How Lebron James Made Me a Better Teacher

When I first became a teacher, it was the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. We started our school virtually for 9 weeks, had a mixture of hybrid instruction after that, and then ended with somewhat of a regular school week for the last quarter. It felt like a desk job, managing both online students and students in my classroom. I developed a bad habit of sitting by my desk too much, overwhelmed with the tasks of planning and grading as a new teacher. I felt more like a secretary than I did a teacher. So when I returned to teaching this past year, I decided I would never be like that again.

This year, I have tried to do the opposite – be a part of everything that the students are doing, whether that is direct instruction, leading group projects, or helping students 1 on 1 as much as I can. It has been great, but there’s one drawback. By the time I ended the first quarter, I was exhausted. I was expending so much energy every minute of the day that I wasn’t giving myself a chance to breathe. That’s when I realized I needed to be more like Lebron James.

Lebron is currently 40 years old and still playing basketball at a high level. He just scored 38 points in a playoff game where he was playing against athletes that are still in their early 20s. But one thing you notice when you watch him now versus his early career is that he knows how to expend his energy wisely across an entire basketball game. He chooses his periods of intensity intentionally, knowing that his body can’t handle it for all 48 minutes of the game. Sometimes that means locking down on defense and letting others score points, and sometimes that means him driving to the basket every possession for a few minutes to get his team back on track.

What this taught me about teaching (and life) is that you can’t be all things to all people. I often try to meet the needs of everyone at every moment of the day, and there isn’t enough time or energy to go around for that. There is balance in everything you do in life, and it involves wisely choosing your periods of intensity. Days of the week, like basketball games, have ebbs and flows to them. They have spikes where you need to be high energy, times where you need to be resilient, and times you need to be calm and peaceful. It’s important to use our energy levels intentionally, because every minute counts, just like a basketball game.