Be a Headliner, Not a Cover Band
Great teachers aren't echoes - they're originals
don’t understand Brit Floyd.
I’ve seen them three times at the arena I work at. They are considered a “tribute” band of Pink Floyd. In fairness, they sound just like the original band. And since Pink Floyd doesn’t tour anymore, and pretty much loathe each other, Brit Floyd is a nice #2.
But they’re not original.
I thought about this a lot as I watched them perform a month ago. They sound great, they make a lot of money, and they’ve had a long career. But I thought about what it would be like for them when they retire. What will their legacy be?
Their entire career was copying someone else.
I’m sure they’ve shown creativity in their designs and performances, but I just can’t get past the fact that they’ve put nothing new or amazing into the world. How can you play someone else’s music for decades and call it a career? Even if it’s made you millions?
I’d feel like a fraud.
Which brings me to teaching.
When I transitioned from the classroom to physical education in 2011, I was thrown to the wolves. I didn’t know how to create a PE program, especially with 3 paras and 130 or more students at a time looking to me! What was I going to do? Who could I turn to?
Teaching PE is like being on an island.
There’s no one else in my school that knew what I needed to do. We had art, music and STEM (which came later) as our specials, but they had their own curriculum and taught one class at a time inside. I had anywhere from 4–6 classes outside at a time. I had to figure this out on my own.
That’s when my social media presence began.
I thought Twitter was for checking in on celebrities and randomly telling my 10 followers where I was going for dinner. Again, this was around 2011–2012 and I was struggling.
Then I found my tribe.
I began researching PE standards, curriculum and best practices. There wasn’t a lot of new things out there. The PE teacher before me left old books and lesson plans in the drawers, which helped, but I didn’t want to play games from the 80’s. I looked online for something new. Somehow, I stumbled on It’s Now Possible-Emerging Technologies and Physical Education by Jarrod Robinson, from Australia.
That was the turning point for me.
His book opened up so many layers of thinking for me. I never equated technology with PE. His book changed the trajectory of my career. From there, I emailed him and got to know him and many amazing educators from around the world. Through Twitter and Voxer, I got to know and learn from who I consider the “Mount Rushmore” of the PE community, especially during that time period:
Andy Vasilly from Canada, living in various countries around the world-The OG of standards, lesson planning, and student-centered learning
Joey Feith, also from Canada-Taught me about “layering” games and lessons. Some of his games are still my “go-to’s” for teaching concepts
Nathan Horne from New Zealand-along with Joey, taught me about TGFU (teaching Games for Understanding)
There are many more fellow educators that I learned from as well:
Ben Landers from North Carolina-I’ve learned so much from him on a variety of topics from content creation to standards, games and skills.
Ben Pirillo from Texas-taught me how to dance in front of my students without fear
Mike Graham from Illinois-taught me standards, skills, and strategies. Although we’ve never met in person, I consider him a friend and like-minded teacher.
Kevin Tiller from “A galaxy far, far away”-taught me about themes, skills and DIY equipment
Jorge Rodriguez from Illinois, but teaching around the world-taught me how to podcast, about standards, and we created a game together
Jo Bailey from Wisconsin-taught me about outdoor education and unpacking standards
The list is actually way longer, but the point is, I gained new knowledge from them in a very short period of time, and met most of them in person at conventions. The ones I haven’t met I feel like I know because of social media. I owe who I am today as an educator to these amazing individuals.
Which brings me back to Brit Floyd.
One of my favorite short reads is Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
The premise of the book is to “steal” ideas from others then make them your own. From there, you innovate and flourish, with bits and pieces taken from various people and resources. After this, slowly you create your own magic. And then…
You become an original.
For instance, I created an annual 5th grade Tchoukball (don’t worry if you don’t know what this is!) tournament. This is a big hit with the students and it’s something they talk about for years afterwards. I “created” this by using what I learned from Nathan Horne’s hockey unit, Jarrod Robinson’s volleyball unit, and speaking to others online about tchoukball.
Don’t get me wrong. Not everything I’ve created is from “stealing”.
After awhile, you become your own person. The version of yourself you knew you could be. The educator that takes what they know and goes beyond. Then, others steal from you.
It feels good knowing you made something people want to copy.
The opposite of “stealing” like an artist is theft.
If I just took everything I learned from one teacher and made it my career, my students might never know, but I would. I would feel like a fraud. I can’t imagine teaching for 30 years knowing I never put something original out into the world.
That, to me is a tragedy.
To me, that’s Brit Floyd.
Don’t teach like Brit Floyd.
Be an original.
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