Your star quarterback might be having a panic attack in the bathroom, but you'd never know it.
Tim Clary was that kid.
The University of Illinois walk-on football player who looked bulletproof on the outside while drowning in imposter syndrome on the inside. When poor grades threatened his spot, he expected the usual coach tantrum. Instead, his coach made him care. He cranked up the support while keeping expectations higher than a “Stranger Things” episode budget. The kids who seem toughest often need the most emotional scaffolding.
You can't bench anxiety.
Here’s what’s on the dashboard this week:
Today’s Deep Dive: 4 Qs that save star athletes
Reading Rainbow: Students pick, teachers stick around
From Our Desk: Conference season marches on!
Watch of the Week: Cold War warmed up by friendship
The Four Questions That Save Star Athletes
When star students struggle, most adults either panic and lower expectations or double down with more pressure.
Neither works, according to former college walk-on Tim Clary.
After his own experience learning the balance between challenge and support, Clary developed four questions that help coaches and teachers see beyond performance metrics to what each student actually needs.
Instead of just going by the book, ask yourself these questions about your high-performing students and athletes who might be silently struggling:
What is this person's story beyond their sport?
Most star students feel like walking resumes instead of complete humans. Until they trust you see them as more than their achievements, they won't risk showing vulnerability.Can this person ask me for help without losing respect?
Student-athletes are conditioned to hide weakness. Your reaction to their mistakes teaches them whether vulnerability leads to growth or shame.What life skills am I modeling beyond technique?
Athletic careers end, but emotional resilience lasts forever. Are you helping them separate identity from performance?How am I responding to their setbacks?
Treat struggles as data points for learning, not character flaws to fix.
The goal isn't eliminating pressure, but teaching students to process it productively while maintaining their humanity. Because the higher your performance standards, the more emotional scaffolding you need to provide.
Get closer in every classroom: Cult of Pedagogy breaks down close reading strategies that work across subjects, proving you can teach critical thinking with anything. Close reading is not confined to the English classroom, and students will thank you for these skills on their next overly-tricky science test.
Teachers keep leaving (but this might help): A new Chalkbeat study shows paid parental leave could keep more teachers in the classroom, because apparently treating educators like humans with lives outside school improves retention. Who would’ve thought?!
What will kids actually read? It's time to stop assigning boring books in English class. Maybe if we gave kids books they actually wanted to read, they'd stop pretending to analyze themes they couldn't care less about.
Special Ed Gets Special Treatment: Chicago special education teachers put on "The Wiz" for the holidays, proving that sometimes the best learning happens when students get to perform instead of just sitting in rows. Plus, nothing builds confidence like belting show tunes.
Catch us on the road for the rest of the month:
CCIS 2026 Winter Conference, February 4-6 in San Diego, CA
DLAC Ignite, February 18-20 in Sacramento CA
CASE Winter Leadership Conference, February 19-20 in Loveland, CO
Rural Schools Spring Conference, February 19-20 in Austin, TX
KSBA Annual Conference, February 20-22 in Louisville, KY
Find us on the floor, and get in touch with [email protected] if you want to chat!
Our pick of the week: Ponies
Why We’re Obsessed: It's like "The Americans" meets "Broad City.” After the death of their CIA husbands, two women take on the KGB in the 1970s. But as low-level spies (persons of no importance – PONIES), they’re more about the comedy than the drama. Perfect for a humorous yet compelling view into Cold War international dynamics, and students will get a kick out of the easy friendship dynamic and off-the-wall spy thriller situations.
Recommended lesson integration:
Power and privilege discussions: Analyze power differences and social hierarchies in the context of the USSR. (Spoiler alert: it’s not all that different from the United States)
Creative writing prompts: Have your students "write about a time when friendship helped you face a difficult challenge." The great uniter of all friendships is that we’ve been through something crazy together.
Character development exercises: Track how characters change throughout the series and what drives their growth, from a new friendship to the threat of nuclear war.
Gender studies connections: Examine how the show portrays female agency in restrictive time periods, like when "speaking up in meetings" was considered revolutionary behavior instead of Tuesday. Wild times.
Thank you for joining us for another edition of On The Subject. We’ll see you again in a week, with more stories from the hallways.
The Subject Team
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