I was sitting in the stands this past weekend at the final game of my son's weekend AAU basketball tournament out in who-knows-where-Georgia. They were trounced by the best team in the state so I wasn't too upset. But they also lost their fight about 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter which was quite disheartening for all us parents who dragged ourselves out there at the crack of dawn to root for the team.
Once the next game began a fellow parent struck up a conversation with me and soon we were doing what I've often accused most older black men of doing when they get together at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners: we were trying to out-top each other with descriptions of a point we both agreed on.
The topic: The disconnect that kids have been sports and academics. It was a wonderfully illustrative discussion filled with laughter and analogies that would make any storyteller swell with jealousy. After going back and forth a few rounds, my new friend struck this final death blow:
"I got one even better for you, sir," he said. The classroom is where the kids learn the basics - the fundamentals of math, English, science, etc. --- the game [of learning]. The teachers are the coaches. Then it's up to the kids to go home and practice what they learned to adapt it to their style of learning and understand how to make it work for them. That's the practice that goes on after the scheduled practices. And when they go back to school, the tests," he said, pausing to make sure I was listening to him and for effect, "the tests are the games! But these kids don't get that. And I'm old so I don't know nothin' anyway."
He shrugged his shoulders the way Jordan did that time after one of the greatest slam dunks of his career. He had me.
I had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Photo Credit: StuSeeger
E.Payne is the author of Investing In An Emotional Letdown and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.
I will say here and now that I will never be obese again. I will be fit and healthy and I will work on it daily. Although being healthy is challenging I am committed to living a long life. In October I ran the Nike Women’s Half-Marathon and raised over $5000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. On Sunday, February 27th on the day after my 41st birthday I ran my 2nd half-marathon, the Disney Princess, and it was totally and completely for me. Although I was not as prepared as I was for my first endurance race I remained committed to my goal and completed it with a smile.
A junior honor student attending Thea Bowman Leadership Academy in Gary, IN. An honor student since 3rd grade. A member of the Spanish Club and the Marching Band where he plays Baritone. He volunteers on a monthly basis at the Embassies of Christ Outreach Center preparing food baskets for those in need and play chess at a neighborhood center with the seniors. He is a self-taught chess player who has participated in many tournaments. He is a participant in Purdue University's Gifted Educational Research Institute (G.E.R.I) annual summer camp for gifted children. He is in charge of all photography needs for Embassies of Christ Kingdom Ministry. He states, he has an eye that allows him to capture moments others can't see. As a born leader, he was selected as the Post-Tribune "Leader of the Future" in 5th grade and selected as a junior reporter to cover the Harlem Globetrotters in 8th grade. "My dream and purpose in life is to be able to travel the world and capture God's wonders in print for everyone else to see. I have aspirations of attending Columbia College of Chicago and majoring in Photography."
From the makers of the hit ICE AGE series comes RIO, a comedy adventure about taking a walk on the wild side. Blu is a domesticated Macaw who never learned to fly, living a comfortable life with his owner and best friend Linda in the small town of Moose Lake, Minnesota. Blu and Linda think he’s the last of his kind, but when they learn about another Macaw who lives in Rio de Janeiro, they head to the faraway and exotic land to find Jewel, Blu’s female counterpart. Not long after they arrive, Blu and Jewel are kidnapped by a group of bungling animal smugglers. With the help of street smart Jewel, and a group of wise-cracking and smooth-talking city birds, Blu escapes. Now, with his new friends by his side, Blu will have to find the courage to learn to fly, thwart the kidnappers who are hot on their trail, and return to Linda, the best friend a bird ever had.
