Breaking Down Barriers
Barriers can be physical and metaphorical. For various reasons, we are all capable of putting them up in certain situations. They hold some things in and keep other things out. In the United States, much has been said and done in recent days about walls, executive orders, travel bans, and national security interests. With the current ‘leadership’ in the nation’s capital it is certainly an understatement to say that these are challenging times. My interest here is to further examine the walls that block us from reaching our full potential.
Psychologically, the barriers we put up in our minds, sometimes without knowing it, hold us back from engaging with our attitudes and behaviors. This blocks us from learning because the only way to improve at anything—even regarding social ills such as racism and sexism—is to address the issue honestly with the intention of adjusting errors and misconceptions in order to produce a different outcome. That rings true for political administrations, corporations, elementary school classrooms, and for everything in between.
Recently, I took part in a special event at a local community college. A friend of mine organized an indoor soccer tournament for high-school age girls and boys from predominantly low-income areas of the greater Seattle region. It was an amazing sight that truly highlighted the global nature of the sport. The gymnasium that night was packed with passionate players for whom English was a second and perhaps even a third language. Nearly all the participants were relatively recent immigrants (and refugees) from places like Iraq, Mali, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burma, Vietnam, and Mexico. In my (unofficial) capacity as a referee for these games there were a few things that really stood out about how the players conducted themselves. The pace of the matches was incessant, the skill was fantastic at times, and the competition was often fierce.
What especially piqued my interest was how players reacted to their opponents and to the referee in times of conflict. There were several instances when the players would complain to the referee, argue with the other side, or shout at their teammates after the play was done. At times the exchanges between opponents were so heated that play had to be stopped in order to sort things out and calm everyone down. It wasn’t long after the event started that I personally had to confront an individual who was apparently so frustrated by my decisions as a referee that he was cursing at me. While that kind of behavior is unacceptable, I can understand to a certain extent why the players seemingly had so much invested in this indoor tournament.
For these kids, several of whom have first hand experience with extreme poverty, this chance to play and compete meant so much to them that they were treating it as if spots in the World Cup Finals were at stake. The intensity with which they played was admirable and at the same time a bit sad when one considers that part of that fire is their response to a world in which their opportunities for success are limited. When confronted by an adult to be careful with his tackles and stop arguing after every call one young man said, “I’m here to win, I want to be remembered as a champion!”
The entire experience got me thinking about some things relating to education and social change. It reinforced why constructive outlets are so important for all youth, especially those with limited resources. When children don’t have access to quality enrichment programs they are far more likely to spend their energy in destructive ways. Human passion is priceless and there is nothing more devastating than when that flame is extinguished in the youth of any society. The inherent beauty of sports is that they can harness that youthful fire and channel it towards positive habits—such as hard work and communication—that are valuable beyond the athletic field.
Moreover, watching the kids battle (literally) and at times struggle to work together really highlighted the important job that coaches play in helping to mold character. Good coaches and mentors have a way of showing us our personally constructed obstacles. They help us realize that our greatest barriers to success exist in our own minds. They expose our shortcomings not to demean us but in a way that coerces and commands us to reach higher. Quality teachers show us that being vulnerable enough to work with and learn from others is a prerequisite to growth. They show us that taking ownership and exhibiting intentionality is a habit of strength not weakness. In this way, educators are essentially tasked with breaking down the barriers that exist in the minds of their students.
When I’m watching kids perform in any competitive environment I pay special attention to what their reaction is when they don’t get a call. What do they do when they fall short or commit an error? How do they respond when their teammates make mistakes? How do they respond when their teammates find success independent of them?
These are all fascinating situations because they are opportunities for young people to show what they are made of psychologically. These are the times when they have a choice to put up walls to shield themselves from introspection or to act in a way that honors their team’s core identity (philosophy). If there is no team identity or common mission, then it makes it very difficult for individuals to adequately respond to challenges that might arise on the field. Truthfully, the same can be said for any movement or social issue in human history. In order to make significant change or achieve a great victory, people must band together, fight with a common purpose, and be willing to sacrifice for the cause regardless of what happens in the process.
You can learn a lot about someone by looking at what they do when things don’t go their way. In this regard, sports provide excellent learning opportunities because they highlight how we deal with failure. Some people are used to being defensive and they learn to shield themselves by finding someone else to blame. However, there are plenty of folks who have learned not to self-sabotage themselves by failing to engage with their mistakes.
Last year, a mentor and good friend of mine gave me a fantastic book to read called Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed. In this book, Syed takes the reader on a journey to redefine failure by highlighting several stories from around the world of people and cultures with drastically different approaches to mistakes. While many cultures of blame exist, there are places of great innovation and achievement that are driven by people who have embraced a different approach.
Instead of building walls to hide their errors and protect their ego, they relentlessly seek their pursuits by being open and courageous enough to examine their failures. They succeed ultimately because they take that crucial risk. For those of us who deal with young people, what is especially fascinating is that rather than merely getting down on themselves for mistakes, the mindset of life-long learners enables their sense of self to be tied to their hard work in order to achieve. This is the essence of a growth mindset that enables individuals to be resilient and confident in the face of new challenges.
It can be difficult to truly be open to critique and introspection. But there is no other way to improve. There is no other way to be dignified, responsive, and progressive except to understand psychological barriers and seek to correct them. The good news is that we can learn to overcome these blocks. It may not be easy but we can rise above the limits we impose on ourselves.
When I’m working on the field, I have to understand and find a way through the mental blocks that may prohibit my players from buying in and developing. I also have to help them learn how to navigate that mental process on their own with the help of their teammates. This means that I must first work through any walls I’ve put up that might negatively impact how I teach them. With the help of some awesome classroom teachers, this has been an area of learning and growth for me. Every child is full of possibilities and my initial task as a teacher is to approach them with a proper mindset that honors that fact.
With the proper mentorship and the right environment we can all have the opportunity to enhance the skill of learning. When that happens, we can begin the important task of breaking down the barriers—physical and metaphorical—that prohibit us from being our best selves. We can create a culture where hard work and communication do not break down when things don’t go our way. There is a responsibility that we all have to constantly exhibit the strength required to examine our language, our assumptions, and our attitudes and morals. This is our duty if we are to stand up, speak truth to power, and create a more just society for the sake of our kids, the nation, and the world itself.
