SWENSDAY STUFF

Lieutenant Wooden and Status Differentiation
Swen Nater

Growing up, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. was one of my favorite TV shows. The show ran for five years, beginning in 1964. Jim Nabors played Gomer Pyle, a misfit in the Marines because of his bumbling and naïve disposition. His desire to be Sergeant Carter’s (Frank Sutton) friend as well as his subordinate, coupled with Carter’s urge to mother Pyle in an effort to protect him from being destroyed in the harsh environment of the service, resulted in a hilarious military dysfunctional platoon, completely opposite of reality.

In my favorite episode, the platoon was sent out into the woods for a survival test. Before they left, each person was weighed. The entire group was divided into pairs. At the end of the test, the pair that lost the least combined weight, won. Because he was sure Pyle would die out there no matter who he was with, the sergeant paired himself up with the private. Everyone got into a camouflaged truck and were dropped off in the woods, one pair at a time, spaced out by a quarter of a mile or so.

Carter and Pyle settled in their camping spot and had no food or water; they were supposed to find them on their own.  Immediately, the sergeant began digging a deep hole to find water. After Carter dug for an hour or so, Pyle, who had grown up in the country, returned with a helmet full of fresh, cold, and clean spring water. In the days that followed Pyle brought back eatable animals and scrumptious veggies while Carter lounged and relaxed. Every meal was a camper’s cuisine. 

Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. did not present an accurate picture of the ranking system of the Marines; that platoon, compared to the way things really were in the service, was dysfunctional to say the least. In the Marines, you are completely subservient to your superior. You lose your individualism and are molded into the group. You have no choice in anything including when you sleep and how much, when you eat and how much, what you wear, how long and what style your hair is, and everything else. 

Coach Wooden understood the military ranking system well. After graduating from Purdue, he taught high school in Dayton, Kentucky. But, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the Navy, voluntarily. Because he had a college degree, he became an officer in training and soon worked his way to the rank of Lieutenant. There, he learned the value of a pure ranking system, from the leader’s position. He understood, military ranking and discipline, if followed, saves lives.  

Having served his four years, Coach was hired as English teacher and basketball coach at Indiana State Teachers College. He immediately instituted a military-type cast system. Like in the Navy, the success of that system was dependent on Coach establishing and maintaining something called, “Status Differentiation.” Simply put, Status Differentiation is

The awareness and agreement that there is a teacher, there are students, and the teacher runs the show. In other words, there is one Chief and the rest are Indians, just like in the Navy.

When I enrolled at UCLA, Coach Wooden’s Military-Type system was well intact. Mind you, it was not as extreme as the Navy, but in many ways it was the same. He told us exactly how to put on our socks and shoes, practice started and ended on the minute, our socks had to be pulled up and no higher than the lower calf, our shirts had to be tucked in but a little loose to allow for movement, and the length of our hair was also determined. For the first month of the season, after practice, we had Mess Hall….errr….training table together, and we all ate the same food. The system we ran and the rules that existed were not up for debate. It was Coach’s way or the highway. In short, Coach developed Status Differentiation.

Why is Status Differentiation important to classroom and sport teachers? The primary reason is: better teaching. Without order and the establishment of who knows the subject and who needs to learn it, there is no order. Without order, little teaching will be done. But there is a second reason, one Coach Wooden was very interested in. From his military and teaching experience, he knew, when his players graduated and got jobs, they would be successful if they learned how to function in a cast system. In other words, through establishing Status Differentiation, he prepared us for life after basketball.

In most cases, when teachers or coaches meet their students for the first time, there is built-in Status Differentiation. In other words, it’s already there. It’s up to those in authority to increase and maintain that separation. But it can also easily be diminished. Here are some ways.
1. Try to be funny; when they don’t laugh, they rise above you.
2. Belittle someone; you’ll belittle yourself more.
3. Play favorites; you’ll be doing what they do every day.
4. Yell at a student; they’ll think they are better than you at that moment.
5. Touch a student; the second you touch a student, you drop. 
6. Don’t know the subject you are teaching; they will think they know as much as you. 
7. Be late; they will also.
8. Be insubordinate to your boss; they get a good model.
9. Become a close friend with a student; they’ll lose respect.
10. Use self deprecation; they’ll believe you.

Back to Gomer Pyle. When the truck picked everyone up at the end of the test, one-by-one, each person was weighed once again. Everyone had lost weight except, of course, Carter and Pyle; they had both gained five pounds. I loved that show.