Slow and Steady Wins the Race

     I am hopelessly addicted to downhill skiing right now!  This is the first year I have been able to ski more than a couple of times during the season in years.  My family and I have been driving up to our tiny ski hill every Friday since the New Year and everybody is getting so much better!  We are all feeling stronger and more willing to take calculated risks on the slopes.  As I sat down tonight to plan for the upcoming week my mind wandered back to last Wednesdays P.E. lesson and my new love of skiing.  During our P.E. lesson students were warming up by skipping, galloping, side sliding, jumping, jogging, etc. across the gym.  One little boy in my class had to be first across the "finish" line for every skill.  His need to get across the gym first trumped any kind of technique.  As I watched him (and few of his classmates) flail across the gym my mind raced to figure out how I might get them to focus on technique instead of speed.  Then I had an AH HA! moment and sat them down for a brief story about a recent experience I had.  The previous weekend I was skiing with friends.  Friends who have more finesse and skill out on the slopes than I do.  I told my students about skiing with these friends and trying my best to keep up with them.  However, in my attempt to keep up I was skiing out of control and I was not enjoying myself very much either.  I realized half way down the run that I needed to slow down and concentrate on my technique.  I started skiing better, enjoying myself more and in the end I wasn't to far behind the rest of the group.  I then mentioned that if they felt like they were a little out of control while practicing our basic skills they might want to try what I did and slow down a little bit.  Miraculously this worked for them and reminded me that living a life outside of school can make me a better teacher.  This week I will remind students to concentrate on their "technique" across the curriculum and that "slow and steady" wins the race!

How has your life outside of school made you a better teacher?