News9- Last night, I told you about recent OU grad, Tucker Hein, who's teaching his first days of 9th grade algebra now in Indianapolis.
When I talked with Mr. Hein, he said I was the first reporter to contact him Tuesday, but it's taken off since, in fact, he was getting ready to do an ESPN interview when we talked again this afternoon. He says he was wanting something to remind his students to work hard, and he came up with the KD bulletin board idea the day before school started. He told me he wondered if people would think it was stupid, and never dreamed it would get so much attention, or he would have made it look nicer. Hein says when his students saw it, they got into a big debate about Durant leaving the Thunder, and that his boss, the school principal, cracked up when he saw it. If you had to start making a list of the pro's of becoming a teacher what direction would you go in after the obvious "summers off"? I suppose some of the people that actually dedicate their lives to the profession would jot down "helping to shape our youth" or some other overly wordy, super pretentious description of their job responsibilities. However, as someone that has never been step foot in front of a classroom - unless it was to stutter through some mediocre presentation - I would say that one of the undeniable benefits of being a teacher is the ability to push your beliefs on the young, impressionable minds of children. Since doing so through religious or political values is undoubtedly a fireable offense then you might as well take to treating your sports opinions like it's part of the curriculum. Getting temperamental high school students to pay attention everyday sounds like a goddamn nightmare, but forcing them to come together through the collective hatred of someone you despise sounds like a dream scenario. That's why you should respect this move by Mr. Hein regardless of how you feel about Kevin Durant. I happen to think that he did take the easy way out, quit on a team that was more than a viable title contender, and walk away from a challenge, but - considering he had every right to do so - I can see why others would argue differently. Fact of the matter is that there is no right answer because we will never know what was going through Kevin Durant's mind when he signed on the dotted line. That hasn't stopped anyone from voicing their thoughts on it yet, so why should it stop Mr. Hein from pandering to his students' love of the Oklahoma City Thunder now? Especially since learning to harbor an irrational amount of resentment for athletes that don't do what's best for your rooting interest is a far more applicable life lesson than doing math with letters. Let's just say I can think of less productive ways for him to cope with sports-induced frustrations...
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2020
|
RSS Feed
