You Don't Win Until You Win

Anyone who knows me understands that I love the sport of Track & Field.  So, this past summer of Olympic Track & Field was like a needle and spoon to a smack addict (okay, bad analogy).  To watch Usain Bolt run away from the field in a 9.63 second 100 meter race was nothing short of insane.  To see the athleticism of so many and the intensity of which they competed was a marvel.  American Sanya Richards-Ross won the womens’ 400 meter dash in 49.55 seconds.  At the 2008 Olympic games, Sanya finished third in the same event and cried afterwards with the bronze medal around her neck.  Cried because she finished as the third best quarter-miler in the world?  Why would she cry over that?  Are you kidding me?  Well, the reason that she cried was because she was expected to win.  She wasn’t expected to place third or even as runner-up.  She was expected to win plain and simple.  She learned a lesson that day that helped her focus on winning the Olympic gold at her next opportunity.  That lesson was simply this – “What I learned is you don’t win the race until you win the race.  I knew I had to cross the line first to call myself the Olympic champion.”  Talk was cheap then and still is.  She did it this past August with her actions.  With arms pumping hard, a huge push off of her toes, knees driving, and a desire to taste the fruits of her labor, she surged to the finish.  This time, she wasn’t crying on the awards stand due to a loss, but rather because our country’s anthem was being played in her honor as Olympic champion. 

There are so many high yield strategies that are available to employ as a teacher.  No matter what subject you are teaching, there are strategies that will get you the most bang for your buck.  Conversely, there are many age-old strategies that while may part of a yearly repertoire, are not very effective at increasing student achievement.  Take a close look at some of the material on effect size from our Marzano study.  Tracking student progress and scoring scales ranks at the top – are you using this strategy?  Setting goals and objectives has a high effect size – is that in your plans?  Identifying similarities and differences is way up there in return, so what are you waiting for?  Research-proven strategies have a high probability of raising student achievement if, and I emphasize “if”, they are used in the segment or type of lesson that is appropriate and at the appropriate level of implementation.  This is the “Art of Teaching.”  Classroom strategies and behaviors (Domain One) have the highest impact on student achievement.  While it is true that you cannot win the race officially until the summative tests and ISTEP, now is the time to be using what will get you the most return on your investment of time. If you are using strategies that will not pay off and you want to be a gold medal winner (green dots galore), then make the switch now to strategies that will get you on the podium. Our expectations are that we reach our school goals, our team goals, and our individual goals.  We can’t talk our way there.  We have to make it happen.  You do have the cross the line first.

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It is guaranteed that the Browns will not lose this weekend.  Bank on that!