It’s a nice reminder not to let imperfection stop you from trying. It’s good advice, I think, and true in its core, if over-meme’d. I’ve seen it as a snappy aphorism on Instagram, said some version of it several times, and even glimpsed it in student journals. It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard this idea. “You have to be bad at something before you can be good!” She helped her straighten up before they continued inching along. “ Why am I so bad at this?” she wailed, grasping her friend’s arm desperately as she wobbled. Two of my students glided alongside of me, slowly, as one held the other’s arm and gave her soothing encouragements. When they took the ice, they were a blizzard of activity and noise – from those clinging to the side and screaming in terror at the surreal feeling of standing on two thin blades above a sheet of frozen water, to those who barreled forward, fell spectacularly, and scrambled back up to try again. And then your butt will be too cold to feel anything, so it won’t hurt the next time!” She laughed, looking pale. “Ooooh no,” one of my students said, resting her head on my shoulder. Others clenched their jaws and shook their heads. Some seemed more assured at seeing other people creep hesitantly around the perimeter, or fly by like they might know what they were doing until a sudden lurch in their balance had them shrieking and windmilling their arms in panic. We arrived at the rink as another school trip was finishing up, so our students sat in the bleachers to watch as this group of teenagers glided and fumbled around the rink. But very few had been ice skating before, and even one of our students who went skating year-round as a child in Russia was anxious, having not been on the ice in over 2 years. Most of our students have been in the US for less than 2 years, though we do have some who have been living in New York since middle school. They were bundles of nervous, screechy energy, even before we got near the ice. Yesterday, as the temperature in NYC dipped into the 20s, we boarded the buses that would take our 6 classes of 9th and 10th graders ice skating.
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