Victory Laps and ISTEP

There is something special about watching a American runner taking a victory lap after winning the Olympic gold.  Our flag draped over their shoulders, beaming with a sense of accomplishment, the crowd cheering, spectators extending their hands in congratulations, fists pumped to the sky, a single finger raised, the anticipation of our national anthem being played…it’s just special.  Most cannot fathom the level of dedication it took for these athletes to reach this goal.  In this, realize that all of these Olympic champions had this in common – they could not take that victory lap before they crossed the finish line.  There were tens of thousands of hours spent training.  They all worked on improving their endurance, speed, strength, correct form, and power. They developed a racing strategy under the tutelage of a great coach. All of them set short and long-term goals.  None of them neglected the “emotional” side of preparation as to when to employ their strong mindsets, when to get “psyched up” and when to shut it down.  Their victory was the result of purposeful, intentional, and prescriptive training, both physically and mentally.  The gold medal that was draped around their necks was made possible by dedication toward the achievement of the goals.

In the spring, we will have a finish line for our kids to cross.  Okay, let’s face it, you will cross that same finish line with them.  Although ISTEP is not the ultimate finish line, it is important that we cross it in victory next week!  Let’s see how the Olympic preparation compares.  We had the endurance training of consecutive days of pushing kids to higher levels of understanding .  We’ve worked on speed through the time parameters set (don’t you hate them?). We have certainly worked on making the kids stronger through constantly challenging them at higher levels of understanding.  Correct form?  Simple, that is doing things correctly from sentence structure to computations.  We have helped them with the strategies involved in learning by utilizing the strategies we have used as teachers.  They have been under the tutlelage of great coaches – our staff!  We have set daily and long-term goals with each of them and have worked hard to achieve all of them.  We have ISTEP goals and we intend to reach them as well!  All the while, we have not neglected the “emotional” side by establishing positive relationships with our kids.  We have laid out the carrots for them to chase.  Our victory will be the result of purposeful, intentional, and prescriptive teaching, both in a cognitive and emotional sense.  Now, we just have to cross the finish line.  I want us to take that victory lap – we just have to cross the ISTEP finish line first.  Our success will be made possible by dedication toward the achievement of the goals.  I look forward to taking that victory lap with you.