Teaching Like a Blue Angel

A friend of mine recently told me they had seen the Blue Angels perform. I was jealous. A recent opportunity was rained out. Still, I’ve watched enough videos of them to be completely captivated. There’s something about the precision of their flight. The way they move in perfect sync is an orchestrated beautiful moment. The trust they place in one another is inspiring and is the direct result of strategic practice and communication.

But what struck me the most was watching a behind-the-scenes video showing them running through their flight plan with their eyes closed. You could actually see them visualizing each maneuver as they internalized every turn, every roll, every shift in formation. They weren’t just going through the motions. They were preparing their minds and their bodies to execute something with precision and excellence.

So late-Lee I found myself thinking about the idea of visualizing and internalizing what the lessons we plan for students will look like when delivered. Why don’t we consider what we are doing for our students as important as what this elite group of pilots are doing?

I’m not talking about performing for an audience. But, in actuality teaching is as much art as it is science. We do have an audience and it is our students. I’m talking about being intentional and I mean deeply intentional about the way we plan. And, I don’t mean picking up a textbook because the company says it’s aligned. ( Don’t get me on that soapbox!😊)

Some districts feel like they are helping teachers by giving them prepared lessons. Our state even has phenomenal math units. And in the review of that math unit, one of the first steps is to internalize it. Are teachers being coached through that process?

Think about it, once a lesson is planned, teachers should take the time to close their eyes and visualize their lesson before delivering it. What do you see yourself doing? What are students doing? Where might they get stuck? Have we planned in the safety nets? What will the energy in the room feel like? I tell leaders that I walk into classrooms with, that one of the first things I do is pause and feel the room. If it’s flat, I know the learning will be too. What will you do after the lesson when you review the assessment data? What’s your plan to reteach, to enrich, to adjust? The answers to all of these questions and more need to be thought out and planned for in advance. It’s part of the maneuvers great teachers should make!

The Blue Angels don’t just show up and fly. They practice. They review. They revise. Because lives are on the line.

And while we may not be flying fighter jets, we are shaping futures. We do have lives on the line. We’re preparing students for a world we can’t fully predict — and that’s just as serious.

So let’s plan like it matters. Let’s visualize like it’s vital. Let’s teach like Blue Angels.