What Happened?

Whilst trying to ignore the burning in my legs on a recent (frustratingly slow) 20k training cycle, my mind was wandering. As usual, it eventually found it's way to work, which in my case is the wonderful and wacky world of teaching; little people are my area of expertise and I teach some of the littler ones in our system.

I have the pleasure and privilege of watching (and helping) these awesome kiddos acquire the skills that most of us take for granted; reading, writing, counting, throwing, catching- the list goes on!

My class are getting ready to leave me in July, and I've had a lot of them for 2 years- from age 5-7. We've gone from huge, scrawling letter shapes to (mostly) sensibly sized, joined up, legible handwriting. Counting to 10 has increased to 100, 1000 in 1s, then 2s, then 5s.

Emergent writing- a language all of it's own and different for each and every child!

You get the picture!

However, they haven't made that progress without an absolutely phenomenal amount of personal effort and resilience! I teach children who have written illegibly day after day for months, yet every day will come into school with a smile on their face, ready to have their thousandth try at the same skill. They don't get disheartened or mardy, they just pick themselves up and have another go; over and over again! Their excitement and pride when they finally crack it (whatever 'it' was) is a joy to behold- scraps of paper photocopied to flap, with sticky fingers, in Mum or Dad's face at home time, team points in the jar, and a real, shared sense of celebration and pride amongst the whole class.

When does this go wrong? Where does it all stop? Why are adults so blinking learning-averse?!

Simple- fear.

Until I started running a year ago, I genuinely don't think I'd started learning something new (from scratch) for over 10 years (except for a brief dalliance with Samba drumming when I lived in Germany. I was too weak to hold most of the drums and didn't enjoy the finger blisters so stopped!) 

I wasn't even particularly good at making the most of skills I already had;

I was a grade 8 flautist, but wouldn't join any local orchestras or music groups for fear of embarrassing myself with how much I'd forgotten or lost in technique.
I have a German degree (and family!) but was too scared to go to Kaffeeklatsch or conversation groups in case my grammar let me down.

I spent 5 years learning to sail and did all my RYA qualifications, but was too scared to go on a refresher course (despite living on the South Coast) in case the instructors laughed at me for how much I'd forgotten.

Paranoid much?!

My kids at school have blessed my socks off by showing me- graciously- what learning should look like: going in with little skill, an open mind and a barrel load of enthusiasm, picking yourself up each time you don't quite get it, and supporting your friends (and not-quite friends) in whatever they're trying to learn. The one thing they haven't learnt yet, is how to be scared of getting it wrong- and I am going to put that moment off for them for as long as I possibly can.

Running (and triathlon) has been a watershed for me in that respect; it's the first time I've consciously gone out to do something I know I will be terrible at (to start with, and quite possibly to end with too!). I've had to increase the distance, the speed, the intensity incrementally and learn to pick myself up each time I fail. I've huffed and puffed along the sea front, being over taken by every Tom Dick and Harry, and learnt to still feel pride in the time I've run, or the distance I've covered; regardless of what everyone else is doing. I did my first triathlon knowing there was a hefty chance that I was going to come last and doing it anyway.

I went surfing for my birthday last year- trying something new (and physical) as a result of my newfound, emerging confidence!

I hope, desperately, that the resilience and 'have-a-go' attitude of my little Starfishes doesn't get bashed and beaten out of them by a system that values numbers and letters over personalities, attitudes and human qualities.

Equally, I hope that, as a product of that über focussed, academic system, I will continue to learn to try new things, take risks, put my ego on the back burner and have a go for the sake of trying and living each day to it's maximum potential!

My list of things to try keeps getting longer- BSL classes, re-learning Spanish, Stand Up Paddleboarding (after the train wreck that was surfing last year!) and swing dance, to name just a few!

You name it, nowadays I'm up for having a go; and for that I am eternally grateful to the 24 little people who challenged me to listen to my own teaching and rhetoric and "just have a go!"

What do you want to learn?