Steven Pressfield, in his excellent book Turning Pro, tells a story of a famous horse trainer.
I hope you find it as thought provoking as I do.
Steven is typing now:
I got the chance a few years ago to watch a famous trainer work with his thoroughbreds. I had imagined that the process would be something hard-core like Navy SEAL training. To my surprise, the sessions were more like play.
The work was serious, as in teaching the two-year-olds to enter the starting gate, and the horses were definitely learning. But the trainer took pains to make the schooling feel like fun. When a horse got tired, the trainer took him off the track. If a mount got bored or restive, the trainer never forced him to continue or drove him "through the pain."
He explained:
"A horse is a flight animal. Even a stallion, if he can, will choose flight over confrontation. Picture the most sensitive person you've ever known; a horse is ten times more sensitive. A horse is a naked nervous system, particularly a thoroughbred. He's a child. A three-year-old, big and fast as he is, is a baby. Horses understand the whip, but I don't want a racer that runs that way. A horse that loves to run will beat a horse that's compelled, every day of the week. I want my horses to love the track. I want my exercise riders to have to hold them back in the morning because they're so excited to get out and run. Never train your animal to exhaustion. Leave him wanting more."
The training looks more like play, because “a horse that loves to run will beat a horse that’s compelled, every day of the week.”
A good trainer will want their horses to love the track, not to hate it.
There’s a lesson here, for us, humans — especially for teachers.
Create a safe environment where kids enjoy being in the class, studying, exploring, debating and challenging each other.
Listen to them.
Take the shackles off.
Let them play around.
Give them a little taste and spark their curiosity.
Be like John Wood and bring a lot of empathy to what you do.
Let them learn hard lessons.
Let them practice without worrying about perfection.
Keep on the lookout, whatever you do, stop everything before they get bored.
Never "train" them to exhaustion.
Always leave them wanting more tomorrow.
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