EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER?

That’s the question, is experience the best teacher.

When you think of the teachers you’ve had, were they all a good experience?

Mrs. Krause confiscated a switch blade knife from the new kid in third grade.

It was memorable watching a middle-aged woman confronting a tough guy and making him follow the rules.

How tough can a third grader be? Switch blade tough.

Playing high school football in Oregon presented fields with high crowns in the middle for drainage.

If you started in the middle you ran downhill on both sides on a field that looked flat.

You run so fast you feel like you might fall down the first time out there.

If you do fall down and feel stupid, you get back up and give chase.

Or you quit.

 

Young wresters, most of them, have done ‘the walk of shame’ after a loss.

The first time it feels like everyone you know is watching you drag your sorry butt across the gym to your team’s area.

If they are watching, they all forget before the next match, and if you come out a winner it feels like the whole world is watching.

It was a great feeling, winning a tournament, but first you learn to lose and come back.

Or you quit.

 

The Best Teacher In Life

We had a senior on the wrestling team I joined as a sophomore named Robin Richards.

He attended a tournament when I was a senior and losing my way after the first match.

I’d fallen on my back on my own, a skill I’d perfected over three years.

I lost my first match and looked at the bracket for my next opponent: it was against the toughest guy in the 190 lb weight class.

Robin stood behind me and pointed to the names listed in competition.

 

Robin: You can beat these guys.

Me: Not by falling on my back.

Robin: Then don’t fall on your back.

Me: But that’s my move.

Robin: Change it. Instead of taking guys over the top, take them side to side. Rock them with whizzers and head-locks.

Me: No back?

Robin: Side to side and you’ll win the rest of them.

So that’s what I did.

Robin Richards’ experience was enough. A five time state champ, national champ, best wrestler awards, and 2nd place in Junior Worlds before graduating from high school.

He went on to be a teacher.

 

One Experience After Another? That’s The Teacher

Who doesn’t like to sugar coat experience in any way possible?

Instead of winning and losing, it’s winning and learning.

What I’ve learned so far is you don’t have to like the losses, but the older you get, the more the scoring changes.

I spoke with a woman, a mother of three college girls, who said, “They don’t know how well they’ve got it with both parents and all of their friends still alive.”

She was a spit-fire kind of woman, intense, driven, still making gains that count.

Call her an inspiration with a mean streak.

Why did she seem so familiar? Have I been married to an inspiration and didn’t know?

 

 

Heh, heh, I’ve always known who’s who, and what’s what and like hearing from others suffering the same delusion.

That’s not her in the picture, but like the top image, we have kids together.

Could our boys lift their momma? Yes, they could. And me. At the same time.

Are they really that strong? Yes, they are.

I’m picking up a jar of Man-Tan paste and a new Speedo for that picture.

 

If you want a good learning experience, find someone you believe in and have a kid.

As the light of your life grows, they do things you may not agree with, more things than you thought possible.

Your parental job is helping them adjust.

Not with, “It was good enough for me, it’s good enough for you.”

How many times have I heard, “What is that even supposed to mean,” over the years?

Probably as often as me tapping my head and saying, “All up here, boy,” when they ask me to explain myself.

The best teacher experience is reminding the kids to pass along your signature moves by tapping their heads.

Give it a shot and see what happens. You might be surprised.

As you share important things with them, important enough to you that you hope they see it, they may have a blind spot.

 

No matter how things work out in the short time, remember the long haul by keeping things together.

You don’t get to live someone else’s life, but you can make a difference if you have the patience, the tolerance, and the willingness to see their side of things and work together.

If that’s been your deal all along, keep going. If you think you want to change things up, start now.

 

PS:

Remember to only tap your own head. Tapping another’s melon may lead to chest poking, then shoving, then Greco Roman throws in the living room that breaks a wall.

PSS:

The best teacher is listening to yourself explain things to someone without thinking, ‘Holy shit I sound like a kook.’

You’ll know you’re with friends if you see the same expression on their face while they listen.