Skip to main content

victory

Somebody asked him, “Did you win?” He said, “No, but I won against myself” (laughter), meaning that he beat his own record. How beautiful for an eight-year-old child to understand this! You find that in Ananda schools there is this same kind of cooperative effort to help each other – not to put each other down, which is so normal with children.
Swami Kriyananda in Light of Superconsciousness

We don't avoid competition all together at our school but we do try to guide students to be aware of their energy, of how they feel and how they act, when they do compete. Sometimes we'll change the rules of the game to make sure each player is being challenged appropriately. For example, we might make a team of athletes vs. "non-athletes" but the non-athletes score points for making contact with the ball. Or a skilled player has to make at least 3 passes before each attempt at scoring. (Just as a note: these are blanket suggestions, they're solutions that arose based on specific groups of children at a particular time.)

The quote above reminded me of another story that came to my attention recently about a race that was run back in December. A Spanish runner, Ivan Fernandez was trailing his opponent Abel Mutai from Kenya when Mutai slowed down as he neared the finish line. He was confused by the signage and stopped short thinking he had won the race when he was actually still a few meter short! When Ivan realized his competitor's mistake he started shouting at him to keep running and then, because Mutai didn't speak Spanish, Ivan pushed him to victory.

Journalists were shocked by this and ask why he would this. He could have easily run past him and won the race. His reply was incredible and very much in line with the point that Swami Kriyananda makes above about the kind of cooperative effort that can be cultivated. Ivan said "My dream is that someday we can have a kind of community life." When a journalist pressed him asking "But why did you let the Kenyan win?" Ivan responded "I didn't let him win, he was going to win." Again the journalist, seemingly perplexed by this response, repeated "But you could have won!" Ivan simply said "But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor of that medal? What would my Mom think of that?"

This is indeed the kind of value that is cultivated at our school. It is a redefinition of what success really means, what it looks like and feels like, that not only includes others but sometimes even puts them first. While there is a seemingly natural drive to compete and to win in many individuals the important reflection is Ivan's question "What would be the merit of my victory?" We may come out on top but are we happy? Does it come at the cost of our friendships or our integrity? What really matters most?


Sources

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

grace

Sometimes when I tell people that I'm a teacher they say something like, "I don't know how you do it!" and I laugh and reply "I don't know either!" But the truth is, I do know: I'm not the one doing it. So who or what is? Well, you can call it what you want - grace, magic, energy, intuition, Divine Mother or God - but sooner or later you start to realize there is something else at work that you can't quite see or fully understand.  I had a sweet, magical moment one afternoon that reminded me that Divine Mother knows just what each of us needs in each moment. I had gone down to the Village center to use the stronger internet connection to upload something for my class. While I was there waiting for things to upload I sat in this beautiful communal space all by myself feeling a bit sad and out of sorts. Not even a few moments later a little boy from the community came walking by and went to check on a nest of birds they'd been watching in a bus...
Post a Comment
Read more

skylights

Swami Kriyananda once shared a superconscious dream he had where he talked with Yogananda about a difficult situation saying "The doors are closed." Yogananda's response: "Don't overlook the possibility of a skylight" and then he added, "A sense of adventure is needed." We are definitely looking for skylights these days when it comes to planning for the upcoming school year. The number of considerations and possibilities seem endless. Now this can seem frustrating and overwhelming but it can also seem incredibly expansive.  Anything is could happen.  There's at least two ways you could say that: with a sense of dread or a sense of excitement. Will we trudge through, wishing it could be otherwise, focused on all that is lacking? Or will we embrace the opportunity before us to completely reimagine our school year and the learning experience we provide? So far it seems, we are choosing to have a sense of adventure. The ideas that are coming up see...
Post a Comment
Read more

difficult conversations

The energy it takes to avoid a difficult conversation is much more uncomfortable than the energy it takes to have the conversation. Many times it's the anticipation is many times worse than the actual conversation. Our minds play out all sorts of worst case scenarios.  This is in the case where we know the conversation is coming. But what about when we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of, or even listening in on, a conversation that suddenly becomes uncomfortable? Perhaps someone has said or done something disagreeable, confusing or unexpected. These things happen regularly in the classroom - kids really do say and do the "darndest things." They say and do mean things to each other without thinking. But these moments are also just a part of life. The question is, how do we react or respond?  Most of us fight, freeze or flee. It's how our brains are hardwired to respond to stressful situations. The problem is, this response gets in the way of learning and growth. ...
Post a Comment
Read more