Middle School Know-It-Alls

It's the 2nd week of basketball class at the middle school and there still is no consistent attendance. So, it is difficult to plan a lesson when some individuals don't always attend. Knowing that I have a wide range of skill level, including some kids that have never played basketball before, I am trying to incorporate easy skills to practice so that they can learn the basics before jumping into the game. Of course I have some of those 8th grade boys who are bored to death and don't understand why we need to work on things such as jump-stops, pivoting and passing. They just want to scrimmage and shoot. So, the experienced player that I am and having worked with many groups, including kids, I asked them what they would do, asked them to explain to those who don't know what to do and asked what they think we best need to work on as a group. It was amusing and exactly what I expected when they didn't know what they would do differently, they couldn't really explain in detail so others could understand and surprisingly gave valuable inputs to what we should work on.

"The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people."— Woodrow Wilson

"The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them."— Ralph Nichols

I think it really pays off to listen to everyone, even the little people. You'll never get anywhere in life if you don't listen to the opinions and advice of other people, even if they are younger than you. You can never learn too much. Also, by asking them their opinion it lets them feel like they have some power and a say in what they are doing. The kids then can feel responsible and gain ownership in the end results, such as our performance in the final tournament.

This part-time job is becoming an excellent learning experience. Working with groups is always good practice and a skill one needs to have when working in the field of business. Business people interact with many people and must have the skill to compromise, listen and work together. What better practice than working with youth!