Life Lessons Learned from Trashketball

Sometimes when we have to review we play trashketball. There are lots of different versions floating around the internet, but basically students answer a question about whatever we are learning and if they get it right they get to shoot a basketball (or a wadded piece of paper) into the trashcan from a 1,2, or 3 point line to earn points for their team.  My students love this game and I love it because even though we only do math for half the time and are shooting baskets for the other half it keeps the rowdy boys engaged which is hard to do always.

The 1-point line is literally a step away from the basket. You can pretty much reach out and drop the ball into the trashcan.  It's a guaranteed point.  The 2-point line is a little trickier, but still doable with a soft, underhand toss. More than half the time that will go in. The 3-point line, on the other hand, is pretty much impossible. You have to overhand it, but not so hard that it hits the ceiling, and land it right in the trashcan because if it hits the wall behind the trashcan it will bounce too hard and miss the target.  Here's the thing though: everyone goes for the 3-pointer.

I was getting frustrated today when student after student missed the 3-pointers. The interesting thing is that, for the most part, no one would try for the 1 or 2 pointer. In one of my classes the score was 0-0 the entire game because no one could make the 3-pointer. Some of the students would even sit in their seats and direct the student shooting "Just get 1 point! That's better than nothing!" but then as soon as they got up to shoot they wouldn't be able to resist the urge to try for the 3 (and miss).

In my frustration I finally realized why I love junior high kids so much: they will always go for the 3.  Even when it seems impossible, they believe they can make it.  They will try, against all odds. Isn't that amazing? I think this attitude only lasts for a few more years and they get jaded by the realities of the world, but for now they truly believe that they can do things that no one has done before. They literally believe that they can change the world. And who am I to tell them they can't?