When I was in high school in the late 1970’s girls didn’t have many options in terms of school athletics. My best friend and I were so excited to find out at the beginning of our junior year that girls basketball had been added as an official sport. We both decided to turn out and we ended up being the best bench warmers to ever graduate from Centralia High School! 🙂
Although we didn’t see a lot of playing time – okay we NEVER saw playing time – we had a great time at practice and being a part of the team. We worked hard and learned a lot. One game our team was winning by a lot after the first half had ended. We whispered to each other as we headed for the halftime locker room talk that maybe one of us would get a chance to actually get in a game! Oh lord, the nervous laughter between us was hard to keep to a dull roar. Once the second half started, we saw our coach look down the bench a time or two and when he started walking our way, it seemed like our dream may become a reality. He motioned for my friend to check in and I thought I would burst. After weeks and weeks of running the bleachers, running lines, practicing plays, shooting free throws, and running some more…one of us was finally going to get a chance to get in a game. She was ready for her moment and I was bursting with excitement and pride.
Now although our coach had taught us a lot about the how to play basketball – and boy were we in shape from all that running he made us do – we didn’t teach us a ton about the rules. One rule in particular my friend hadn’t learned or understood: at halftime the teams switch ends.
All the thrill and excitement of getting in her first game came to a tumbling end after she received the inbound pass and promptly proceeded to score a basket for the other team. When she entered the game, no one had pointed her in the right direction and off she went with one goal in mind: score points!
I shared this story last night with a group of our newly hired staff. A teacher had asked about the importance of posting learning targets in the classroom. I shared that a learning target helps students understand what it is they should know and and be able to do. Without them students may only have a partial understanding of what is being asked of them and no sense of the direction in which they should head. Having the target displayed makes this clear to students and if it’s clear and written in kid-friendly language they will not only score a basket but they will score one for the correct team – themselves.
GO, TEAM, GO!
So, I've been thinking... 