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Bonner wanted his students to see through Bryant's own words that \"every successful person has to fight, has to find a way to persevere.\"

\"You could see them taking the time to dive in and see what did he mean? What was his struggle?,\" Bonner said of his students. \"Why Kobe's legacy resonated with so many of us was because he was obsessed with getting better.\"

\"I wanted to use that piece from his life with my students,\" Bonner said.

The teacher then had his students write their worst fears down on paper, ball up the paper and throw their fears into the trash can one at a time.

Today we honored @kobebryant by allowing students to annotate his retirement poem. They also learned about the importance of perseverance.

After, students had to ball up their worst fears and take a shot for points. You must yell “Kobe” when you take your shot!

They loved it! pic.twitter.com/eYQSK1qhi3

— Michael Bonner (@MichaelBonner_) January 27, 2020

Each student had to yell \"Kobe\" as they took their shot.

\"The idea of throwing their fears away, they really connected with it,\" Bonner said. \"We all have struggles and fears but if we can push them aside and move forward, which is the 'Mamba mentality,' then we can make progress.\"

\"That is what education is about, giving them some type of experience to make sure they can take it with them for the rest of their lives,\" he said.

Bonner's assignment in honor of Bryant, whose sudden death shocked the world, inspired other teachers to apply the lessons of Bryant and his \"Mamba mentality,\" in the classroom.

\"I am 100% going to use this in my classroom. This is beautiful,\" one commenter wrote on Twitter, along with two hearts in Lakers' purple and yellow.

\"Love this! Going to borrow this idea for my class tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!\" wrote another teacher.

\"My students loved this activity ... did it today at Morning Meeting,\" wrote another.

Today, we read Kobe’s retirement poem and annotated each stanza.

Conversations got deep as we compared the literal and figurative meanings within the poem, and related it back to our own lives.

Thanks @MichaelBonner_ for the inspiration behind the lesson! #EaglesSoar #Kobe pic.twitter.com/h8aGcSJ1h1

— alexis james (@MsJamesCrew) January 28, 2020

Amazing! https://t.co/GvuuIpPyzO

— Michael Bonner (@MichaelBonner_) January 29, 2020

My classroom too! ♥️ pic.twitter.com/VZ17JBbAlR

— Kerry Moore (@kerrymoore56) January 28, 2020

Bryant, 41, was the father of four daughters: Natalia, 17, Gianna, 13, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months old.

He and Gianna were on their way to a basketball game at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, Sunday morning when their helicopter crashed on a hillside in Calabasas. The Bryants, six other passengers -- including two of Gianna's teammates -- and the helicopter pilot were all killed in the crash.

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