Blending A Character Study With Growth Mindset Concepts

I might be an English teacher, but I love sports. I have played softball and basketball for fun, and I love watching my students and children play. But I now that I’m a teacher, I love sports because of the built-in lessons that students learn — lessons such as “hard work beats talent, when talent hardly works,” or the idea that you haven’t failed until you quit.

These lessons can often be hard to teach within a classroom context, particularly with students who hate reading and writing in general. But when you have a roomful of students who love sports, it’s easy to find reading — and inspirational — material to motivate them.

The article by the University of Oklahoma’s Bahamian basketball player, Buddy Hield, is not only an embodiment of why even sports enthusiasts need to be able to spin a good yarn, but it is also a perfect example of a well-crafted story illustrating character growth and the benefits of hard work.

If you’re looking for a high interest, easy-to-read article that is relevant to your middle or high school sports enthusiasts, this is your ticket:

More Than Enough
By Buddy Hield

Buddy HieldWhen you’re 10 or 11, you don’t really understand certain parts of life. When you get older, maybe 13 or 14, you get to understand stuff better. I looked up to Miko like a pro basketball player. He was like Iverson or Kobe to me. But as I got older I started to see that Miko was a superstar who was stuck — in Eight Mile Rock, in the drug business, in life.

Click here to view the rest of the article at www.theplayerstribune.com.

About the author 

Michelle Boyd Waters, M.Ed.

I am a secondary English Language Arts teacher, a University of Oklahoma student working on my doctorate in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum with an concentration in English Education and co-Editor of the Oklahoma English Journal. I am constantly seeking ways to amplify students' voices and choices.

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