On Tuesday, Canadian Olympic swimmer Penny Oleksiak accomplished a feat that most of us can only dream of, winning a silver and two bronzes in the pools of the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Amazing moment, right?

A lifetime achievement — the culmination of hours and hours of training and dedication to improvement. One of those “never going to forget it” kind of things.

Penny took to Twitter after realizing that her Tokyo medals made her Canada’s most decorated Olympian, sharing this message:

I just googled “Canada’s most decorated Olympian” and my name came up. I want to thank that teacher in high school who told me to stop swimming to focus on school bc swimming wouldn’t get me anywhere. This is what dreams are made of.

— Penny Oleksiak (@OleksiakPenny) August 3, 2021

Later, Penny clarified her initial thinking, sharing:

Also in reference to my last tweet no shade at all towards teachers in general, my sister is a teacher and I see her inspiring kids everyday.. Most of my teachers saw the vision and pushed me towards it. That one who constantly dragged me down though,, WOAT.

— Penny Oleksiak (@OleksiakPenny) August 3, 2021

Think for a minute about what this means for teacher-folk like you and me.

We often like to think about “the difference that we make” for the students who roll through our classrooms — and oftentimes, that difference is nothing short of life-changing. We can all point to students who are better people — better scholars, better citizens, better athletes, better thinkers — because of us.

We are their G.O.A.T.s — “the greatest of all time” — and we should take great pride in the fact that we change lives for a living.

But we have to own the fact that our worst interactions with students leave indelible marks, too.

How indelible?

Indelible enough that an Olympic champion was carrying those marks on her heart and in her mind years later, after her greatest victory.

And here’s the thing: MOST of the time, we know when we’ve torn a student down.

We lose our patience in a moment of frustration and say/do something mean. We tire of constantly trying with a student and “getting nothing in return”. We see their actions — or inaction — as an insult or a sign of disinterest or disrespect and our opinions and actions instantly change.

Sometimes, we try to explain our decisions away as no big deal. “I’m not the right teacher for every kid, but I’m sure they get along with SOMEONE in this building.”

Other times, we blame it on the kid. “They have to meet me halfway — and when they are ready to do that, I’ll change my attitude towards them.”

Those choices define us, too, y’all.

That’s how we become someone’s W.O.A.T.: The Worst of All Time.

If our goal is to build capable, competent learners, we need to step up and own our actions, even in our worst moments.

My bet is that if Penny’s teacher had pulled her aside at any point and apologized for disparaging her dreams, she wouldn’t be all over the Twitters today.

_______________