Lindsey Vonn is an Olympic gold medal-winning skier and a tremendous athlete. But as we learned from NBC's Running Wild with Bear Grylls this week, she's a nightmare if she's not in her element. As Bear tried to teach her some survival skills along the Corsican coast, Vonn's unpleasant personality shone through. Her arrogance and stubbornness have helped her become a champion in one specific area of life, but it can be a huge liability when trying to learn something new.
From the moment they arrived on the rocky shore, Vonn snipped at Bear, "Don't help me!" While she was trying so hard to prove her mettle by ignoring Bear's outstretched hand on the slippery rocks, she promptly fell right back in the water. Bear quickly realized the handful of a student he had taken on. He politely abided her wishes and gave little instruction during their excursion. But whenever Vonn got herself into trouble, she instantly started complaining. During one delicate descent down a cliff, Vonn wailed in despair as she struggled, then blamed Bear for the difficulty. In a brilliant aside to the camera, while holding onto Vonn from up the cliff face, Bear said, "When some people face hard times, they first start blaming the person at the other end of the rope."
This episode was an excellent analogy for students at school. Many students try to show how smart they are or how wrong they think the teacher is. They think school is a competition to look good; they don't realize success at school is a team effort. These students, who may be highly skilled, are actually just as difficult to deal with as students with hardly any skills. While lower-level students need constant attention to improve beyond the basics, higher achieving students with an obstinate mindset often need similar constant attention to correct all the mistakes they think are correct.
If you are a student beginning this new school year, remember that your teachers are there to help you. Like Bear Grylls, your teachers can be a guide through the academic wilderness. Don't pretend to be smarter than you are, thinking that it will impress them. It will only make them back away, so they can watch you struggle on your own. And that will be a tremendous waste of time for everyone involved. Your teachers are at the other end of your academic rope, holding on and trying to keep you safe. Don't fight them, and don't blame them. Vonn thought she was competing against Bear, rather than working with him. And it only revealed her own foolishness. In case you missed the episode, go check it out on OnDemand. Students can learn two important lessons from the show: seek out teachers like Bear Grylls; and never get stranded anywhere with Lindsey Vonn.
From the moment they arrived on the rocky shore, Vonn snipped at Bear, "Don't help me!" While she was trying so hard to prove her mettle by ignoring Bear's outstretched hand on the slippery rocks, she promptly fell right back in the water. Bear quickly realized the handful of a student he had taken on. He politely abided her wishes and gave little instruction during their excursion. But whenever Vonn got herself into trouble, she instantly started complaining. During one delicate descent down a cliff, Vonn wailed in despair as she struggled, then blamed Bear for the difficulty. In a brilliant aside to the camera, while holding onto Vonn from up the cliff face, Bear said, "When some people face hard times, they first start blaming the person at the other end of the rope."
This episode was an excellent analogy for students at school. Many students try to show how smart they are or how wrong they think the teacher is. They think school is a competition to look good; they don't realize success at school is a team effort. These students, who may be highly skilled, are actually just as difficult to deal with as students with hardly any skills. While lower-level students need constant attention to improve beyond the basics, higher achieving students with an obstinate mindset often need similar constant attention to correct all the mistakes they think are correct.
If you are a student beginning this new school year, remember that your teachers are there to help you. Like Bear Grylls, your teachers can be a guide through the academic wilderness. Don't pretend to be smarter than you are, thinking that it will impress them. It will only make them back away, so they can watch you struggle on your own. And that will be a tremendous waste of time for everyone involved. Your teachers are at the other end of your academic rope, holding on and trying to keep you safe. Don't fight them, and don't blame them. Vonn thought she was competing against Bear, rather than working with him. And it only revealed her own foolishness. In case you missed the episode, go check it out on OnDemand. Students can learn two important lessons from the show: seek out teachers like Bear Grylls; and never get stranded anywhere with Lindsey Vonn.