“The only things you have to do are pay taxes and die.”
-Mr. Scheksnyder
I was 9 years old at the time so paying taxes and dying were the last things on my mind…
But every time us little Louisiana kids “axed” a question like, “do we have to do this assignment for tomorrow?” our crabby old 4th grade teacher would drone, “the only things you HAVE to do are pay taxes and die.”
And every time we “axed” if we “can go to the bathroom” he quipped, “I don’t know, CAN you??”
Ok!! Durrrrrr!! We really didn’t care what he was talking about at the time. Man this guy is obsessed with grammar…what a nerd!
…
My friends Andy, Stephen, Brent and I were obsessed with mechanical pencils that year.
We even made these little paper pockets out of loose leaf, staples and Scotch tape and we hung them from the sides of our desks to show off our pencil collections, and to bask in the jealous stares of our classmates.
We were so cool! I’m sure that’s what our classmates and Mr. S. were thinking… I don’t remember much else from that year but his little “grammar lessons” really stuck. They broke through my kid-brain despite such intense focus on pencil pockets (omg so cool!) and turned me into a stickler for talking right (teehee).
Mr. Shayks knew his audience. He had to be pretty creative to capture our attention, get his point across and really reach us on points that would be useful in our lives. Especially since good grammar isn’t usually associated with colorful Cajuns.
…
We’ve got a lot of distractions as adults - more, you might say, than we had as kids.
So as a health coach I’m always trying to come up with ways of getting guys to prioritize the things that are going to help their lives the most.
I’ve got to get really creative with analogies and funny stories, etc., to help them develop new habits and move the needle on their health.
We HAVE TO pay taxes and eventually leave this earth, but we aren’t required to eat healthy and exercise - it’s a choice we get to make.
And like trying to get a kid to pay attention to a math lesson instead of cool pencils, it ain’t the easy choice. But even though it doesn’t seem like the most important thing, or the most fun thing at the time, our health really is.
I’m going to keep using my creativity to get important points across - it’s why I think I’m a good coach and educator. Maybe I was inspired by my crabby old teacher.
Thanks, Mr. Shakswhatever!
xoxo,
Coach Z.
P.S. Stay tuned for my adventures in trapper keepers (that was another year, but no less cool by far!)