Let the games begin. I’m not referring to a game of soccer or basketball, but of the game of running a martial arts school. Just as any other type of game, this game has players, rules, objectives and, of course, levels of dedication.
Whenever someone enters the game, his or her dedication will match one of four different levels.
Imagine a square with four sections, each representing one of the four levels of dedication. Each section is a higher level of dedication; therefore, the higher the goals, the greater the reward. At which level a teacher is placed depends on many factors, including how he or she perceives his or her role as a teacher.
The first and lowest level is “Choosing not to play.” This level is for those who, although they entered the game, did so with minimal intent to play the game and become good teachers. Perhaps, these teachers open schools, don’t play and assume their lack of effort will be rewarded. They are not focused on their businesses. They won’t attend conventions or gather statistics on their schools.
“Things will just fall into place,” they may say. Without so much as raising a finger, they will decline into oblivion, forgotten, if lucky, by their students, without making much of a positive impact on their lives.
The second level is what I call, “Just playing.” Teachers at this level let their moods and situations determine their dedication, and are then capricious, changing their minds daily about what they should be doing. They let the mood of the day determine their students’ quality of training. Obviously, the second level isn’t much better than the lowest level; and students suffer most from these teachers’ lack of dedication.
It’s the inconsistency that hurts. One day, a teacher has a good mood and he or she decides to teach. If the teacher has a bad mood because there are problems or crises in the school or his or her personal life, then he or she decides not to teach, and the students suffer.
The third level is called, “Not to Lose.” Those who operate at this level play the game with the sole intention of not losing-not necessarily winning, but certainly not losing.
Third-level teachers will do anything not to lose, and feed their egos. If they are successful and look good, then they don’t care about others. These teachers avoid attachments with other humans, since that may increase the possibility of failure. Because of this self-centered nature, those stuck at the third level haven’t made any improvements compared to teachers at the other two levels. It’s merely a different way to fail at the game.
Third-level teachers are those who believe that their techniques or styles are the only legitimate styles, and they are driven to prove the flaws in all other styles. They teach only to better their names, but, of course, in so doing, create the opposite effect.
The only real way to play this game-and win-is called “WIN: What’s Important Now.” Teachers at this level not only make sure they, but also all of their students, do their very best, and progress as much as possible during classes.
Teachers at the highest level help everyone win. Through vision and altruism, they create a community, not just operate schools. It’s not just my school or your school, but a network of schools and visions that ultimately unite to serve the common goal that everyone wins.
As school owners, we are already players in this game. The question is “At what level do you want to play?” A person who sees himself as a hammer sees all others as nails. Do you want to be the hammer, the nail or neither? I believe that all teachers have a responsibility to their students to be neither and to consider their successes as their own because only then do both teachers and students win.
