The Healer In a Team

The Sports practice began with much enthusiasm. I was assigned to look after the students participating in the 100m dash and tug of war. I enjoyed my role as it gave me the space to sit with the children and cheer excitedly like a child. The students jumped up and clapped whenever someone from their house conquered the finishing line!

The weather was quite pleasant. The students were called to wait in line for the tug of war event. They all stood up and took their places. I always found it quite amazing that even though it was just a practice, the strategies would be altered every day and new tricks were tested to invent some winning formula! The Yellow House was competing with the Blue House. The other groups always came in a circle to cheer for their favourite teams. I too joined in the screaming and fun.

The pull was a strong one. The Yellow House struggled to keep the hanky onto their side but sadly with a slippery drag, they all came to the ground. The winning team gave a loud cry of joy and the playground clapped for their triumph. I had enjoyed their fighting spirit. 

As I turned to gather my children in a line, I saw two children from the Losing team having a heated argument. Before I could reach them, one of the boys gave the other a strong push venting his anger and frustration. I immediately shouted, “Hey! What’s the matter? Stop it right now!” The boy who had fallen stood up with a vengeance. Another teacher intervened and they were separated from the crowd. The children were in another section, so their relevant teachers took them back to class.

My students were happy to be back to class but the water drinking sessions were still in progress. “Teacher, what happened in the playground? Why were those boys fighting?” The boys asked me, a little charged with the live action! “I know teacher,” another one replied before I could speak, “X pushed Y because he had fallen down in the tug of war competition and as a result everyone came down!” A few students laughed at remembering the spectacle. 

“Yellow House lost because of that guy.” The verdict had been given. I wanted to explore their thoughts a little more and asked them, “Do you think this boy will participate again next year?” They looked at each other, “We think not. He has already proved he can’t really put up a fight. Besides he is also in the 100 m dash and always the last to reach the finishing line!” There was more laughter.

In the staff room I met up with the teachers who informed me about the whole story. The poor boy had been facing quite a lot of bullying in the form of sarcastic remarks and angry stares! He had qualified for the race but somehow was not being able to give a good performance. The sad part was that he had now approached his Sports Teacher and asked him to replace him with a faster runner. He wanted to quit!

The news was very disturbing for me. What if it was my son? How could a game take away a child’s precious self-esteem and confidence away? Something had gone wrong somewhere and needed to be corrected. I decided to plan my next Literacy Class in relation to the event and address the issue with hope to bring about a change in behaviours and attitudes. My colleagues joined in the cause and we all held our Composition class with the topic, “The Healer in a Team”.

I had framed a few questions related to the events and started off with the first one.

“Why do you think we have so many colour houses in school children?” They raised their hands instantly, “So that we could have a competition! So that we could make our team proud! To belong to a group!” Their answers were varied but technically all correct.

“Welldone! And when you do join a group, you become a member isn’t it?” I carried my argument further. “Yes teacher!” “Do you think that all members who join the group have the same talents or qualities?” The boy in the front row shook his head in negative. “No, I think some are good at running while some are good at clearing obstacles. Like me!” The students all laughed at his innocent claim to fame.

“Now tell me, how many of us are good healers in a team?” The question took them by surprise and they could not grasp the concept or relevance of the word. “By healer do you mean like the nurse?” one girl asked a little in doubt. “Well, yes I suppose you could say that. A nurse also helps you feel better when you feel sick or are unwell,” I continued. “In every team, whether the tug of war team or the 100m dash one, a healer is required to play his/her role.” I had their complete attention. They knew I was onto something related to the incident now and their curiosity kept them engaged. 

“You see, every team has its members. Some are fast runners who will win you the trophy, some are good supporters. They might not run very fast but are helpful in preparing the team plans and strategies. And then you have the healers!”

“A healer in a team is a member, who keeps the team spirit high. Someone who encourages his team mates. Who understands the feelings of success but also failure.” A girl intervened, “My mum failed her Driving test and cried for days! Then my dad told her that it was okay and it’s just a test. She can try again and again!” It’s always satisfying to get response and opinions from the students which indicates the success of a lesson plan. 

“That’s right! So what if you don’t succeed once. What is failure? It’s just not getting through the first time. There can be so many more chances to prove yourself.” The discussion was getting positively energized by their thoughtful expressions that had started to visualize the Yellow House failure.

I spoke openly about the playground incident now. “Can you imagine just how lonely this boy must feel? Children laugh at him and his team mates stare at him with anger! Please tell me if you think it is fair that he quits the game just because his team only cares about winning?” The students felt bad about their sarcastic remarks and harsh abandonment. “Did he say he will quit teacher?” The girls got a little upset. “We will ask him to stay. He is good because he qualified. Maybe he needs more practice.”

“Teacher, the healer can also help to make his team members practice better. He can improve their performance!” “Oh ofcourse! Well said A, indeed there is always room for improvement, provided we have a plan. If our plan is only to feel angry and blame each other, then there can be no improvement,” I loved the systematic progression in the argument.

“But teacher when Red House won last year, they were behaving like show offs. They said that they were the winners and everyone else was a loser. It made me angry. They have all the fast runners in their team. How can we win then?” The boy had raised a valid question dealing with the improper distribution of skills and qualities. “Well, in that case the question should be brought to the attention of the Sports Teacher. You can approach her and let her know your concerns. And until something changes, learn to appreciate the winners. After all, they must have worked really hard to enjoy that success. However, while they waste time in showing off, you consume your time effectively observing their strengths and learning from their performances.”

On the whole, it had been a positive class. Qualities of a Healer were highlighted on the soft board and they framed their compositions. I kept these with me in my treasure box because they etched life-long learning that can only come with the awakening of the conscience. 

The Sports Day went smoothly and we were happy to have made an effort to create a few reasoning minds and some compassionate hearts.

The Healer in a Team

A healer in a team should understand his team mates feelings . If someone is not very good at running fast, he should not feel scared of his team mates. They should not say “Don’t run slow!” This will make him feel nervous and guilty.

The healer can also call for a meeting to make a plan for the team. He solves the problems of team mates by discussing and sharing ideas.

The healer in a team helps make rules so the plan is clear to everyone and the mistakes are less. Even when the team loses, he does not fight and uses encouraging words to make his friends feel better.

He praises the winning team and learns from them. The healer in a team is like a helper, friend and someone in charge of everyone thinking positive things.

He works hard everyday and is always trying to make his team better and keeps all happy.

Sameer Noman

Yr. 3A

28th November 2007

(My son wrote this almost 5 years ago, extracting the essence of the lesson)