My wonderful husband. AKA- the "Coxswain"
Definition:
The role of a coxswain is to:
- Steer the boat
- Provide motivation and encouragement to the crew
- Inform the crew of where they are in relation to other crews and the finish line
- Make any necessary race tactic calls
Me- AKA- The "stroke"
Definition: The "stroke" is the rower closest to the stern of the boat. Everyone else follows the stroke's timing - placing their blades in and out of the water at the same time as stroke. The strokeman can communicate with the coxswain to give feedback on how the boat feels. During a race, it is the stroke's responsibility to establish the crew's rate (number of strokes per minute) and rhythm. The coxswain will assist the stroke in establishing the rate).
Our children- AKA "The Middle Crew"
Definition: The boat pitches and yaws less in the middle, and the oarsmen there have less effect on these movements, being closer to the centre of mass and centre of buoyancy. Therefore the rowers in the middle of the boat do not have to be as technically sound or reactive to the movements of the boat, and can focus more on pulling as hard as they can.
If you haven't figured out by now, I'm describing our family in the actual definitions of a rowing crew. I looked up the positions on Wikipedia and thought their described positions fit our family roles really well. The Cox leads the boat--my husband is our leader...spiritually, financially, and physically. The rower closet to him is the stroke, and gets the communication from the cox on how to establish the stroke rate of the boat. The other rowers follow the timing of the lead stroke. Since I am home with my children during the day--they are following my pace! If I am lazy, they will be lazy...if I keep them busy and on schedule, they will follow suit! According to the definition, I give feedback to the cox on how the boat feels--I let my husband know how things are working during the day so he can provide the necessary leadership to guide us in the right direction.
The children are the rowers--they are to learn responsibility to help row our "boat." We are teaching them the necessary skills at home to be effective leaders and workers when they eventually leave our home. (For those who may actually be familiar with crew, I know there are other positions that I haven't listed here with more specific tasks, but these are the ones I chose out to use--just a disclaimer :)
No comments:
Post a Comment