Thursday, February 23, 2012


Elizabeth Harson:  Responding to John Wooden on true success.

John Wooden tells about his upbringing and what he learned from his father, “never try to be better than someone else, always learn from others, and never cease to be the best you can be, that is under your control”.  He also stated that peace of mind is attained only through self- satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.  As a teacher and coach he shared three things that were important for him and expected from his students:

      1.   Never be late. 
      2.   Be neat and clean.
      3.   Never criticize a teammate.

He says that your reputation and character are also important… reputation being what you are perceived to be and your character being what you really are, character being more important.  He believed faith and patience were important.  Always believing things will work out as they should.

I was inspired by his words of wisdom and his meaningful poetry.  Always helping children reach their highest potential is what I strive to do every day; helping children be the best that day and the next day, too.  It has been great leaders along my journey that have inspired me to be the best teacher that I can be each day.  I have learned so much from my elders and sometimes fear their philosophy, believes and teachings are a dying generation and who will pick up when they leave the field.  It is up to us to pick up and continue on , teaching and educating children to the best of our ability.  John Wooden said, “The journey is better than the end.”

3 comments:

  1. Liz,
    I enjoyed reading your response to John Wooden's discussion on true success. Many people equate success with the amount of money that they make. We, as a society, often forget about the true meaning of success and how to achieve it.
    I was also inspired, just by reading your response!

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  2. Liz,
    I enjoyed John Wooden's TED as well. John Wooden's love for teaching is evident throughout his TED talk. He seemed to have always taught his students, as well as his athletes, not only the game of basketball, but also the game of life. I hope and pray that once my students leave our school at the end of their 8th grade year, that through my life lessons and teachings in my classroom, they have been able to begin their own journey in becoming the BEST person that they can be.

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  3. Neysa and Annelle,
    Thanks for your comments. He really is a man we can look up to and hope to imitate. I love our elders, they have so much wisdom. Mr. John Wooden has so much life, too.
    Liz

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