To the Future and Beyond

How Ted handles pressure...

2011-11-06T07:40:57Z

For international readers... we in New Zealand have just been through a very successful period in the life of our national sport, rugby, successful... we won the world cup! Some might say it was a long time coming. 24 years between championships. Anyhow... The coach of our very successful team, the All Blacks is Graham Henry aka Ted. I don't know why he is called Ted, it has been his nickname for as long as I can remember. Being the All Blacks coach is arguably the only job in the country with more pressure than being Prime Minister.

Now that Ted has coached a world cup winning All Blacks team played on home turf he has resigned on top. Of course the last few days have been a number of interviews where Ted has let his guard down and opened up on a few things about being the coach of the world's most famous rugby team. Today I was listening to another one being conducted by Murray Deaker.

Ted respond to a question about how he handles the stress that comes with being the All Blacks coach. He made three very good points. The last being my favourite.

Preparation

In order to be more relaxed about the upcoming event, meeting, coaching session or working day you need to be prepared. It doesn't guarantee success or a trouble free day. It does make the chances better.

Exercise

According to Ted, exercise helps with the mental clarity. Something I would have to agree with having put more effort into my own physical exercise in the last two years. Lack of exercise certainly impacts on my wellbeing.

Control your Environment

This I really liked. He said you need to watch you listen to and read. When things are going well, read the papers and listen to talkback in the case of an All Blacks coach. When they are not going well, don't read the papers, don't allow those with a negative frame of mind. In the case of a leader watch what you read, listen to and who you take advice from. It reminds me of an old computer term that has some applicability here, GIGO - Garbage In Garbage Out. In other words if you allow the wrong people, the negative people to have too much of your time and attention then the pressure will grow and become unbearable. Surprisingly… or not the bible was great on this topic a couple of thousand years ago. Finally fiends I'd say do your best by filling your minds on things true, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious, the best not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly. (My paraphrase from the Message, Phil 4:8) In Ted's words control your environment.

what makes a good teacher... according to the kids!

2011-10-03T22:29:01Z

Have a listen to some insight from kiwi kids about the qualiities of a good teacher, some wisdom beyond their years here.

Does this ring true with you?

2011-09-18T23:31:29Z

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google...well done on fathers day...

2011-09-04T23:55:08Z

Yesterday, Sunday 4th September, was fathers day in NZ. Google came to the party with a great change to their usual logo.

robots or people?

2011-09-03T02:14:18Z

Here is another video from Sir Ken Robinson, discussing in simple terms why our kids are not robotic and should not be educated in a factory. I know I have posted a few Sir Ken videos over time, however he has a very relevent message for parents and educators alike. Until there is some system change we need to keep hearing from people like Sir Ken. You can view a whole range of Sir Ken's presentations here.

the best curriculum in the world...

2011-08-29T02:01:01Z

Insight from Dr Julia Atkin on the New Zealand curriculum. She believes it is the best in the world, did you read that right, the best, not second or third...the BEST. I happen to agree.

the new school... interesting discussion

2011-07-22T01:59:41Z

See if you can spot what will make the difference in education.

following on from last post...

2011-07-05T02:09:57Z

Can Genius Be Learned Or Is It Preordained?
According to Darwin, height, eye colour, mathematical, scientific, sporting and musical excellence all hinges on the right genetic inheritance. We use the word "talent" to rationalise this idea. Brilliant mathematicians, scientists, sportsmen and musicians are born with excellence encoded into their DNA. But what if this idea is wrong?

A recent investigation of British musicians, found that the top performers had learnt no faster than those who reached lower levels of attainment. Hour after hour, the various groups improved at almost identical rates. The difference was simply that top performers practiced for more hours. When top performers seemed to possess an early gift for music, it was because they had been given extra tuition at home by their parents. More and more evidence is emerging that excellence is not just hardwired but also comes from practice.

There is not a top performer in any sport or scientific endeavour who has bypassed the 10 years of hard work necessary to reach the top. Tiger Woods was the youngest-ever winner of the US Masters in 1997. But he was actually given a golf club five days before his first birthday, by the age of two he had played his first round, and by five he had accumulated more hours of practice than most would achieve in a lifetime. While some children will start out better than others, whether at maths, English, golf or music the key point is that, as the number of hours devoted to practise escalates, the relevance of these initial differences melts away. Over time, and with the right kind of practice, the average learner can change. It is how hard we work and the opportunities we are given which can help determine future excellence. But, how do we unlock the power of motivation, particularly with maths exams?

A few years ago, Carol Dweck, a leading psychologist, took 400 students and gave them a simple puzzle. Afterwards, each of the students were given six words of praise. Half were praised for intelligence: "Wow, you must be really smart." The other half were praised for effort: "Wow, you are really hard-working." The results were remarkable. After the first test, the students were given a choice of whether to take a further hard or an easy test. A full two-thirds praised for intelligence chose the easy task (maybe they did not want to risk losing their smart label), but 90 per cent of the effort-praised group chose the tough test (maybe they wanted to prove how hard working they were). The experiment then gave the students a chance at another test of equal difficulty to the first. The group praised for intelligence showed a 20 per cent decline in performance, even though the second test was no harder. The effort-praised group increased their score by 30 per cent. This reveals a new approach to the way we can engage with learners. We should praise effort!

Challenges should be seen as learning opportunities not threats. While there are definitely talented people who seem to achieve without trying, for the average student, praising effort should transform their attitude and their future grades. The key is to keep striving. As Thomas Edison put it: "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward". It is a message that should be stapled to the wall of every school.

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10 000 hours - it takes hard work to get good...

2011-06-21T04:40:00Z

every educator, parent and teacher aide needs to watch this...

2011-06-06T08:46:27Z