I’ve been a Lakers fan since about 1996. I was 9 years old, Shaquille O’Neal had just been traded from Orlando, and Kobe Bryant was their big draft pick. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Kobe is about to retire after 20 years in the league, and the entire season has been one big montage to his career. Last night the Lakers Instagram account showed a photo of Kobe entering the arena with the caption, “Two more stories to tell #KB20.” Bryant had two games left. Two more opportunities to tell his story. Two more opportunities to live his legacy. Now as you’re reading this, of course, he’s got one night. One last chance to leave his mark on a league that he’s been a part of for more than half his life.
You don’t have to be a Kobe Bryant fan, and you don’t have to be a fan of how the Lakers have let the season play out, but it got me thinking. Are we taking every day that we enter the classroom as another opportunities to tell another story? Are you telling your story each and every day? Writing another page of your legacy? How are you showing and sharing those stories? We live in a connected world where you get to tell your story – your story, your classroom’s story, your students’ stories – on your own terms every single day. Make sure you don’t let the opportunity pass you by.
Each night game of Bryant’s farewell tour has highlighted his past, his accomplishments, his undeniable skills. Are you giving students an opportunity to tell a story each time they walk in the room? Each day they spend in your class is like Bryant’s farewell tour. Those kids won’t be back next year, they’ll be moving on to the next chapters in their lives. Each first is also a last. It might be a repeat experience for you, but the kids in those seats will never again experience 2nd grade. They won’t take 9th grade US History again (we hope). Each day you get to set the stage for them to live their legacy.
And when it comes right down to it, this is even more relevant at the end of the year. As April fades to May and graduation caps and gowns emerge (whether it’s Kindergarten graduation, high school graduation, or college), we have a choice to make. We can give our students a chance to go out like champions – pushing them to be their best every single day that we have left with them, or we can let them slide on the back end. Kobe is still putting up 35 points a night – every game matters, there are stories yet to be written.
You don’t have to be a Kobe Bryant fan, and you don’t have to be a fan of how the Lakers have let the season play out, but it got me thinking. Are we taking every day that we enter the classroom as another opportunities to tell another story? Are you telling your story each and every day? Writing another page of your legacy? How are you showing and sharing those stories? We live in a connected world where you get to tell your story – your story, your classroom’s story, your students’ stories – on your own terms every single day. Make sure you don’t let the opportunity pass you by.
Each night game of Bryant’s farewell tour has highlighted his past, his accomplishments, his undeniable skills. Are you giving students an opportunity to tell a story each time they walk in the room? Each day they spend in your class is like Bryant’s farewell tour. Those kids won’t be back next year, they’ll be moving on to the next chapters in their lives. Each first is also a last. It might be a repeat experience for you, but the kids in those seats will never again experience 2nd grade. They won’t take 9th grade US History again (we hope). Each day you get to set the stage for them to live their legacy.
And when it comes right down to it, this is even more relevant at the end of the year. As April fades to May and graduation caps and gowns emerge (whether it’s Kindergarten graduation, high school graduation, or college), we have a choice to make. We can give our students a chance to go out like champions – pushing them to be their best every single day that we have left with them, or we can let them slide on the back end. Kobe is still putting up 35 points a night – every game matters, there are stories yet to be written.
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