Today was a normal Sunday - lazy with old movies on T.V. I ended up watching The Might Ducks and D2. While watching the movie and seeing "Bombay" relive his childhood horror of missing a penalty shot (the movies are about hockey, for those that don't know) and seeing his coach talk about "Making your (dead) father proud, doing it for the team...don't let me down...etc", it put into stark realization the various tolls our leadership styles have on the students with whom we work.
Bombay's coach was focused very much on the outcome - the result. He was teaching his kids to "go for the 'W'". Thinking logically, he only played his best players and definitely had his favorites - Bombay had been one as a child, and the movie starts out with a young boy being his favorite of the time. When Bombay gets this child moved to District 5 team (the "Ducks"), the other coach goes into a fit and Bombay ends up losing his job at his law firm. This is crazy at best - so much emphasis on being the best (which is not a bad thing) but to the exclusion to teaching life lessons.
Bombay starts with a similar approach - Hey, it's what he knows! He tries cheating and having the kids take falls to try and get penalties on the other team. After a wake up lesson from his long time mentor, "Hans", he takes a new approach - one which focuses on teaching the techniques of hockey, but placing the emphasis on being good, not "getting the 'W'". Through many mistakes (because mistakes are fascinating learning opportunities), he comes to realize that the emphasis can't be on the "W", but rather on the enjoyment of the sport.
We, as educators and activity sponsors need to take this lesson to heart. While, yes, winning is fun, it must not come at the price of enjoyment of that particular activity. Our students must enjoy what they're doing or they won't want to be there anymore. At the same time, we will not cater to their unwillingness to do 'the work'. Work instills a sense of pride and accomplishment. It teaches a work ethic for which the Midwest is known.
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