Wooden blocks inspire students

Jeff Benson

Former UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden was undoubtedly blessed with

some talented and athletic players as he led the team to 10 NCAA

championships, a record 88 straight wins and four undefeated seasons

during a 40-year coaching career.

But nearly 700 Mariners Elementary School students learned Tuesday

that natural skill will take a person only so far in life.

Wooden visited the school Tuesday and said his players -- and

people in general -- succeed because they practice key principles

that include hard work, team spirit, poise, confidence, alertness and

self-control.

Each Mariners student had recently read his children’s book,

“Inches and Miles: The Journey to Success,” which he co-authored with

Steve Jamison. In the book, Inch the Inchworm and Miles the Mouse set

out on a journey to discover the meaning of success, using Wooden’s

building blocks of success -- the same ones he used with his players.

The “Wooden Blocks” are arranged in a pyramid shape, and the

values on one level must be completed before you can jump to the

second level, and so on, he said. Fundamental values include concepts

like friendship, cooperation and loyalty, and they lead to more

complicated ideas such as initiative, determination and fitness. The

goal, Wooden said, is to get to the top of the pyramid or what he

calls competitive greatness.

Wooden played the part of a wise owl in the book, but his cane and

glasses also made him look wise on the stage in the Mariners

cafeteria.

His hourlong dialogue, like his book, equated each building block

on the Pyramid of Success with a different animal. An eagle exhibits

poise, an alligator exudes confidence, and a chimp expresses

friendship, he said.

“Why would a rabbit represent alertness?” he asked. “If a rabbit

isn’t alert, it’ll serve as a meal for somebody else. So we must be

alert.”

Wooden also stressed the importance of trying your best, even if

you may not feel your best is good enough.

“Believe me, you’re the only ones who’ll ever know that you did

your best,” he said. “It doesn’t make any difference what other

people think. It’s what you think of yourselves.”

Third-grade teacher Pat McLaughlin said she invited Wooden to the

school after the two discussed her use of his Pyramid of Success

teachings in her class. But even McLaughlin didn’t expect it to catch

on to the entire school, and she was flattered that he showed up.

“It was quite an honor for us,” she said. “The boys and girls will

take these skills with them for the rest of the year. It was very

generous of the man to spend his day with us. He cares a lot about

kids.”

Principal Pam Coughlin said Wooden’s teachings are becoming much

more than just homework for the students. Weekly letters are mailed

home to allow parents to see which values their children are learning

about and to encourage family participation.

Awards are handed out each month to students who demonstrate

exceptional use of values such as hard work or team spirit, she said.

And it’s rubbing off on the playground, too. Coughlin said student

disciplinary action has dropped significantly.

“It’s been rare this year,” she said. “But that, of course, was

our goal. We’ve definitely seen a decline out there.”

Upon their return to the classroom, McLaughlin and her students

immediately began talking about what he’d said. Students talked about

why Wooden said his favorite building block is hard work and how

enthusiasm helps alleviate bad moods.

“I’m glad he was here, and he wrote the book,” said Ashley Ima, 8.

“He really got to teach everybody about doing their personal bests

and to have the blocks of the pyramid always with you.”