EDM613 Wk3, post 2: Response to Mike Coletti

@ Mike Coletti's Musings - Wk 3 Reading: Art of Possibility, Chapters 5-8 (original post by Mike Coletti on April 12, 2011)

Photo by Jason Peglow

Mike: I absolutely agree with your comment about taking the time to "relax and lighten up a little." As a teacher and as a coach I too have found that I am more connected with the students who I have had the opportunity to talk to or joke around with in a less formal atmosphere. You and the Zanders are absolutely correct that those kids always seem to be willing to give that much more of themselves because they know you know who they are. Unfortunately though I know that there are a lot of kids that I have had the fortune of teaching that I did not make the effort to "get to know" and wonder what would they have been capable of if I had. This book does a very good job of making it clear that making the effort to have this kind of rapport with our colleagues, administrators, parents, and students would advance everyone's capabilities just that much more. It could change the world. 


Thanks for your post.

Wk 3 Reading: Art of Possibility, Chapters 5-8

(Posted by Mike Coletti on Tuesday, April 12, 2011) 

I continue to enjoy this book.  The Zander’s continue to present a common sense  approach to living and leading.  I could relate to Chapter 5, Leading from Any Chair.  When I read some of the stories relayed to us, I had to smile.  I am a coach, and I have always tried to allow the students I work with the chance to tell me what they feel they need to work on.  My most successful competitors have taken to this approach and we have productive practice sessions, which translates into success in rounds of debate and speech.  I believe the more ownership the child has with her practice and performance sessions, the better she feels.

As part of this approach, I also have sessions where we don’t work on specific pieces to perform.  Sometimes, just sitting and talking about school or life or almost anything is more effective than going over a performance selection for the umpteenth time.  Being able to relax, and lighten up a little, is following Rule Number Six.  In the scheme of things, speech competition is minor to some of the other things my kids deal with every day, and by showing an interest in the rest of their lives, it allows me to then be able to ask for more of them when it really counts, in competition. 

I think I have had this approach for most of my career.  It is nice when respected individuals like the Zanders validate what I have been doing.