Ben-Coyle-Ch9

Chapter 9 of “The Talent Code” offers a “blueprint” for teaching. Toward the beginning, the four “virtues of master coaches” are presented. The first is “the matrix:” in other words, having a plan of action for every conceivable fault in skill. The second is “perceptiveness,” which is the ability to diagnose a student—to “figure them out.” The third virtue is called the “gps reflex,” which is the ability to offer constructive feedback in real-time. The final virtue is called “theatrical honesty,” and to get a sense of the meaning of this term, we furnish the following quote: “...drama and character are the tools master coaches use to reach the student with the truth about their performance.” The chapter concludes with a discussion about why teaching soccer is different than teaching the violin: soccer is a flexible-circuit skill, whereas playing the violin is a consistent-circuit skill.

I thought the consistent pattern or “blueprint” that master coaches tend to follow was quite interesting. I do think that the ability to diagnose and correct faults is at the core of every master teacher, and a prerequisite to that is to have obtained skill/knowledge in the area/subject matter beforehand. Coyle, in the previous chapter, also established the need to have a “gps reflex,” or inclination to offer clear, concise correction in real-time. However, I thought that the “theatrical honesty” virtue has not been well explained or supported in this book. I didn’t pick up on any discussion on how this virtue relates to the process of deep practice: perhaps it is intended to inspire motivation/provide ignition? In any case, it seemed to me that this virtue was placed in this chapter to paint a pleasing picture of a stereotypical odd-ball teacher than to technically connect this stereotype to the principles of deep practice.

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