This is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s not the winter snow that has me excited; it’s football. Over the next two glorious weeks, football’s four best teams will battle it out on the gridiron to determine this season’s champion. It recently dawned upon me that there are some striking parallels between football and education. True, the salaries of a starting running back and a seventh grade math teacher aren’t exactly identical, or – ok, let’s be honest – anywhere near each other. However, I think we educators have much to learn from the game of football. Here are the five lessons that football teaches teachers:
Teaching works in much the same way. We all have lofty goals for our students- as we should. But the only way we can accomplish these goals is by taking baby steps. No student turns in to a laureate poet overnight; no Albert Einstein’s are produced after one math lesson. But by focusing on one day at a time, a teacher really can help a student advance and grow.
In teaching, too, preparation is essential. Teachers that walk into the classroom without having considered their objectives and plans beforehand, tend not to be so effective. On the other hand, those teachers who have invested the time to figure out what they want to accomplish and how they intend to do so are the teachers who see the greatest success.
Taking timeouts is also an absolute daily necessity for teachers. Whether it means going for a five minute walk outside, chatting with colleagues in the teacher’s room, or just enjoying a quite cup of coffee, every teacher deserves and needs that time. These short breaks are critical for self-preservation and for rejuvenation. In the larger sense, teachers should be sure to carve out time on the weekends to relax and to have fun; if they don’t, they risk returning to school without the requisite energy.
Teachers can’t afford to be predictable. By keeping lesson plans fresh and dynamic, students will be more likely to actively participate. Moreover, you owe it to the various students in the class to offer different opportunities for different skills and talents to excel. There are multiple intelligences and a wide variety of personalities in every classroom. Why not give each student the opportunity to contribute and to succeed?
Teachers need to remember to have fun, too. Most teachers entered the profession because they enjoyed teaching. That sense of joy and excitement needs to be constantly reinforced. Teachers can perform their job more effectively when they are relaxed and enjoying themselves. Students can detect in a heartbeat whether a teacher is happy or embittered to be in the classroom. When teachers are having fun, the impact upon the room is palpable; students are engaged, and the enthusiasm is contagious.
What lessons do YOU think teachers can derive from football? Please feel free to add in the comments below any other parallels you see between football and education. Who knows? Maybe one day we can add salary to the list of similarities…
This is an awesome article !! Too bad the testing obsession has taken over our educational system. Could you imagine what football would be like if everyone was evaluated solely on the number of yards gained in the final game of the season?
Thank you, Carol! Wow- that is another great area to explore: the parallels between points in football and points in school. I definitely agree that the more holistic the assessment, and the longer the period that it measures, the better it is. Good food for thought!
I’ve got a couple ways being a teacher is the opposite of American Football ;
-In Gridiron, obviously, the aim is for there to be only One winner, that’s You. In the classroom, the aim is for everyone to achieve, even if it’s just a little. There is no opposition/enemy, so we are free to help each other any way we can, in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration. In class, ‘everyone’s a winner baby, that’s no lie’.
-On the American football field, and in classrooms gone by, the Coach/teacher is/was the ultimate authority. All seeing, all knowing, ít is/was their way, or the highway, buddy. Today, classrooms have become more democratic, student-centred, collaborative institutions (well, ideally)… And the teacher, more of a Facilitator.
Well that’s what I reckon. I’m a kiwi, and where I come from, Rugby is not like the classroom either…… It’s like Church.
Thanks for the balanced perspective, Ricky. I guess there are some important distinctions between thee two, as well!