4/19/2023 0 Comments Lazarus lakeWhat if we made the learning real, instead of the grades? What if we taught students the process of learning, encouraged them to take risks, try things and fail? What if we told them to grapple with big questions, and allowed them to look up information that they needed when they need it? What if school were more like real life? Usually this type of behaviour is punished. If you’re not good at remembering things, you’re not smart. If you can remember that answer and write it on a test, you are smart. Taking a risk could put their grade at risk, so they learn not to take risks.What are they learning through this process? The “hidden curriculum” here is: This often means memorizing, cramming and following directions, rather than seeking out new learning opportunities or taking risks. Too often, students are motivated purely by grades and the work that happens along the way is only valued as the means to get to the grade. “Grades are real, they matter more than learning!” ( according to some of my former students). If the learning itself isn’t real, then students focus on the only thing that is real to them: grades. If what we are teaching isn’t applicable in the real world, what’s the point? I have long held the belief that we need to make learning real for students. Watch this clip from the film, and I’ll explain. And he made me wonder how I could apply his thinking to motivating students. The somewhat insane and slightly twisted - but fully brilliant - Lazarus Lake touched on big ideas about what drives people. But, there were also many points in the film where I found myself thinking about teaching and learning. As someone who recently completed my first full Ironman, I understand people who feel compelled to push themselves to the edges of what they think is possible. I found the race and Lazarus Lake, the mastermind behind the race, utterly fascinating. I recently watched a film called The Barkley Marathons, about this insane race that takes place in the hills of Tennessee every year. But what if we choose to believe that it is possible? Why are people compelled to explore the boundaries of human capacity? And how might we build in our students the desire to attempt things that are difficult? Sounds impossible, right? What entrepreneurs might call a “ Moonshot”. And the total elevation gain is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, twice. The course is five loops of off-trail, backwoods hills. "The job of a race director is to help people find greatness in themselves.Imagine a running race that takes place in the remote mountains of Tennessee. Laz is one of the most unique and insightful people we've ever had on the podcast. "People don't stop when they can't keep going they stop when they think they can't win." "I wonder if we stumbled on a whole new sport." I wonder if I'm going to wake up and it's not real." "This is like a fantasy, because I'm just an old hillbilly who lives in the woods. Who'd have imagined such a wild success? Not Laz: The original Bigs Backyard Ultra is still is held on his farm in Tennessee, where 35 people competed on October 16, but this year 25-30,000 runners will enter an official Backyard Ultra in 65 countries. That's 16 hour miles."īackyard Ultras are another Laz invention ("Just One More Loop") and will possibly be his most enduring legacy. "If you run off the map, the map doesn't help much anymore. He didn't find his way back until 32 hours later. Since 40 people are in each year, two finishers every five years is about right." It's designed so only 1% of entrants should be able to finish. They are someone who goes home and works to get better." "A 'Barker' isn't someone who says, "This isn't fair!" and goes home. But not always clean, and not always fun." The Barkley Marathons is an iconic, world-renowned event, and the subject of two films, even though only 40 people enter, there is no website, and the time and even the date of the race is secret. That is a low bar, but possibly by accident he has single-handily changed ultrarunning forever. Gary Cantrell, aka Lazarus Lake, (or is it the other way around?) could be the most creative person in the entire sport.
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