Category: JustLikeThat

High School Basketball Sportsmanship

Steve Hartman has found this wonderful story of sportsmanship for CBS Evening News. It is always great to start the day by reading one of these stories – its heartening, inspires you to do the right thing (no matter what others think) & gives hope for a better tomorrow. These are the kind of acts Good Guys are made up of.

Mitchell MarcusTeam Manager Mitchell Marcus

Coach Peter Morales of the Coronado High School Thunderbirds in El Paso, Texas, makes no qualms about it: he has a favorite on this team – Mitchell Marcus. Team manager Mitchell Marcus has a developmental disability, but he far surpasses everyone here when it comes to love of the game. And because basketball is that important to him, on the last game of the regular season, the coach told Mitchell to suit up. Just wearing a jersey was enough for Mitchell, but the coach had other plans – to play him at the end, no matter what the score.

Coach Peter MoralesCoach Peter Morales

With a minute-and-a-half left — Coronado leading, but only by 10 — Coach Morales put in his Mitchell. Although his teammates did everything they could to get Mitchell a basket, each time they passed him the ball, he either missed the shot, or, like on their last possession, booted it out of bounds, turning the ball over to the other team with just seconds left.

Jonathon MontanezJonathon Montanez

But no one imagined what was to happen next. It happened on the inbound. The guy with the ball was a senior at Franklin High School, Jonathon Montanez. Jonathon yelled out Mitchell’s name, then threw the ball right to him — one of the most memorable turnovers of all time. It wasn’t a game-winning shot, Coronado had 15 more points than Franklin. But Jonathon’s assist and Mitchell’s basket did change the outcome decidedly.

Jonathan explains – “I was raised to treat others how you want to be treated. I just thought Mitchell deserved his chance, deserved his opportunity.”

Play any game with this much sportsmanship and both teams win.

Watch the full video from CBS ..

What becomes important in classroom education?

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“The free course touched off an intense debate behind the scenes at Stanford, where annual tuition is $40,050. Ultimately, the 22,000 students who finished the course received “certificates of completion” rather than Stanford credit.”

Online education continues to make inroads in education. Ventures like these & even TED, have democratized access to the biggest thinkers & academicians of our times. Course content is rampantly being shared by educational institutions. When content becomes so easily accessible, what do class room offerings bank on to attract its clientele? What is it that is offered in a physical classroom that is not in the virtual world?

  • In a classroom, there is greater control in minimizing distractions
  • Personalization (especially wrt instructors inputs) & mass virtual platforms cannot co-exist
  • How do we enhance the real time learning that happens from physically sharing a learning platform?

It is not only the educational institutions, but even the corporate training offerings that need to focus on differentiating their offerings. 

Memory In A Tube

(Picture courtesy www.thehenryford.org)

Every once in a while, you stumble across an astonishing fact about a well know personality that shakes up the image you held of the personality. This one involves Henry Ford & Thomas Edison.

Ford first worked for Edison. Over time, the two became good friends & spent quite some time together. When Edison was on his deathbed, Ford apparently convinced Edison Jr. to catch the great inventor’s last breath in a test tube. This test tube is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum.

Stories about why Ford did what he did include references to reincarnation  & buddy souvenir. Check out the below links for more details:

~ http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/pic/2004/july.asp
~ http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-last-breath-of-thomas-edison

Drivers on Indian roads are so undisciplined because ..

1. We Are Still Learning

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The vehicular density on Indian roads has shot through the sky only in the last 20 years. The society as a whole is still groping & learning the tricks of the traffic – what works, what doesn’t, how it works, why it should work in a particular way, what’s good for the long term, etc. Give it some time & we will be up there with the rest of the best wrt traffic as well. 

  2. Its A Jungle Out There

Traffic Jam (indi.ca) We are a country where basic Maslowian needs are not met for a majority. The scarcity mentality that we deploy in most facets of our life, flows on to the roads as well. It is the survival of the fittest & each one for herself. Thoughts of a long term greater good is not something that most Indian driver can afford. 

3. Values Gone Wild

goneWrong Equality, fairness & discipline – all very important & we value them a lot. But, valuing is one thing and practicing yet another. Count us out of the practicing part – we have far too many other things to worry about.

Equality, Fairness & Discipline easily give way to the more practical Jugaad, Me First & Might Is Right.  

4. The System Sucks

System Failure Even if individuals do the right thing, the overall system just sucks. The infrastructure is bad. Rules are not implemented. Cops are corrupt. The government doesn’t do enough. Fellow roadies have horrendous attitudes / practices. Why should I fight against the odds? It’s beyond one’s control & much easier to flow with the tide.

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Related Posts:
~ Why are drivers on Indian roads so undisciplined?
~ The New York Times article on Indian’s Uncompromising Practicality