Learnings from footballer Ian Wright: Peer learning, willingness to learn from others

Today’s column is about a football player. I am not part of the football cognoscenti. In fact, I am probably best described as a football heathen, woefully ignorant of the stars playing the game. I can understand the frustration of football fans when they talk to me excitedly about their favourite players. I am a cricket fan and I am similarly frustrated when I talk to people who, as the popular quip goes, don’t know their Ganguly from their Googly.

But here I am, writing to you about a footballer, Ian Wright. I learnt about Wright through a video shared on Twitter, and I will come back to this video towards the end of this column.

But first, let’s talk about his memoirs, titled ‘A Life in Football’. Even though I have very limited knowledge of football, I enjoyed the book because it appealed to themes that resonate with me and I am sure will resonate with you. Wright was a kid from the rough end of London. He honed his talents despite coming from a dysfunctional family and a neighbourhood where he was only a prayer and a song away from going to prison.

When he became a professional footballer, remarkably, he was not just a scrappy kid who was out to outdo others, no matter what. He was genuinely interested in learning from others.

He saw how people worked towards their goals, and he learned from them, whether it was someone who he admired, like football legend Dennis Bergkamp, and Arsenel’s influential coach, Arsene Wenger, or someone he had mixed feelings about, like George Graham, Wenger’s predecessor.

Today, when I ask my students to learn from others, this is what I mean. Peer learning requires an unfettered ego and a willingness to learn from others. I see a lot of the former in the young students I work with, on a scale that was not there when I was younger.

Today’s generation is more accepting of both other ideas and other people. Yet, this has not translated into an expanded ability to learn from others. I want my students to not merely co-exist with people and tolerate other people’s views but to actively engage with others and where possible, be inspired by others. I loved the way in which Wright celebrates the skills of Bergkamp, and credits him for the improvement in his game.

Wright writes that with Bergkamp, “We tried harder because we saw how much work he put in and could measure that immediately against what he was achieving. To the players around him he was, quite literally, an inspiration; he inspired us in the same way Maradona inspired that Argentinian team of 1986.” I wonder if Bergkamp appreciated the extent of his impact.

Sometimes one person can teach another without realising it. This brings me to the video. You can see it here but before you see it, let me describe a part of the video to you.

With Ian Wright turning 59 today, it’s the perfect time to show one of the most heart warming videos ever. When he was reunited with his old teacher, Mr Pidgen ❤️ pic.twitter.com/oHhSighhI0

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) November 3, 2022

Wright was shooting a video with a TV station when out of nowhere he hears a familiar voice. It’s his primary school teacher, Sidney Pigden. Pigden, a former fighter pilot, mentored Wright during the years when he was looking for direction and did not find any in his family. He was a father figure to Wright at a time when Wright sorely needed a father.

You should see the expression on Wrights’ face. In an era of public relations and synthetic fame, his expression cannot be faked. It’s one of utter surprise, because he thought Pigden had passed away. His muscle memory makes him remove his cap and he looks like he is in school again.

His teacher’s reaction is even more poignant. It starts out as causal banter and devolves into a slightly uncomfortable silence as he realises that his former student is so overcome with emotion, he is on the verge of crying. It’s a beautiful moment. I want all of you to watch this video to see how one person can affect deeply the life of another person.

It doesn’t have to be a teacher. I noticed on social media that someone, in response to this video, pitched in with a Tim Minchin quote: “Even if you’re not a teacher, be a teacher. Share your ideas. Don’t take for granted your education. Rejoice in what you learn, and spray it.”

What Minchin did not say but is equally important is that you must learn to learn from others, particularly those who are not your teachers. I hope that you will be confident enough in yourself that you can be inspired by others.