Horseshoes and Rudders

Horses are large animals.  Gee, thanks Captain Obvious.  Stay with me – there’s a point.  The height of horses is measured in units called hands. A hand equals 4”. Horses generally range in height from 14-18 hands and weigh between 1500-2200 pounds.  The largest horse was “Mammoth”, who stood 21.2 hands and weighed 3,300 pounds.  A piece of equipment necessary for most horses in the horseshoe.  The horseshoe is essential as it prevents  excessive hoof wear and hoof splits, improved traction, and manipulation of the horse’s gait.  Cruise ships are large vessels. Again, thanks for the clue. The largest cruise ship today is 360 meters long  (almost four football fields!) Its breadth is 47 meters and weighs 225,300 tons.  Basically, this is a town that sails. A piece of equipment necessary for the cruise ships and other sailing vessels is the rudder.   The rudder steers the ship.  The size of the rudder varies per the size of the ship that it steers, but one thing is constant – the rudder is always considerably smaller than the ship that it guides.  Both the horseshoe and the rudder are essential to the success of the larger object that they support.  Both the horseshoe and rudder, though seemingly small in size, make the big things go. 

You may have heard me say countless times that “The little things make the big difference.”  I cannot overstate how important doing the seemingly little things is.  I used to tell my runners, jumpers, throwers and hurdlers that while every team does the “big things” in training, the champions do the “little things” in addition.  What does that look like for a teacher and schools?  First of all, realize that most schools do all of the big things – they provide a safe environment, they provide a curriculum that parallels the state academic standards, and they serve food at lunch.  We do all of those things as well.  Doing just those three big things will never get you above average.  We should have no interest in being average because average is being the best of the worst and the worst of the best.  It’s the little things that successful schools and teachers do that set them apart.  Greeting your students at the door would seemingly be a “little thing”, but it translates into developing a better relationship with your students, which gives them a reason to want to be at school, which leads to increased academic exposure, which results in improved achievement and growth.  This isn’t rocket science; it’s common sense.  Another seeming “little thing” is making sure that your lessons are relevant to your students.  Relevance leads to grasping the concept, which leads to application of the skill, which leads to taking similar tasks and being able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate them, which results in improved achievement and growth.  Other “little things” are using RtI Period and Resource Period for interventions and enrichment; not as a study hall!  A final example ( I have a gazillion more examples) is the “little thing” taking the time to call (not just email) parents to partner with them in the child’s development.  That of course, leads to improved extended relationships and yes, improved achievement and growth.  Don’t’ have the time or want to take the time to do the little things?  Not interested in being a horseshoe or rudder?  I just hope you are satisfied with your students staying in the corral or docked at port.  Make a difference – do what some just don’t do.  A piece of equipment necessary for successful students is a teacher who does the little things.


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The Browns, or what is left of the team, play against our arch-rival, the dreaded “Pukesburgh” Steelers this on Sunday in enemy territory.  A win would make the season.  Absolutely zero love loss here.  Side note:  The new state prison in Pennsylvania is conveniently located directly across the street from the Steelers practice field so that the players will not have far to walk to work.