NO. 11 TEACHES THE TEACHER
Edelman’s prof proud of ex-student
Katherine “Teeka” James may be in line for a couple of New England Patriots Super Bowl rings.
James was Julian Edelman’s English 100 teacher at the College of San Mateo in 2006. Edelman was a 5-foot-10, freshman quarterback and outspoken student in James’ class. Early in the semester, he talked about “getting to the league” in her class. James reminded him how few athletes make it to the NFL and urged the future Patriots wide receiver to “set realistic goals.”
Thankfully for the Patriots, Edelman’s goals remained quite unrealistic. He pressed onward, from the California school, to Kent State, and eventually, to Foxboro after being drafted by the Patriots in the 7th round of the 2009 draft. Edelman would prove crucial in New England’s Super Bowl XLIX and LI campaigns.
James recounted her football faux pas in a letter sent to Edelman on June 14. Edelman’s tweet showing a portion of that note went viral on social media this week. It was captioned: “set your goals high. do whatever it takes to achieve them. #motivation.” The tweet has been shared more than 16,500 times.
James and I connected via email and she says her admiration for Edelman remains steadfast.
“Jules is an exceptional man — driven, talented, confident, relentless in his work ethic. The story isn’t that some teacher wrote a letter to him. The story is that he worked his ass off and got lucky … He made sure he was prepared to take advantage of whatever opportunities came his way. You know, Luck = preparation + opportunity.”
Her note was part of a longer letter congratulating Edelman on the birth of his daughter. She also sent along several books for the baby — including “Goodnight Gorilla” and “Click, Clack, Moo.”
“Jules is a very memorable person. He was (and is) smart and remarkably focused on his goals. He participated a lot in class; his contributions to discussions were thoughtful and honest,” added James, who has been teaching at the San Mateo college since 1997.
In the letter shared by Edelman on Twitter, James apologized for her “flippant” response to Edelman’s NFL hopes and added how “terrible” she feels now about the moment.
“How I could ever have doubted your tenacity and grit is beyond me!” she wrote.
It’s clear James wasn’t trying to crush Edelman’s dreams back in the day, but rather being cautious given her years teaching college athletes.
“Taken out of context, it seems like I’m aton- ing for some grave sin. But it’s just part of the letter — just the opening,” she wrote.
“In all fairness, I didn’t say ‘oh, you’ll never make it’ nor anything about his athleticism in particular. I said something about the odds of going pro in general and about the importance of not putting all one’s eggs in one basket. I don’t think Jules felt shut down or discouraged by me in the slightest.”
James showed flashes of Bill Belichick when asked about what she tells the student-athletes in her class.
“Show up and work hard. Success in anything is born of commitment to a process, or, to paraphrase Viktor Frankl, success cannot be pursued; it must ensue,” she wrote.
“You don’t set out to be a famous athlete; you set out to show up and work hard right now: today, this week, this month. You get to weights on time, show up for class, do your work, don’t cheat your reps, stay hydrated, be humble, and listen to your coaches. And, one day football will be over, so make sure you’ve been smart with your time and have options for your future.” James roots for the Green Bay Packers and the San Mateo College Bulldogs, but has kept tabs on Edelman’s career. She admits she is surprised by her sudden notoriety. “I just wrote a letter to a former student,” she said.