The suggestion therein is that fans of their team should know that, while the team might not experience a great deal of immediate success, the long-range results will far outweigh the struggles of today.
The process versus product conversation has been at the forefront of educational dialogue as well, ever since I became a teacher eleven years ago. Recently, I had a conversation with a student who was concerned about why he had earned a B+ on his revised essay. The revisions, I had to agree, were great, but the essay was still not quite of the A caliber given the expectations outlined on the rubric. As I returned home that evening, however, I couldn't stop thinking about the student and the effort he had put into his revisions. His process had most certainly been A+, but the product was a B+...so why wasn't I grading the effort and energy he had put into improving? Why wasn't I celebrating the growth?
Well, the conclusion is that I am now. Henceforth I will be grading revisions for the quality of the process, not the product. While final drafts still earn grades for the quality of mechanics, grammar, organization, and analysis, the revisions will earn grades based upon how the student receives feedback and applies it to the revision.
With all writers, we must be more like the Philadelphia 76ers and trust the process. We could spend months working on the first paragraphs of essays, just as my kindergarten son spends months in art class learning how to use materials without any pressure to produce a museum-quality piece of art...it's about process. My son delights in mixing paint colors to see what will happen, and relishes the opportunity to use duct tape to affix a handful of feathers to a slide projector reel. Is he creating art? Yes, but what he's really doing is being granted permission to experiment and grow, and to find joy in the process of developing his own artistic style. My young writers, too, should be playing with words and developing their own narrative voices as they learn to appreciate the process of writing, not just the constant feedback about the product.
I am a better teacher today than I was a week ago because I allowed my student's questions to open a door to my own questions. And perhaps my attempts at dwelling in the process will fail...but if I do, I can have faith in my own ability to reflect and improve, to adapt and grow...I, too, must trust the process.
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