From Jeff: Taking Risks
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| Wear a life jacket and stay at the shallow end, or use the slides at the other end.... |
To
celebrate my daughter’s eighth birthday, we held a pool party at an indoor
pool. The pool was a zero entry design (starts off very shallow and
progressively gets deeper). It was divided
at about the three foot depth with two water slides on the deeper side. For
liability reasons, the facility required a swim test. If a child did not pass
the swim test, he or she had to stay on the shallow side with a life vest.
Those who passed the swim test were permitted to use the entire pool and best
of all, go down the water slides.
The
swim test allowed the kids to use whatever stroke or strokes they preferred,
and they could take as long as they needed. However, they had to go the entire
length of the lap pool (25 yards) without touching the bottom or the sides.
There
was one child—we will call her Marge—who was intimated by the swim test. Marge
had taken swim lessons and swam all summer, but something about going 25 yards caused
panic.
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| She had the skill, but it looked so far away. |
During
Marge’s first try, she jumped in and took off but had to stop about a quarter
of the way. She didn’t give up. She got
out of the pool and back in line. Her second attempt was not any better, and frustration
began to get the best of her.
She was
tempted to leave, but she
had adults and pool staff who encouraged her to give it a third attempt.
The third time she was coached beforehand. She was
advised to jump in, stand up, look at the end of the pool, and then begin
swimming. She was encouraged to start easy with the back stroke, and when she
felt comfortable, to roll over. As she began swimming, one of the lifeguards
walked along the length of the pool, encouraging her with every stroke.
Before
she knew it, she was at the halfway mark. A few strokes later, however, panic
set in. We could see it in her eyes. The lifeguard at the side of the pool assured
her that she was almost there. He asked
her to give it 10 more strokes, and he counted down with each stroke she took. When she hit zero, Marge touched the wall and had
passed the swim test. She was relieved and elated!
Swimming in the Educational Pool
Marge
had the training and skills to pass the swim test, but she had to take a risk
to jump in and try—more than once. When she struggled, she had mentors ready to
coach and encourage her along the way.
This
experience reminds me of what educators are encouraged to do all the time: take
risks! John F. Kennedy said, "Only
those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
It
is only when we take risks that we can grow in our practice. The great thing is
that we can take risks without fear. Just like the lifeguard on the side of the
pool, we have Teacher Leaders, Media Specialists, Teacher Development Specialists,
Instructional Coaches, Department Chairs, and building and central office
administrators ready to jump in, provide support, and help us reach our goals.
The
advice to Marge is good: Jump in, stand up, look at the end goal, and begin
swimming. Start with an easy
stroke. Move on to other strokes as you
go. When panic sets in, listen to advice
from others, but keep swimming.
It’s
much more fun to play in the deep end!
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| Jeff, when not in his office! |
Respond to Jeff at jharrison@hse.k12.in.us
Have a great week, HSE. Jump in and have some fun!
Your HSE Teaching and Learning Team
- Jan Combs, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
- Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education
- Tom Bell, Director of Special Education
- Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology
- Phil Lederach, Director of Secondary Education
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| Can you relate to this? |
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