I love baseball...it is a thinking game...a game of rules...a game of momentum...and a game of heart. I played a lot of baseball in my youth, but of late, I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend most of my free time watching my sons play the game. All of factors mentioned about this game play into how a game proceeds and is ultimately decided...
Situations arise in the course of every game that force players and coaches to think...but, not just a little thinking...a lot of thinking. To bunt or not? To steal or play it safe? If the ball is hit to me, what should I do? Should I change pitchers or pinch hit for a player who might be struggling? Or, is he going to breakout if I leave him in? Making decisions, based on thought, not instinct...what is baseball IQ?
Rules can dictate...what is an infield fly? Why is that a balk? Can a player re-enter? Did the runner tag up after the catch? Should I score that a hit? Of course, there are also those "unwritten" rules...a catcher never turns his head toward the umpire...never get the first out at 3rd or home...always get dirty on pickoff moves...always hustle because someone is always watching...never say never...on any given day, the game can become special.
Flow can change the game...the smallest, seemingly insignificant plays can dramatically impact the game...comebacks happen one hit at a time...a sacrifice bunt or walk can change the flow and impact the outcome of the game...luck happens and when it does, go with it...one hit at a time...put the ball in play...momentum can come from so many twists and turns within the game.
It takes heart to play baseball...the game will knock you down...when it does only those who care will keep trying and succeed...hard to believe baseball is a game of failure, but it is...players don't get hits a majority of the time...even the best pitchers can have rocky outings...what makes a difference? Heart and a love and dedication to this wonderfully frustrating, yet beautiful game makes it what it is...
Baseball is life...I hope my boys learn from it...
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Reflections of School Year 2009-2010...
It is near the end of May 2010, and as I rush to finish up the school year and plan graduation for our seniors, I want to consider where we are with technology as a result of this year...
We started out the year with a single computer lab and a library resource center for use by nearly 450 students...we do have a business lab as well, but the business teacher uses her classroom for six of the seven periods of the day. Since the English department requires students to generate portfolios for each year, with the senior portfolio being a capstone experience, we spent much of the first teacher day of school scheduling our time in the lab. Obviously, this caused a number of problems not only within the department, but also throughout the school...having so little access to the computers required planning and commitment to that planning that did not allow for much spontaneity or creative adjustment to our scheduling. It was painful and also bred a degree of resentment as other disciplines felt they did not have much, if any, access to the computer labs. You can imagine how this impacted student learning and faculty morale...
So, way back in October, we received a grant to put two computer labs (24 desktop machines each) into our Language Arts department--two classrooms--Junior and Seniors. Once installed and troubleshot (is that a word?), we were able to start using them in a variety of ways--I put all of my classes on Moodle, so I was able to eliminate much of the paper in my classroom. Using Moodle and our newly acquired access to the web, I went about integrating as many Web 2.0 tools as I possibly could into my classes. It was a lot of work, but I loved learning about all these tools and trying to see how it all impacted the organization and management of my classroom, but more importantly, how it impacted my students...Were they learning more? Were they learning differently? Was the learning "taking" more easily? Were the students being better prepared for life after high school?
We started out the year with a single computer lab and a library resource center for use by nearly 450 students...we do have a business lab as well, but the business teacher uses her classroom for six of the seven periods of the day. Since the English department requires students to generate portfolios for each year, with the senior portfolio being a capstone experience, we spent much of the first teacher day of school scheduling our time in the lab. Obviously, this caused a number of problems not only within the department, but also throughout the school...having so little access to the computers required planning and commitment to that planning that did not allow for much spontaneity or creative adjustment to our scheduling. It was painful and also bred a degree of resentment as other disciplines felt they did not have much, if any, access to the computer labs. You can imagine how this impacted student learning and faculty morale...
So, way back in October, we received a grant to put two computer labs (24 desktop machines each) into our Language Arts department--two classrooms--Junior and Seniors. Once installed and troubleshot (is that a word?), we were able to start using them in a variety of ways--I put all of my classes on Moodle, so I was able to eliminate much of the paper in my classroom. Using Moodle and our newly acquired access to the web, I went about integrating as many Web 2.0 tools as I possibly could into my classes. It was a lot of work, but I loved learning about all these tools and trying to see how it all impacted the organization and management of my classroom, but more importantly, how it impacted my students...Were they learning more? Were they learning differently? Was the learning "taking" more easily? Were the students being better prepared for life after high school?
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