Coaching my kids’ sports teams has changed how I think about learning. When I first started coaching, my instinct was to point out what kids were doing wrong. It felt direct, efficient—even helpful. But I’ve learned that it rarely leads to improvement.
What works better is focusing on specific adjustments. Instead of just saying, “That’s wrong—do it this way,” I try to create a path from where they are to where they need to be. I show the adjustment, break it down, make sure they understand it, and give them something they can actually do in the moment. So when John makes the same mistake again, I don’t say, “You’re doing it all wrong.” I just remind him: make the adjustment.
I’ve started to carry that idea into my work with students. Of course, there are right and wrong ways of doing things—correct answers, better approaches—but learning doesn’t come from simply being told which is which. It comes from finding a path toward understanding and staying with it. Our role isn’t just to identify errors, but to help students see the next step—and to be curious, even excited, to encounter the one after that.