By Casey Tate
Instructional Partner
East Lawrence HS
I’ve watched a lot of basketball since the high school season began in mid-November. The purpose of this blog is two-fold, with basketball as the common thread tying my thoughts together.
Of course, I support our East Lawrence High School Eagles because that’s my school, and I’ve come to love our players from being in class with them. I even taught one of our ELHS players at my former school.
I also enjoy supporting other former students who are still my “kids,” even though they play for other schools now. I tell people I really do have kids all over North Alabama and I love them all.
Gary Cosby Jr., Decatur Daily
This brings up my first point, and it’s nothing we haven’t already heard. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. I go to these games not because I want to learn more about the game or become a professional player. I go because I care about these kids. It means so much to them to see teachers there supporting them. They will remember this far longer than any lesson I have taught. I support them because I want to make a long-term investment in their lives.
In my new role as an instructional partner, my attendance at these games also shows our teachers that I am committed to the overall well-being of our school. It shows them that I am human, and I enjoy having fun. It shows them that I think about more than just instructional strategies and PD. It shows them that I care for the students and their future, which is why I want to see the most effective teaching and learning happening in our school.
What it takes to win
Over a recent three-game streak, our Varsity Boys’ Basketball team had to overcome huge deficits at half-time, pulling off dramatic “come-from-behind, last-second” wins. As I sat at half-time of these games, looking at the 20+ point deficits, I’ll admit I doubted if we could pull off the win. But every time – with teamwork, focus, passion and grit – the guys rallied and came from behind for some very emotional and meaningful victories.
I see parallels in this, on many levels, with our work as educators trying to improve teaching and learning in our schools. I noticed that the more we scored and the more we closed the gap on the score, the harder the athletes played and the more the fans cheered. We were celebrating small steps forward: the turnover that led to a 2-point layup; the free-throws that helped the score inch closer. Those small wins were very motivating in moving the team toward the overall win. Staying focused on the small things made it possible to succeed on the grander scale. Celebrating the small wins provided the energy and motivation to achieve the end result.
I also noticed that we had to use time-outs more strategically in the second half. Sometimes we had to use them just to settle down and refocus. Sometimes we had to use them to set up a play with one specific purpose for that specific moment in the game.
As I reflect on my work and the work of my fellow Instructional Partners in schools across Alabama, I’m thinking that we all need to use our time-outs, our PD sessions, our newsletters and other communications strategically to keep our teams focused on the game plan throughout the remainder of the year.
We are at “halftime,” with one semester already in the books. Some of us may feel behind here at the half way point. We may have what seems to be a huge deficit in some areas. Don’t doubt; don’t give up. Stay committed and passionate about what you are doing. Rally the team and keep moving. Your win is on the way.
Casey Tate is the Instructional Partner at East Lawrence High School in Trinity, Alabama (Lawrence County School District) and a first-year participant in the Alabama Instructional Partners Pilot professional development program. A 11-year teaching veteran, he wrote about his proudest moments as an IP in this October post.
