“The watch will help you stay disciplined by making you remember to get better every second of the day. I already set the alarm for early morning every day. The compass will remind you to stay on the warrior path. Discipline Equals Freedom.”
-Uncle Jake
I recently had the chance to read a book called Way of the Warrior Kid by Jocko Willink. Jocko is a retired officer of the Navy who served as a Navy SEAL. Since then, he has authored multiple books on leadership, developed a consultancy firm, and maintains a popular podcast. He is an inspiring persona for people from all walks of life. He’s a bad ass dude.
Way of the Warrior Kid is his first children’s book, and admittedly is written in part as a way to embody and pass on his values to his children. The book is written to be accessible to kids roughly ages 6-12, and my two oldest sons are at just the right age to appreciate the story.
Not only was the story inspirational to my boys, I found it contained many good reminders and motivations for myself. And I can’t resist connecting it to education, recognizing that there are a a host of valuable lessons so many of our students can benefit from hearing.
Simple Story, Powerful Message
The story focuses on the trials of Marc, a kid just finishing the 5th grade and feeling rather down on himself. He can’t swim, can’t do pull ups, gets picked on by the school bully, and struggles with his multiplication table. As he enters summer vacation, he is surprised by a visit from his Uncle Jake and is treated to a summer-long training session in motivation and self-growth.
You see, Uncle Jake is a former Navy SEAL and has learned what it takes to overcome all kinds of obstacles. His lessons with Marc sink in one by one, and Marc is steadily transformed throughout the summer.
The thing you’ll notice right away with this story is that it is incredibly simple. There are no plot twists, no nuanced morals, no complicated storylines. You can see the trajectory of the story from the very beginning: A down on his luck kid can’t do pull ups, gets picked on, doesn’t feel smart, and can’t swim. He slowly learns that he CAN do those things, and by the end he does.
This story is not at all about the ending; it’s about the lessons learned along the way. And there are some powerful messages delivered through Marc’s journey.
The Lessons Marc Learns
There are a few core lessons Uncle Jake teaches Marc. As Marc bemoans his failures as a fifth grader, Uncle Jake practically scoffs at him and says, “Every one of those problems is something you can change. Every one of them.” He then proceeds to take the summer and actually teach Marc, step by step, how to solve those problems.
Although Marc learns about swimming, math, exercise, health, and fighting, the book isn’t about those things. These serve as examples of what someone really can accomplish with focus and discipline. What Marc really learns is how to:
• conquer fear
• study and learn
• stand up for himself and others
• apply discipline to earn freedom
• stand for something
• solve problems
• develop skills and confidence
As Uncle Jake reminds him at the end, “If you are willing to do the work – you can make things happen…that is exactly what you did here, and what you can do with almost anything in life.” No matter what your students see as their own challenges, this story offers the motivation and insights into how they can go about overcoming them.
A Few Flaws…But That’s Where YOU Come In
It could be easy for a critic to point out some of the flaws of the plot, where it may be disconnected from a more realistic portrayal of the adolescent experience.
For example, the main character Marc does whatever his uncle tells him to do, exactly. Even though there’s a little internal tension built into the first-person narrative, he ultimately obeys every word pretty much immediately. I can see realistically it being more difficult for your typical child to follow the guidance of their teachers or family members so precisely.
Also, not everyone has access to their own personal Uncle Jake, veteran Navy SEAL. This guy is awesome in that not only does he know what direction to push Marc towards, but he is a great teacher who designs step-by-step processes for making each stage of growth accessible. Even a well-intentioned kid might flounder without the personal guidance of a mentor like Uncle Jake.
But then again, these aren’t flaws at all. Like I said, it’s a simple story with a straightforward message embodied in narrative form. The narrative positions you to relate to Marc, absorbing and applying the lessons he learns along the way. Uncle Jake teaches THE READER just as much as he teaches his nephew. The story even acknowledges, “Not everyone has an Uncle Jake. I know that. I also know that it doesn’t really matter.”
This is not a story that requires a lot of dissection or analysis. It’s emphasis is action, and it makes an easy segue to talk to students about their own values, discipline, weaknesses, aspirations, and role models. You as the teacher have the opportunity to step into Uncle Jake’s shoes, showing students that in addition to learning mathematics and literature, they can learn how to become a better person as well.
Overall, A Must for Any Classroom
Way of the Warrior Kid is designed specifically for kids and offers an inspiring message. It shouts “growth mindset” for adolescent problems. It shows students that they have control over many of the challenges they face, and points out a pathway to personal growth. Hey, teachers may even find it inspiring, too.
I think teachers of anyone grades 2-12 could utilize this story in their classroom. As we seek to help students grow in character as well as in knowledge, tools like Way of the Warrior Kid will come in handy to facilitating those discussions and activities.
Check out the description and reviews on Amazon. There are also two sequels that carry on Marc’s journey and expound on the lessons he explores in this first book. Consider reading through this as a class, adding it to your classroom library, or getting a few copies in your Media Center!