A semi-sporting Netflix recommendation for you today… that doesn’t involve a brattish YouTuber in a lucrative staged brawl with a 58-year-old criminal!
My recommendation is a short baseball documentary called The Turnaround which was produced by Michelle and Barack Obama. The show’s two central characters are Philadelphia Phillies superfan, Jon McCann, and their super-recruit, Trea Turner.
Turner was seen as the recruit that would take a team with a long history of almost successes, near misses and monumental championship blunders to the promised land. And early in his time with the Phillies… Turner just plain sucked.
McCann, like many fans, was deflated and critical of Turner’s bumbling performances, which contributed to declining victories and team prospects.
The maddening mob on radio and social platforms fumed with vitriolic attacks on Turner’s character that must have been almost as impossible to avoid as the in-game booing from his own fans that filled the stadium every time he made an error.
But McCann did the counterintuitive thing.
He produced a short video imploring fans to give Turner a standing ovation every time he came out to bat in the upcoming matches. McCann just felt Turner needed encouragement more than he deserved it. The video went viral and the response to Turner at the next game was overwhelmingly supportive as fans leapt from their seats, waved positive placards and showered Turner with praise.
The Turner ‘turnaround’ was spectacular. He immediately began playing to his potential… and the Phillies went on a remarkable winning streak.
There are kids in your school who need the equivalent of an immediate undeserved standing ovation, not because they deserve it, but because it’s great for them and for your school’s team.
This applies just as equally to some of your colleagues and parents.
So, get off your arse and clap.
Keep fighting that good fight,
P.S. Are you a Principal planning for a 2025 with measurably better responses to increasingly diverse student needs? Tell us about the dreams you have for your school by booking a discussion about a Real Schools Partnership now.
We now offer different partnership tiers to cater to the diverse needs of our schools… So go on – what have you got to lose?
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