by Frankie Faires
In the first semester of my senior high school “honors” english class, our teacher sat in the back of the room grading papers and had us read out loud the stories from our text. This was a good practice considering I hadn’t had to do so since third grade. 3A schools in small East Texas towns are very progressive.
After we would finish reading to each other, we would then proceed to answer the questions at the end of the section, pass them to the back corner where our teacher was seated so she would be ready to grade these papers in the next class. She was a machine. Then came the second semester.
The first day, everything seemed the same.
17 & 18 year old students reading to each other?
Check.
Answering the questions at the end of the section?
Check.
Teacher in the back?
Check.
Then something changed.
Right when we were about to pass our papers to the back corner, she said, “Trade papers with the person to the side of you.” She then proceeded to give the teacher’s manual edition of the textbook to the teacher’s pet and instructed her to read the answer to the question to the rest of the class while we graded papers. I raised my hand.
“I’ve got a question.”
“Yes?”
“Let me get this straight. We read the book to each other?”
“Yes.”
“Then we answer the questions in the book?”
“Yes.”
“Then we grade each other’s work?”
“Yes.”
“So what is it that you do?”
She didn’t like that question.
I’ve had some great teachers
(and maybe I’ll tell you a story about them one day)
but I’ve had far more bad teachers than good teachers.
Strangely enough, the bad teachers have benefited me more than the good teachers because…..
Necessity is the mother of invention.
For those who know me, one of the first descriptors they might use is: smart. I can agree with that..but I’ve earned that. I’ve had to. In many areas, there are many things that don’t make sense to me when I first encounter them. If I am ever going to understand them, I have to make them make sense to me. Sports – movement in general – is one of those things.
Have you ever heard the old adage, “the best athletes make the worst coaches?” While that’s true, certainly the worst athletes don’t make best coaches, either. So which athletes do?
While I don’t think the MVPs are the best coaches…maybe the MIPs (Most Improved Players) are. These are the guys who know how to get better. If you know how to get better, being the best eventually takes care of itself.
That is what fascinates me: the science and practice of better. It’s what I teach, it’s what I practice. My strengths are still my strengths and my weaknesses are still my weaknesses…but my strengths and my weaknesses both are stronger, both are better…so are my students’ and so are those people I choose to spend my time around.
In our American culture, we have had a do or die attitude to education.
Those that are naturally athletic get more of an athletic education.
Those who are naturally academic get more of an academic education.
If we are going to be the leaders in the world, we need our athletes to become more academic and our academics to become more athletic. We need to get beyond our comfort zone and reshape ourselves. We don’t need to be well rounded…but we don’t need as many corners, either.
We need to stop focusing on the best…and start focusing on better. Better is the parent to the best. Are you better than you used to be? How?
Frankie
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{ 36 comments }
Good story. Good read. I learn something everyday. How would you define someone who is well rounded and someone that has corners?
someone who is doing things that test well
vs
someone who isn’t testing
Thanks Frankie! Good stuff…
I would say yes, I am better than I used to be. I lived far too long doing what was best for others, ultimately having them create my direction. I am better in the fact that I now realize it’s up to me to decide what is best and pursue that path.
Brian-
you are the only one qualified to.
Brian
I will add something, often when we act in the “best of others” we end up doing harm to ourselves and to them at some level. We are not qualified to act on others behalf until they ask us to, and no one is qualified to call it for you until you determine they are…
In most situations
If it hurts one person, it ultimately hurts both.
Almost no such thing as good for one
and not good for the other…
barring acts of heroism, of course.
This woman gives English teachers a bad name. No wonder students dread taking my classes if they’ve had experiences like yours, Frankie.
Bad teachers do force reflection, however, which makes us better. (Better – there’s that word again.) As an educator, I hope that I recognize “better” in my students and point it out to them so they can learn how to continuously improve.
Great talking with you today!
Every teacher serves a purpose– but do they want to be the ones we remember and say “I will never act like X” or “that is exactly how not to do it”
See you soon Amy!
It was great talking with you today, too.
It is a great day when you
find yourself liking everyone
you’re talking on the phone with….
but let’s not tell them what we were talking about.
shhhhhh.
fF
Excellent post, Frankie. I’ve consistently found it to be true that once I understand the basic tools, and then have opportunity to go practice them, whether physics, MA, or physical movements, I learn a lot more and end up teaching myself, plus I remember it better. I tend to be the methodical, more deliberate learner, but once I get it, I own it. Thanks so much for your help yesterday! Enjoyed talking with you!
I will add that there are some people whose only purpose in life is to serve as a bad example. I may not know exactly how I want to be, but I bloody well know what or who I don’t want to be like.
“Build a man a fire and he is warm for the day. Set a man on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life.”
Good to talk to you, too, brother!
But then his life could be much shorter:)
Good read, Frankie. I enjoy your clipped syntactical style especially; it sounds as if you think in bullet points.
Your description of bad teachers rings with me, I’ve had plenty. But it has definetly helped me: I find that most of the learning that I value today, I did for myself. Self-teaching and self-determination make the most sense to me, which must be part of the reason I love GM: no one is qualified to train me except me.
It turns out that me training me was a pretty good idea: I feel better, move better and think better than ever before, and I fully expect not only to continue, but to accelerate.
Thanks for the compliment, Brad.
I definitely have a different rhythm
to my writing, speaking, thinking, fighting –
everything I guess.
Congrats on your continued success
which has happened
because you were willing
to put the info to the test.
I’m sure we’ll cross paths very soon.
Frankie
thanks for the article, i like the part about focusing on not being the best but being better. That is a great point , i am better and will keep improving thanks for sharing the article it makes alot of sense
Mike,
Better will eventually take care of best.
Thanks for the comment.
fF
hi frankie
do you think the fact that we are not overtraining and that we lose rom or beat a personal best while not inflaming our bodies is what really helps me move better, feel better post workout , and by elminatinating soreness or fatigue we provide our body with growth, so instead of our bodies being in repair mode it is in growth mode, this is the case for me in 5 weeks i have put on 10 lbs without really trying , . because when my muscles are sore or overwork i move and feel like shit, i have felt that once in 5 weeks. and it sucked but i learned from it.This is just me but when my strength decreases not all the time but alot so does my rom, i only ask your thoughts because i want to be better thanks frankie
Mike,
Good question.
I do agree that following the practice of biofeedback is anti-inflammatory in nature (as opposed to Adam who is pro-inflammatory).
I cannot definitively say that avoiding inflammation is the main reason
why we PR every workout.
Actually, it’s impossible to know why we PR – but at least we know how to PR!
Yes, there will be a correlation between a loss of strength and a loss of ROM.
Thanks again Mike!
frankie thanks it makes no difference to me why , i like knowing how. Gym movement teaches me to think , it causes me to be aware of what i am doing and why i am doing it and my goals are not more but better. For me that is huge because it eliminates those shitty reps that take you from 5 to 7 reps or 9 to 11 ugly reps that i find hurt you more then help you, and for me being hurt is not part of the program. When you think like that it takes that stupid macho man shit out of the equation , scream and yell end result could be a hurtful rep. I am testing, thinking and then trying to feel, what my body is doing good or bad if its not good i am done. i am learning alot for myself it is easy to say, hard to do. Each day causes me to think what movements are best, i do not have all the answers but i am trying to find them for myself and then implement them. Thanks for all you guys hardwork it helps. This has been a big process for me sometimes i may repeat shit or state the obvious but thats only because it is now obvious to me we all learn at different rates my key is to learn and put to the test.
Mike
You have made incredible progress, not only in your lifting, but in your thought process. as you move better you are literally unlocking your mind. Keep moving forward my man
i am the only one that can do it redo it learn retest it and beat previous best it does not come easy for me and you are right my mind is growing and sking question i working trough it and moving forward
I think about teaching a lot … I’ve been doing it in one form or another for 25 years.
I’m not saying I’m an expert or anything … just that I’ve spent a lot of time doing it and thinking about the process.
Whilst I agree, helping people get better is fundamental to the process (and many teachers fail or even impede this process) … I think the key attribute of a good coach/teacher is the ability to inspire … to nurture a spark inside another person that grows into a passion for what they’re doing.
A person who is truly passionate about what they’re doing will always find a way to get better … that is the nature of passion.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet a lot of people who excel at what they do. I’ve noticed that many of them have excelled IN SPITE of the bad teachers, the social disadvantages, the physical limitations, the economic hardships etc.
Conversely, I’ve met a lot of people who haven’t got better at what they do (at least over the long term), even though they’ve received high quality teaching/coaching, and have had access to the best training methodologies and resources.
Better is better. Better is more. But in my opinion, learning to love what you do is the best of all.
I will continue to get better at movement, not primarily because of great instruction or quality training information … I will continue to get better because a person many years ago—who had a deep passion for movement (yet flawed understanding of teaching)—helped me develop my own deep-seated passion for training.
Just my 2 cents.
I had a government teacher my Sophomore year in High School that I still talk with on the phone about once a month. Why? Because he was such a good teacher that I can’t stand the thought of not having him in my life, and it’s been nearly 20 years.
Josh,
That is truly a gift.
We should all be so lucky.
fF
Kira,
I like it.
My perception of best is
aligning one’s
psychology (perspective of one’s self)
with one’s
physiology (actual self).
Hey Frankie,
Your concept of best is (once again) fascinating.
BTW, I want to thank you for something … As I’ve mentioned, I used to be a musician. For many years I had separated the process I use in music from the process I use in strength and fitness training … I had always kept these separate because fitness people seemed to go about there training using methodologies that were basically the opposite of what a musician would use to get better … And who was I to disagree with the experts
At any rate, over the last few years I’ve come to realize that the concepts, strategies and methodologies a musician uses to improve his movement is far superior to almost all the training systems I’ve seen fitness people use …
Your approach to strength and fitness, from my perspective, is exactly how a musician should approach his own practice …
Thank you for helping me ‘tie together’ my musical understanding of practice with how to go about strength and fitness training.
You might recognize some things in my experience of music …
Music is using the LEAST amount of tension/effort to achieve any given outcome. Music is coordination. Music is alignment. Music is a full body experience. Music is intention. Music is unifying the ‘mind’ and the ‘body’. Music is individual. Music is honest self expression. Music is passion. Music is exploration. Music is fun. Music is a way of life.
Kira, Frankie said to me 48 hours ago that his main goal right now is to write and play a song on the guitar that he likes:)
That is a good goal
Kira,
Thanks for the thoughtful response.
You express yourself very well…
which I’m sure you know.
If you remember from THE BIG PICTURE,
we talk about how “fine motor athletes” like musicians
are so much more intuitive and intelligent
in their respective movement practices
than gross motor athletes.
It’s good to hear your affirming that.
FYI,
Music has a MAJOR impact on me.
Up until just recently,
I was unable to feel particular emotions
without specific musical stimuli.
Since I’ve been learning chords on the guitar,
it has completely changed how I hear music now.
As Josh was saying,
guitar is my new fine motor sport.
I saw him play on a video…
and he’s a badass.
Hopefully, he’ll help up
my badass quotient
by giving me some tips.
Ha! Music as a sport … I like it
Apply your ‘better’ principles to your practice and you will do well!
Cheers!
One of the teachers of our first language in elementary school ALWAYS gave girls higher grades than boys, for example there was a girl from Bosnia who didn’t understand our language very well at the time but still got 9′s and 10′s (A’s and B’s)! Goddamn pseudo-feminists…
Very interesting how similar different cultures are in many respects. You almost perfectly described one of my language teachers in high school. As long as we learn from these so-called teachers’ misguidance. I am experiencing a similar situation at work at the moment, luckily it’s motivating me to reach my personal goals faster!
frankie and what is surefire way you no you have overtrained, lot of question but a will keep asking them because i need to know thanks for your time boys
Mike i will address this in the news letter tomorrow
adam you get that email i sent you
Mike, it is currently 1100 PM central and i just got in to my email and responded. Please review it and select a time. Talk to you soon brother