Depending on where we may research on the internet, we may come up with some interesting statistics with regard to chance. One website records that the chance of being born with eleven fingers or toes is one in five hundred and the chance of someone winning an Oscar is one in eleven thousand, five hundred – that last figure must mean that, statistically at least, there could be over one thousand Oscar winners in Zimbabwe! Where are they all? The same website states that the chance of dying in an air crash is one in two hundred and five thousand, five hundred and fifty two, the chance of being killed by lightning is one in one hundred and eleven thousand, one hundred and ninety five, while the chance of being attacked by a shark is one in three million, seven hundred and forty eight thousand and sixty seven. The chance of being attacked by a shark in Zimbabwe is probably somewhat limited, while the chance of being killed by lightning in Zimbabwe may well be greater, but overall the matter of chance affects us all.
In sport, a match is all about chances. We need to create chances and not simply wait for them to be served up to us on a silver plate. We have to put in the hard work to create the chances; as Gary Player, the legendary South African golfer, once famously said, “The more I practise, the luckier I get!” At the same time, however, we have to take the chances when we do create them. A recent sports report included these words: “If they don’t take their opportunities (i.e. chances) – and they won’t get many – they don’t have a chance.” One team might have lots of chances but fail to convert any while another team might have only a few chances but take them well. As the sports report went on to say, “A match will be decided on small moments, on magical moments”.
We often think that chance is all about luck, but as we have already noted in passing, there is no luck involved. We create chances and we must take them. We must not only do as the popular school motto says, “Seize the Day”, but we must also squeeze the day, suck every last drop out of every chance that we get; we must not just seize the day but seize the lesson, every lesson and seize the moment, every moment.
Similarly, we often think that chance is all about risk, and therefore we may become reluctant to take the chance as we might miss or fail or make a fool of ourselves. However, the chances are nil if we do not try. It is not all about risk; it is about being willing to take the chance that is offered to us or is generated by us. The risk is greater if we do not take the chance.
At times we as teachers may be tempted to feel that some children have absolutely no chance. It is interesting that a parent, who was told his child was not being offered a particular subject choice as he had at best a one in a million chance of passing, was willing to take that chance. “Just give my child the chance,” is the plea. Indeed, a teacher’s greatest achievement may not be to teach the pupil who wins the ‘Top In The World’ award at the Cambridge Awards ceremony but to help one child scrape through their one IGCSE with the lowest grade possible; the chances may be small but they can still be magical.
We as teachers have an amazing chance, the chance of a lifetime, in fact, in ATS schools. We have an incredible chance to influence many young people for life, to open up new avenues for each individual child. We have an amazing chance to determine the future not just of children but of this country and far beyond. We have the fantastic chance to help children achieve great things in this world. What are the chances of them achieving such dreams?
Are we like the parent who is willing to risk everything even if the chance of success is only minimal? Are we willing to give everything to help that child reach her goal even if the chances of her succeeding are minimal? A child’s life, like a sporting match, may well be decided on a small, magical chance that we might help to create. Let us create chances for our children to take; let us help them to take the chances they are offered. The bottom line is exactly that: if we do not give our pupils a chance then they will have absolutely no chance – plain and simple. Give each child a chance; after all, the chances are the odds are still greater than someone being attacked by a shark in Zimbabwe.
