Chapter 5
Summary
-This entire chaptr can best be summarized by the last sentence. "Ignition doesn't follow normal rules because it's not designed to follow rules. I's designed only to work, to give us energy for whatever we choose-or, as we'll see next, for whatever fate chooses for us." To illustrate this, Coyle give examples of sudden bursts of talented youth in the areas of Russian tennis and Korean female golfers. After some research he discovered that this sudden surge in successful athletes only occurred after the first succesful Russaina tennis player or Korean golfer. This sense of "they could do it, so I can do it too," ignited motivation in youths who then worked hart through deep practice over the next few years to become the next success sotries in their respected sports. With ignition, it also gives an example of a study done by Gary McPherson where kids of the same skill level were given music lessons over a period of time. The study showed that those students who had a long term commitment to their instrument excelled far gereeater than the students who expressed only a low commitment to their instrument. This showed that a predetermined idea served as ignition for the students' progress. The next couple of examples talk about triggers for primal cues that are effective in motivating deep practice. One is the primal cue that "I'm not safe" being triggered by the loss of a parent can motivate a person to become a leader in their respected field. Examples of this are found in Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain. It also discusses the primal cue of "I don't want to be left behind," motivating youngest children to be fast. Turns out, some of the fastest frunners of all time are the youngest in their families. The last example is the primal cue of scarcity being a motivator. An example of this is a public school in Harlem, New York that had a lottery to determine which students would get to learn to play the violin because there wasn't enough money in the budget for all the students. These primal cues of scarcity and belonging to an elite group motivated these students to work hard and excel in their studies.
Application
-Giving mhy students examples of people their age being able to sing really well can motivate them by giving them the "they can do it, so I can do it too" primal cue. I can also be awasre of my students commitment to learning to sing in how it affects the way the practice. While there are some things I can do to inspire and ignite motivation for deep practice, most of the ignition for deep practice that my students will experience will come from external sources outside of the lesson with me. It also gives me cause to think about what motivates me to sing and get better at singing.
Chapter 6
Summary
-On a tiny island in the Carribbean there is a place called Willemstad, Curaço. This place has become well known for producing really great baseball players and for having a "David vs. Goliath" reputation starting with Andruw Jones and his repetitive home run hits in 1996 at Yankee Stadium. After that moment, Curaçao became a talent hotbed seemingly overnight. The true meaning behind this could be found in the little league baseball coach who also coached every baseball team on the island. His name is Frank Curiel. The rest of this chapter discusses this coach's impact on keeping the ignition for these baseball players going in the way he structures his team, treats the players, and coaches practices. He is constantly sending primal cues, having the boys watch baseball games with him, coaching them step by step, and inspiring them to work hard as they develop in their baseball skills to have a love of the game, and a desire to work hard to get better. He coaches by the saying "To play ball, you need three things...Heart. Mind. Balls. If you have two, you can play, but you will never be great. To be great, all three." The other part of the chapter talks about the coach/mentor for the Z-Boys. his name is Engblom. Engblom didn't do anything particularly special but the way he communicated with the guys sent them just the right kind of messages in small packages to help them succeed. One of the biggest things he did to communicate with them was to boost their confidence. If they believed that they could beat the other skaters then they could. The last part of the chapter talks about a study done by Dweck in which different kids were given the same test but half of them were praised for being smart and the other half were praised for working hard. The half that were praised for working hard did better on their scores when given a harder test then the students who were praised for being smart. This study was supposed to prove that kids respond better and practice better at building a skill when they are praised for the work they are already putting into the skill then the kids who are told they are naturals at it.
Application
-I really resonated with the last bit of the chapter that talked about the test with the kids. I felt that I could relate to the kids who were told that they were smart. All my life I've been given similar compliments of how smart I am or how well I sing. My parents couldn't afford to give me voice lessons growing up so I never learned how to work at singing. I got pretty far on just raw talent alone so I thought that was all I needed. I genuinely thought that. When I started taking voice lessons I already had an idea of what I wanted to work on to improve my singing (breath control/support) but I wasn't prepared to work hard to do it. I have had to slowly peel away the ego I built as a kid growing up when it came to the skill of learning how to sing. I had to learn how to practice and work hard to break old bad habits I had developed, and build new good ones. With that being said, as a teacher I of course want to boost confidence in my students when it comes to their voices. It is their instrument that is unique to them and they should take pride in it. However, I also want to encourage them and teach them how to work hard and polishing that skill and improving their voice. I want to teach them how to practice and praise them for their efforts.
Chapter 7
Summary
- This chapter is about the beginning and success of KIPP. It was formed after two teachers decided that they were fed up with the public school system. So, they decided to form their own school. They called it the "Knowledge Is Power Program". They stole ideas from many great teachers and put it into their curriculum. They started out small at first but then quickly grew to have multiple schools throughout the country. Their main focus is allowing low-income kids the opportunity to go to college. Not by giving it to them for free, but by teaching them how to work hard for it and helping them to believe that it is possible for them. They have a focus on having all the kids earn everything they have and by teaching them uniform ways of good behavior down to a certain way to hold their binders that gives them a sense of belonging to a group. Every word and lesson plan is perfectly rehearsed and coreagraphed. And, most of these kids to end up going to college.
Application
-I want to be able to learn from other successful teachers in what they do to have success in their students and implement them into my own teaching style. I want to ignite a sense that all of my students have the capability of being singers and teach them how to work for it.
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