When it comes to television, I’m a dinosaur. Sure, I’ll cuddle up on the couch and watch a Star Trek or Muppets DVD with my husband and break out the old VHS musicals when visiting the cabin, but when lunch table conversation turns to the latest show and the streaming services, I’m completely lost. So, when one of our Winter Term classes this year was based on the Apple TV phenomenon, Ted Lasso, I truly had no idea what our students were in for.
I was first drawn in by the course description’s subtitle: A Study of the Effects of a Positive Attitude on Community. Add to this that the course was designed and taught by Elizabeth Blondia, one of Leelanau’s beloved dynamic educators who radiates positivity, and I knew I needed to stop by and check out whatever magic she was cooking up.
What I didn’t know was that I would find myself with an Apple TV subscription just a week into Winter Term so that I didn’t fall behind when I had afternoon meetings or off-campus appointments. I didn’t realize that when 1:15 pm hit daily, I would find myself either in Mrs. Blondia’s classroom or wishing I was there, eager to connect about the show’s character development and thickening plot lines. I didn’t anticipate how much my heart would swell from conversations about a TV character with four thoughtful upperclassmen and one talented educator.
As I walked through the academic building on day one of Winter Term classes, I passed Mrs. Blondia’s room, and the door was cracked open. I heard, “Kate! Would you like to join us?” And just like that, I was engrossed in Season 1, Episode 2, “Biscuits.” To be fair, someone who doesn’t watch much TV would be captivated by the staging, soundtrack, and excellent writing of a show like Ted Lasso, but the best part of my first time in that classroom was the conversation.
While watching, students looked for each of Leelanau’s seven core values in every episode: Stewardship, Leadership, Awareness, Integrity, Resilience, Courage, and Interconnectedness. They collected scenes and quotes that reflected these values, along with ones that just made them think or laugh. And the lessons they walked away with were ones that some adults still struggle with. For example, as Evey reflected, “It’s good to have positivity, but not all of the time because then you’re gaslighting yourself.” When hearing this, Sara added, “Positivity that makes you ignore the negative is toxic.”
Some unplanned moments became the most powerful lessons, like when the class decided to call a Diamond Dogs meeting to help one of their classmates work through a relationship problem. (On the show, the Diamond Dogs are a support group the coaches form to help each other navigate life situations, and they begin and end with howling and barking.) Our own Diamond Dogs continued to meet as needed after realizing that this was powerful and, of course, included some pretty great howls. Other activities, like learning football (soccer) skills, became an opportunity to practice their core values. This part of class was particularly powerful for me as someone who has never had athletic prowess and still struggles with the aches and pains following a major back surgery. When team captains started choosing their players, I was transported back to elementary school, where I was always picked last. I could sense the class had an awareness of my insecurity when my name was called (not last!), and I was high-fived as I was welcomed to the team. And, when I scored a goal because I was intentionally included, the hooting and hollering from both teams afterward was soul-filling!
Baking Ted’s famous biscuits and passing them out in little pink boxes was equally powerful. Every morning, our whole school does “shout outs” to recognize the good in our community, and the proud smiles from our bakers when they received a shout-out for turning someone’s day around with biscuits were priceless.
In essence, I audited the Ted Lasso class this winter term. And each of us ended up with a different character that was our favorite. No surprise, mine was Trent Crimm, the fictional journalist from The Independent. Our class started calling me their Trent Crimm when I shared that I wanted to write this article about our experience. While I’m certainly not a journalist, when I asked our students to offer a reflection on our last day of class, I felt like Trent Crimm would be proud of my results:
“I got into the habit of looking forward to watching the show and could feel my mood change around lunchtime. I loved how every time we heard an awesome quote or recognized a quote from up on the wall, we all got excited.” - Sara
“From Ted Lasso, I got life lessons that I can put into my everyday life. And the Diamond Dogs helped me too.” - Evey
“Watching with others, you didn’t miss anything. We were the replay for each other.” - Chuck
“I have a new appreciation for mental health now – and a new series to share with my family.” - Hugh
But, perhaps my favorite reflection was the one offered by Mrs. Blondia when I asked her what she gained from the class. “What did I get out of this class? These four. I got these four, and I love them.”
At The Leelanau School, we celebrate Ohana Thursdays each week by sporting Hawaiian shirts, but it’s more than just wearing bright colors. Ohana means the family you choose, and as a boarding school, we are more than just students, teachers, and staff – we are family. I think that’s why our class all picked Higgins’s toast from the Christmas episode as an important quote:
“To the family we’re born with, and to the family we make along the way.”
Spoiler alert: at the show’s end, Trent Crimm presents Ted with the book he wrote about his year with the Richmond team, titled “The Lasso Way: The Unbelievable Season of a Premier League Underdog.” In the true style of a leader, Ted crosses off “The Lasso Way” and replaces it with “The Richmond Way,” which hit on so many of the core values we were recording as we watched the episode. I was beyond delighted when our class decided that this article needed to be called “The Leelanau Way: The Unbelievable Winter Term Ted Lasso Class.” And I’m honored to be their Trent Crimm.
