The Practice Lesson

A few years ago, I was a substitute teacher. This particular day I instructed the students on the particular assignment and the expectation for completing it. A student asked, “Why do we need to do this again?” I confidently responded, “because practice makes perfect.” The student responded, “No actually it does not make perfect if you are practicing doing something incorrectly.” My prideful self-thought, “I can’t believe this seventh grader is questioning my authority and more importantly my intelligence.” I slowly began to humble myself as I realized with a slight grimace (with a bruised ego indeed) that the student actually has a very valuable point. Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Excellence requires a great level of practice and dedication to achieve. However, if you are not practicing the proper techniques it can lead to an overwhelming level of frustration if you can see no positive and quantifiable results on the horizon. Life is a constant teacher and the sooner you realize that you will forever be its student the more you can grow, learn, and become a better person. Teachers can sometimes be a young person with an experience or insight that defies all sense of logic of what someone should or should not know at a particular age. Many of the young people I have met inspire me with a candor and honesty that reminds me that I do not know everything. Of course, on a few occasions I can say I have shared a few nuggets of wisdom as a mentor to young people that has created some long lasting relationships that over time turns into great friendships. Overall, becoming great at something takes consistent practice and the only thing to truly desire being perfect at is obtaining the skills and resources that are necessary for greatness.