DON’T GIVE UP! IT’S ABOUT BEING KURT!

Today was half a work day and half a chill day. I had an IT touchbase in the AM and then lunch with Tina, our Chief Financial Bear and then did some errands. Tonight I met with a friend who is in town for some meetings and who I work with closely in public education. While he no longer lives in St. Louis, he is very connected here and returns often to support our urban school issues.

While he was over for dinner we were watching the AZ Cardinals play NC in the NFL playoffs and I was excited for the Cardinals. Not because I have any love lost for Bill Bidwell who took our beloved Cardinals to AZ a while back but because I have love and respect for Kurt Warner. Kurt is an amazing man who has a strong belief system rooted in God and doing the right thing. I am sure that ALL of us in St. Louis hope he wins the Super Bowl.

A few years ago after a difficult season and some injuries followed his Super Bowl win for the St. Louis Rams, Kurt was traded. St. Louisans were devasted because while Kurt’s injuries may have been a deficit in some ways, he was a team leader.  Missouri is the Show Me State and Kurt certainly showed us what a leader really is.   His sportsmanlike demeanor never allowed him to complain or place blame. If you ran into Kurt at the grocery store or at the gas station he would stop to say hi and sign autographs. His fans gave him energy and in turn he gave back his smile and his heart. He loved St. Louis and St. Louis loved him but in football it is about winning isn’t it???

When Kurt left, a spirit left the team that has yet to be replaced. Kurt returns from time to time to continue his local charitable efforts and to remind us that real leaders don’t give up–they keep on giving and trying and doing their best for a larger good, a legacy that will be remembered long after the last ball is thrown for a TD. It’s about training harder,  knowing what you don’t know and finding out–working harder but always being appreciative of what you have and helping others to reach their full potential. Being the team quarterback for your team, your class, your church group or whataver you may lead. Being Kurt so to speak. Kurt already has a Super Bowl ring . He doesn’t need another but he knows his long beleagured team mates need it. It will change how everyone looks at the AZ Cardinals. More important, it will change how the AZ Cardinals look at themselves.Who better to help them get there than Kurt.

I read an article recently (12/15)  in the New Yorker written by Malcolm Gladwell who compared the training and selecting of quarterbacks to the training and selecting of teachers. The gist of the article is that not all successful college quarterbacks will be successful in the NFL and neither will all newly minted teachers be able to teach. Why isn’t the same rigor applied to hiring teachers as is used in drafting NFL quarterbacks? Isn’t the education of children at least as important has having a winning quarterback? I vote yes but I would qualify–it must be a teacher like Kurt Warner–one who knows how to handle the ups and downs and doesn’t moan about what tools they don’t have  or that other teachers make more. A teacher that takes accountability for their actions and has an intellectual curiosity to be the BEST teacher, classroom quarterback if you will, that they can be. There are a lot of similarities to be sure. The world needs more Kurt Warners–be they teachers, parents, community volunteers, lawyers, doctors or quarterbacks. It means someone who puts others (like the classroom children) before themselves and NEVER GIVES UP!

Kurt, thanks for being who you are. St. Louis is proud to know you. We will be cheering for you to win the Super Bowl and I won’t give up on public education here in St. Louis. I will be Kurt for our urban children.

Hugs,

Maxine

Tags: AZ Cardinals, Kurt Warner, Teachers