Greatest of All Time (GOAT)

Since the Super Bowl, the news has been filled with headlines about the value of one specific individual in the NFL: Tom Brady.

• All The Ways That Tom Brady Is Football’s GOAT
• Patrick Mahomes tells Tom Brady ‘You’re a legend’
• LeBron James inspired by Tom Brady’s Super Bowl win
• ‘The best ever in all sports’: Tom Brady’s GOAT status captures world’s imagination

The debate is not new, and Brady’s performance in Super Bowl LV only reignited the discussion.

I am not here to give an opinion one way or another but to ask, “What is it that makes someone ‘the greatest ever’ at any one thing?” The answers to this are debatable as well, and I am sure it is a combination of attributes. Top of mind are mindset and attitude, work ethic, determination, perseverance, and mind and body strength, which leads me to ask, “Which of these do I exhibit on any given day in my profession?”

In the teaching profession, there usually isn’t a desire to be the “greatest,” but there is a desire to be “great.” There’s a difference.  Our goal is not to be better than our colleagues but to be better than we were yesterday, to continue to grow and do what’s best for our students.

The Tom Brady newsfeed has me thinking . . . If the headlines highlighted us as individuals, our teaching, or our schools, what would they say?

• All the ways [your name] helps students succeed
• Students inspired by [your name]’s teaching
• World Peace Prize nominee says it all started in [your name]’s classroom
• [Your school name] creates lifelong readers

In a 2017 Instagram post, Tom Brady shared what he thinks has helped make him successful. He said, “If, like me, you’re serious about your peak performance, you need to work hard at the things that are within your control: your work ethic, how you treat your body, and your attitude.” 

Whether you think he is the GOAT or not, or even if you don’t care either way, Tom’s statement provides solid advice on how we can continually improve: work at the things within our control. We determine our enthusiasm toward learning, our commitment to building relationships with our students, and the environment we provide to create a love of reading, just to name a few.  

One way to begin is to start each day with the end in mind. If a reporter were to follow us around for a day and write a news story about us, what would we want the headline to say? If we can break the goal into actionable steps, then we too can be headline worthy for every student we have the privilege to teach.