Like Mike

Today the teacher for which I was a language assistant used me as the subject of her lesson.  She put me in the front of the room and told the students to ask me questions about myself.  Then, when the questions were finished, the teacher asked the students to repeat back some of the information I gave them.  I thought this was a great exercise, and not just because I was the center of attention.  Some of the questions were:

What is your favorite food?

            Pizza.

Do you have any siblings?

            Yes, one younger brother and his name is Matthew.

Where are you from? 

            Staten Island, New York (I drew out a crude map of NYC to explain this one)

How old are you?

            23 (I’m open about my age.)

Who is your favorite famous person?

            Paul McCartney (I had to explain to the class who The Beatles were- I hope to bring in their music one day.)

What is your favorite futbol team? 

            I know very little about futbol, but ‘Real Madrid’ is the only right answer here. 

What is your favorite sport? 

            Basketball (lies- I just enjoyed playing it the other day so I get points for consistency)

Who is your favorite basketball player?

            Michael Jordan  (because I can count the number of basketball players I know on one hand)

Then I explained to the class that when I was their age, Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls was the most famous player in basketball, and thousands of kids across America wanted to be “Like Mike.”  To clarify what this phrase meant, I asked them if they knew what a “role model” was.  They didn’t.  So, I said:

“A role model is someone who has qualities or characteristics of a person you would like to be.  Thousands of kids wanted to be Michael Jordan because of his athletic ability.  Just like Paul McCartney inspired thousands of aspiring young musicians, maybe even to pick up a guitar for the first time.  But a role model doesn’t have to be somebody famous; it can be a parent or a teacher or someone in your community, so long as that person teaches you something.”   

I don’t know if the students understand what a role model is, but I felt I had a teaching moment.