"Have you ever noticed that some kids tend to loathe and detest their teachers but worship and adore their coaches?...I believe that a big part of the reason kids revere and obey their coaches is that the coaches are specifically and explicitly on the student's side. Coaches are helping them be the best they can be, so that they can experience the thrill of winning. In team sports, coaches inculcate the atavistic spirit and focus of a hunting clan. In individual sports, the coach stands tall as the main if not the only ally. When kids win, coaches celebrate along with them; when they lose, the coach is there to comfort and find a lesson in defeat. By contrast, from the perspective ofthe students, teachers are not viewed as someone who is on their side. They are not viewed as someone preparing them for competition with an adversary. Unfortunately, they are often seen as the adversary themselves." --pp. 199-200, Salman Khan's The One World Schoolhouse (Twelve Books, 2012).
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