its players. The classroom is much like a court, each with a beginning basket and an end basket where ideas and innovations flow freely through the air, some catching net while others, foul. Each dribble and toss of the ball however, is set up through growth and anticipation. The final buzzer is ready to call the end of the quarter, the last play has begun, every student is on the edge of their seats....waiting....hoping...will this ball score or will it miss? This is what every day in a classroom should be: court side seats for the most exciting learning experience possible.

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