Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Friday, February 10, 2006
The teachable moment
I was watching the end of the Super Bowl in 1995, a surprisingly good game between the upstart Pittsburgh Steelers — with fresh-faced third year coach Bill Cowher — and the loaded Dallas Cowboys, a team that today is remembered as one of the greatest in NFL history.
Somehow the Steelers were down just 20-17 to this powerhouse lineup filled with future Hall of Famers with under five minutes before an interception sealed the game for Dallas.
For some reason, I just remember seeing this clip of an obviously disappointed Cowher leaving the field with his dejected team as the Cowboys celebrated, when he came upon his wife and three young daughters standing near the tunnel. The youngest, then age four, was crying her eyes out.
And Cowher broke into a sympathetic smile, scooped her up in a hug, looked her eye-to-eye and said, “Aww. It’s O.K. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
I was just struck by what a great lesson that was, in that moment, for Cowher to to be able to put it all into a realistic perspective for his children.
So it was nice Sunday, after a decade of football disappointment, to see the Cowher family again on the sidelines doing a celebratory group high-five in the waning moments of the Steelers’ Super Bowl win over Seattle. There is a nice account in a column by Rick Reilly in this week’s Sports Illustrated. (Sorry I don’t have a link. You can only get it online at cnnsi.com if you are an SI subscriber.)
Parents, remember Cowher’s lesson. Involve your kids in your moments of elation and disappointment. Explain what’s happening in a way that keeps it all in perspective. It’s a great way for children to learn about how life works.
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