Courage and Commitment: The Byproducts of Conviction
The Fourth Tier in The Pyramid of Teaching Success

While in his first year of coaching at Indiana State Teachers’ College (now Indiana State University), Coach Wooden had an African-American player by the name of Clarence Walker, then a junior. That year, against the odds, the Sycamores won the conference title and an invitation to the NAIA national tournament. However, when informed by the NAIA Walker was not allowed to come because of his color, Coach Wooden withdrew his team.

A Teacher’s Conviction
The next tier of The Pyramid of Teaching Success has two blocks: Courage and Commitment. Up to now, all the traits of the blocks are ones that a teacher can work on to improve. These two traits, however, are byproducts of attention to the 12 blocks below them.  The reason is, during this process, particularly during collaboration with other educators where ideas and experiences are shared, a teacher’s convictions are generated, tested, proved, and eventually set in stone.

Three Examples of Conviction
While coaching high school basketball, Coach Wooden benched a player for breaking a team rule. The player’s father, an influential man, threatened to have Coach fired if he didn’t reverse his decision. Coach stood firm. His conviction was, a rule is a rule and if it was broken, the consequences would be enforced.
 
Wendy Ghiora, a high school drama teacher, with the conviction to treat all her students fairly, kindly refused the financial assistance of a parent offering to help build a stage and props. Had she not done so, any part/role in the play for the child of that parent, not to mention an excuse for tardiness, tolerance, or extra attention, could have been viewed by the other students as favoritism.

Ron Clark, a teacher in Harlem New York, chose to teach the 5th grade, a class that had caused several teachers to quit. In the midst of his effort to change things, his principal strongly urged him to reduce the high expectations Ron had for his students. Ron refused and with resourcefulness and dogged endurance, he raised the test scored higher than the honors class.  

Coach Wooden’s conviction was so strong, he would rather have lost his job than compromise what he believed. For Wendy Ghiora, the appearance of fairness was much more important than a play with top-quality materials. Ron Clark’s conviction was all students were capable of high achievement and wanted it.

Convictions Cause Courage and Commitment
In a book Ron Gallimore and I co-wrote, You Haven’t Taught until They Have Learned, we wrote, “The courage of convictions means standing firm when inappropriate, illegitimate, or threatening demands are made. It means having the courage needed to uphold academic and social standards when there is pressure to relax them or make exceptions in individual cases.”

As a teacher’s convictions become increasingly solidified, the courage to stand up for what he or she believes, as well as the commitment to student welfare and learning, gradually increases and strengthens.

Conclusion
By the way, when Clarence Walker was a senior, Indiana State Teachers’ College made the NAIA tournament again but by then, they had changed the rule about allowing African-American players to play. However, there was one little problem. The committee told Coach Wooden Clarence had to stay in a different hotel. Not wanting his senior to miss this opportunity, Coach gave Clarence and his parents the option. They chose for him to play. Thank goodness all of that has been changed today. Do you think Coach Wooden’s courage and commitment made a difference?