Will You Publicly Shame Your Teacher Who Discouraged You?
Canadian Swimmer Penny Oleksiak Who Won 1 Silver & 2 Bronze Medals At The Tokyo Olympics Shamed Her Former Teacher Who Discouraged Her
First things first — I would do the exact same thing.
Penny Oleksiak, the Canadian swimmer bagged one silver medal and two bronze medals in the Tokyo Olympics. She’s been consistently winning for her country having earned one gold medal, one silver medal and two bronze meals in the 2016 Rio Olympics. But that’s not all. She also won three silver medals in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. And let’s not talk about her feats in the FINA world championships — it would take a whole page to list all her achievements!
Clearly in the year when the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the psyche of sports persons, her win is no small deal. We now know that being mentally strong is as crucial to win an Olympic medal as being physically strong. It’s therefore necessary to call out the system, the people who drag others down — forcing them to walk the path of mediocrity.
So after winning the medals, Penny posted on Twitter —
The Opposing View
The best thing about social media, there will always be some opposing views. Right or wrong — that’s another matter. In Penny’s case too, I came across some opposing views on Facebook.
One woman on Facebook said, “For all we know the teacher might have told her that academics were important too. I’m sure there was a good reason to tell her she needed to focus on school more. As an educator I would never not support a student’s dreams. But, I also would not stand by and watch them not learn without helping them see the importance of academics in addition to athletic dreams.”
If that was the case then Penny’s attack would not have been so scathing. Consider these two sentences -
“Hey, stop your obsession with swimming. You won’t be getting anywhere. Focus on your studies.”
“Hey, don’t just remain obsessed over swimming. Focus on your studies as well.”
There’s a difference between the way you tell a child to focus on studies. You don’t cut her wings.
Was The Teacher Her Great Motivator?
There is an age-old advice that tells you to use the naysayers as a source of motivation. However, those who have been around naysayers know how emotionally taxing their words can be. Their constant no no no will one day make the victim a dejected soul. Chances her that poor guy or girls might start thinking, “Perhaps they are right.”
So What’s The Difference Between De-motivation And Logical Advice?
A logical advice don’t make a child feel guilty for obsessing over her passion. If her dreams seem too good to be achievable, first ask, “If I let the child to let her be, will any harm come her way?” If the answer is no, then let her be! And if the answer is yes, first find out if YOU think it is harmful while ACTUALLY it isn’t. Talk to others without believing your beliefs right away. If you’re really sure that what the child is obsessing about is truly harmful, don’t break her hopes.
I, once, wanted to be a Physicist despite scoring poorly in Maths. I really loved Physics. And I secured 80% marks in my board exams. When the time came to choose my stream (Arts or Science), my teacher never said, “No, Marif, you can’t be a Physicist. You are too poor at Maths.” He just told me take my time, think it over. It was ME who came to the conclusion that I really couldn’t be a good Physicist. The bottom line is — the teacher didn’t lead me into believing that I would be a bad Physicist. It was me who concluded the assessment.
#Olympics #Tokyo2020 #Tokyo2021
