EDM613 Wk2 Reading Post

I found chapter 6 in this week’s reading to be very relevant on multiple levels. The idea of rule number 6 - not taking your self so seriously, is paramount to be successful as a teacher or someone in a leadership role. Too often, people worry too much about perception and about being right. They think if they show any sign of weakness it will come back to hurt them. The truth is, when you laugh, you show your students or employees that you are human, and that is more important than some fake façade.

Understanding your own self-image is important because it can build confidence. However, understanding how others perceive their own self-image is also important, especially as a teacher. The idea of the calculating self, a method of defining who we are individually holds as much weight in the classroom as it does out. “They [children] grow up in a medium of language and have a long, long time to think. A child comes to think of himself as the personality he gets recognition for or, in other words, as the set of patterns of action and habits of thought that get him out of childhood in one piece,” (82).

Teens fall into this trap all the time, creating self-fulfilling prophecies. The “bad” students are constantly reminded how bad they are by what their teachers say or how they react to them. Many act out in class because that’s the only recognition they know how to garner. Most of these students are not bad, just confused. They continue in this down ward spiral because it’s all they know. I try to bite my tongue before yelling at students because I know many of them are just trying to gain attention that way.

While the chapter spoke to me as a teacher, it really connected with me as a coach. I coach tennis, and the idea of the calculating self is very relevant on the court. The idea that players need to find who they are on the court in terms of maintaining a level of high energy paired with the ability to remain cool-headed is important and difficult. All sports tackle this problem, but in tennis, it is magnified by the fact that the individual is by himself. When players begin to feel threatened or embarrassed, most become angry, trying to distract blame from their game. We are in the middle of playoffs right now, and I actually quoted several sections of this chapter during practices to get my team mentally prepared.

References:

Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2002). The art of possibility. London: Penguin Books.