Classroom Lessons from a 5K

I recently ran a 5K in honor of a dear friend who lost his life.  After I ran the 5K, I thought about what I learned from this experience and how it can be applied to our daily interactions in our classrooms.  Let me add the disclaimer that I am NOT a runner and have not run a 5K in over 9 years.

The first lesson from this weekend was the importance of having small, attainable goals.  As I was running, I set small goals - make it up the hill, get to the 1 mile mark, get to the 2 mile mark… These small goals allowed me to make a larger, more insurmountable goal more doable.  School connection—when you are working with your children, take the time to work toward small goals! Those small goals can make all the difference in a child learning!

The second lesson from this weekend was the importance of training and development.  Granted, I probably should have trained a little more than I did.  However, I did spend time training and building my endurance and my running craft.  I wanted to be able to run the entire race and would never have been able to do so if I had not taken the time to train.  School connection—take the time to learn from one another and grow and develop your craft.  Professional Development is essential for us to model being life-long learners.

The third lesson from the weekend is the importance of a partnership.  I ran with a friend and I am so glad I did.  Right around mile 2, my legs were a little sore and I thought about walking.  However, we pushed me to continue running.  Without him, it would have been very easy for me to give up and stop running.  School connection—no one teacher can do it all.  Take the time to learn from one another, to collaborate with one another, and to lean on one another in times of need.

The fourth lesson from this weekend is the importance of celebrating success.  I am proud to say I ran the entire 5K and I finished 31st in my age group (and no there were not 31 people either).  Those are small successes compared to the amount of people that turned out to honor the live of a tremendous person and family.  The true success is honoring the memory of John!  School connection—take the time to celebrate - celebrate a child reaching a new goal, celebrate a colleague trying a new lesson or idea, celebrate something grand happening in your life! 

I don’t know if I have the desire to do many more 5K events, but I know I will continue to run this one each and every year!  Maybe I will even improve my time a little next year!