What Teamwork Taught Me

Last year, our class attended a chorus contest in our school and I was assigned to the piano.  At first everyone tried hard to work together to win first place, which has been, for years, the greatest honor in our school.

However, I found the conductor not following the music notations. Is she capable or not? I wondered.  We had several arguments about how to perform the song.  She wouldn’t listen and insisted on her own way.  I couldn’t stand her bossy attitudes and refused to play the piano right before the contest.

Our teacher found out what happened and said to both of us, “I have a mission for you two.  Come and follow me.”

We got to the gym where there was a cheerleading squad practicing hard to pile a pyramid and do terrific jumps in the air. The teacher asked us to observe their performance and then she would explain why it is impossible.

The base pyramid was formed with boys who looked strong, and several others as spotters who had to catch the jumpers jumping down from the very top of the pyramid. 

It was fascinating to see the squad doing their cheerleading.  Everyone was concentrated on following the music.  Every movement was perfect.  They really got my attention.

“What do you think of their performance?”  The teacher asked.

“Fantastic!” I said.
  “Is it dangerous for them to jump from that high?”
  “Of course,” both of us replied.

  The teacher kept asking, “What makes them so brave?”
  “Which part of the squad is the most important, the jumpers, the base, or the spotters?”

  We immediately realized why it is impossible.  The teacher was trying to tell us how important teamwork is.  Trust, assistance and cooperation mean everything for a team. 

The conductor and I apologized to each other and we promised to do our best to work together and win the contest.

Did we win?  No.  We didn’t win, but I did learn a very precious lesson about teamwork.