From Where We Started

    Dan called last week. He's the new school superintendent at a neighboring district, and he's been calling every so often, getting a lay of the land and gaining insight in his new position.
    He doesn't lack for confidence or hard work, and his students and staff will benefit from his leadership.
    What struck me was how a class of college students has become successful at what they are doing.
    Where we are now is a long way from where we started.
    In the spring of 1976, I was a second-semester freshman at the University of Nebraska, struggling to find a GPA above 3.0 and even more importantly, trying to find a place to fit in.
    I was a declared history major with a minor in math. Calculus 106 had already put a C on my college transcript.
    In an honors history class of 15 students I was the only one who didn't post an A.
    Something needed to change.
    Over some unidentifiable meat casserole in the dining room of the Harper-Schramm-Smith dormitory, a girl from my Philosophy of Education course suggested a change.
    'Why don't you go over to the PE department and change your major? You want to coach and teach, so you'll have to take lots of those classes anyway. Besides, we have a lot of fun over there.'
    Hmmm. GPA suffering. C's adding up on the transcript. 'We have lots of fun.'
    The next day I was seeing my advisor. He strongly suggested I not become 'just another PE teacher and coach. Set your sights a little higher.'
    I dunno. Seemed like maybe I wasn't fitting in elsewhere. He reluctantly signed the changes.
    Maybe I should have looked further ahead. In the program were classes in Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology, Physiology of Exercise and something called Motor Theory.
    The upside was I met and started hanging around people like Dan, Theresa, Jon, Barb, Kirk and Tom.
    And I survived Anatomy with Dr. Johnson. This was no wimpy comparative anatomy using animals. We studied the same cadavers the medical students had. We learned all about the human body.
    I learned how to study, for the first time in my life. I found out I could have done better in those history and math courses if I had known how to study the way a college student needs to study.
    I took harder classes, and my GPA went up. A semester of 3.5.  A 4.0 followed by another and another.
    Along the way, we had fun. We played intramurals and some classmates played varsity sports. We actually became leaders in student government.
    We made an impression on teachers and other students. We didn't take over the Administration building, but we made a positive impact. Most of all, we had fun.
    We gained the knowledge and skills necessary to be 'just another PE teacher and coach', but my classmates excelled beyond that.
   After our graduation in 1979, we did our teaching and coaching thing, and then began to move beyond that.
     'Setting our sights higher', Dan became a principal and then a superintendent. Theresa is a guidance counselor. Jon was a successful superintendent in a small school district and now is an assistant in one of Nebraska's best schools. Barb left teaching and runs a business in Omaha.  Tom is the principal at a western Nebraska school known for its academic and activity excellence. Kirk coached championship teams before becoming an administrator.
    We were just a bunch of jocks who wanted to be teachers. Somewhere along the line, we became leaders.
    It's a long way from where we started.

(Web editor's note:  formatting prohibits the use of double quotations within this webpage. I apologize for any inconvenience in reading quotes.)

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This Page was last update: Friday, December 8, 2006 at 8:23:16 AM
This page was originally posted: 11/27/06; 6:25:20 PM.
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