This I Believe

By Gryphon Phoenix

Everybody has the ability to learn and everyone has the ability to make contributions. As a teacher you have to utilize a growth mindset and be open-minded to work with what the students bring to your program. Teachers need to be adaptable, meaning, being open to change, being open to modifying on the fly, and not being set into one particular way of thinking. Teachers need to prepare to be present and to be willing to help every student that comes through their programs.

Coaches build upon fundamental skills, help students add to their repertoires; and they refine, fine-tune, and maximize abilities of their student-athletes. Coaches facilitate the coaxing out of individual student-athletes’ best contributions to the quality of group performances in the classroom, on the field, and on the court.

We learn a myriad of ways, by taking in things through different senses, kinesthetic, visual, auditory, tactile, and interpreting and responding to our environments. We gain experience from our mistakes and collect insight from our successes. We learn from trial and error. We fall and we get back up as learners. In exhibiting and role-modeling persistence, resilience, and perseverance, for our students and ourselves- we show that we “can do this all day.”

Schools need to be safe spaces for learners. They are ever changing depending on the state and district, political influence, economic and funding factors, and availability of staff. Schools can be different things for different students. Schools are what you make of them. For some students, adult staff and camaraderie of being with classmates at schools, may be the only forms of support they have. 

Families and communities are an important resource that need to be factored into developing plans for students. The families know the students better than the teachers do. Families and communities can be the support network, in some cases, the teacher becomes the support network. For some students, family and community can’t be left out, for others, the school and teachers can be the family and community support.