Olympics, Co-curriculars, and Developing the Whole

Something the Olympics captures so well every four years is the passion, joy, and purpose that comes with participating and competing in all of the various sports. People from all over the world, from all different walks of life, competing at the highest level. Watching the raw emotions and reactions for the athletes as they chase their dreams is always a very cool experience - one that always gets our family invested. 

All of this got me thinking over the weekend...there are immeasurable benefits to being involved with sports and activities. Specifically, I thought about students in school, and how much co-curricular involvement benefits and enriches students' lives and experiences in school. 

Joy - there's been so much joy and fulfillment for these Olympic athletes. More often than not, people at the absolute peak of their powers are smiling before, during, and after their game/match/event. Some have even talked about using joy as their focus and fuel for these games. If they're competing solo, they're always smiling and showing their pride in performance; knowing that four-plus years of hard work and dedication have led to that particular moment. When they're competing as part of a team, the joy is always infections when good things happen, and are always quick to pick each other up and offer support when things go wrong. 

Passion - the energy is simply unmatched! To borrow a phrase from the SEC: it just means more. A lifetime of work, sacrifice, and investment have been put into pursuing a dream and in general becoming better and better as an athlete and person. There's always a sense of urgency - contrary to a regular season game from the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, there's no "next game" or "next week" or even "next year." For many of these people, the option of "four years from now" isn't a viable reality. 

Purpose - it gets a little bit overused, but the notion of competing for your country and your collective Team (Team USA, Team Canada, etc.) is really a galvanizing element. So many athletes talk about that being such a driving force to propel them to greatness. The number one ranked golfer in the world - Scottie Scheffler - was visibly emotional after winning the gold medal. For someone who is typically quite stoic it gave a pretty good indication of how much it meant to compete and win for his country. 

For students in schools, being involved in different co-curricular activities can bring all of these things to their experience. I'm intentionally not just saying 'sports,' knowing for some students that might not be their interest or passion...but there are a lot of ways for kids to be involved beyond the world of sports. The arts, music, theater, academic clubs, engineering/robotics teams, debate, and many more. When students are able to explore their passions, develop skills, build confidence, and work towards a goal, they end up experiencing some of what these athletes in Paris are experiencing: Joy, Passion, and Purpose...plus another thing far too many kids lack: a sense of belonging! Thus, my push and plea for any school and/or district out there - Create spaces and opportunities for students. Officially, unofficially, within the school day, etc. Learning how to win, lose, set goals, make friends, resolve conflict, and persevere will enrich the student experience and create learners who feel a strong sense of belonging and community.

Summer and Learning

Like most summers, this one has been as fast and furious, filled with activities, adventures, and new experiences. Throw in some different weather variables (looking at you, torrential rains) and the uniqueness of two graduating high school seniors, and it's easy to see why I look at the calendar today and notice it's already the end of July!

This got me thinking quite a bit about the upcoming school year. Well, that and the Back-to-School Sale advertising that started promptly after July 4th. Over the last 20-plus years in education, many parents and students have asked about what to do over the summer to either "keep up" or "make strides" before the next school year. 

For all these years, my answer has remained basically the same... live a full summer, experience as many things as you can, go have fun with your friends and find new adventures, be active, be curious, and read as often as you can, in as many different ways as you can. 

The last part I always tried to emphasize to kids and parents alike. I feel like a trap to fall into is thinking that 'reading over the summer' means constant novels and literary works. This can be intimidating for many kids who squirm at the thought of having to try and "get through" and big, thick book with lots of small print. There's certainly much to be said for these types of books, and sure enough many students devour them all summer long. That said, there's a lot of value in reading articles, game summaries, movie reviews, national park brochures, song lyrics, and so many other types of written work that can spark thinking and reflection. Whenever parents asked about improving their student's writing, I would often recommend encouraging them to write as OFTEN as possible, even if it wasn't long or complex writing every time. Writing their own movie/show review, or their own summary from the baseball game they went to the night before, or a personal narrative essay about their week at camp all give students a chance to exercise those muscles. 

Because kids can be exposed to so many experiences and events during a typical summer, I never fully believed in learning loss. We're designed to always be learning from our experiences, with our minds making connections. Instead, I would always think of it (and communicate when asked) as more of a 'how much learning' could be had over the summer...how much growth could be experienced. THIS is where consistent reading, writing, and reflection can really come into play in impacting many students' journeys.

 So, as we head into the final weeks of summer. Do not worry if you feel like you (or your student) hasn't been 'learning' enough so far. Use these weeks to make great memories, have fun adventures, get as much family time as possible, and positively encourage them (or yourself) to read, reflect, think, and maybe even write (old school or digitally) as often as they can heading into the new school year.