Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is. -Bob Feller
2017 was definitely a year to remember. I spent a lot of time reflecting and writing. Both, with my blog and on Twitter. I even started my book- "The Shape of Things." I read many, many fabulous books, each in turn, inspiring my own writing, evoking emotions and ideas, previously unknown to me, and motivating me, to keep pushing the boundaries. Every day was a new adventure. Each class period, a new opportunity, to listen and learn, apply and adjust, and grow, in every way possible.
I tried many new things, inside my classroom and out. Yoga, which honestly, is not for me. I tried numerous times, just to be sure, but the stretching and posing is just painful. After a session, I would feel sore and exhausted, not relaxed and rejuvenated. So, I chose one pose, lotus, and switched over to meditation. Now, I find a quiet, calm, place, burn some incense and simply lean in, to the art of introspection and self-examination.
This rumination, has the opposite effect of yoga, it renews my outlook, centers and balances me and relaxes my spirit. In fact, it is quite addicting, a daily indulgence. I only say indulgence, because it is a challenge sometimes to find the time, but I do. Like chocolate or coffee, it has become, a simple pleasure that makes me feel better.
During these reticent and reserved moments, I either close my eyes and simply stay still and meditative, or I write. Writing to me has always been reflective and tranquil, but in my serene, soothing place, it is even more so. My never-never land, Shangri-la, paradise, may change, but the result is the same: if I commit to the restoration and awakening of my spirit, it finds me and I am always replenished.
There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens. -Tommy Lasorda
I have never been an extrovert. I tend to be a wall flower, simply listening and waiting for someone to ask me a question. I prefer taking it all in, at least when other people are around. I am definitely not a side-liner, or follower either. I am a conundrum. I take action, I welcome challenges and accept change easily. If it is in my classroom, I let loose and try new things, experiment and take-risks. My classroom is a venue I can control, one I am expected to control. But, if I have to convince people to do the same, I shy away.
In 2018, this will be, one of my main goals- to be someone who makes things happen. Not only in my classroom, but in my school and beyond. Every player on a baseball field has a role, without the interaction of these roles, the game would not exist. Each has to participate, be engaged, anticipate multiple outcomes. Baseball, may seem to be a simple game: hit ball, run around bases, score a home run. But, as with any sport, the potentiality of striking out or failing to make it, around the bases, is what makes the game worthwhile.
A classroom, the field of education, brings with it the same myriad of outcomes: a lesson is successful, a home run, and the crowd cheers. A swing and a miss, a strike out, where the lesson needs to have a different pitch: curve ball, fast ball or slow ball, depending on the needs of the team. Teachers might take on the roll of pitcher frequently, but they need to also be faced with the pitch. The role of catcher, players and even the fans, may seem to be purely executed by students, but the roles must rotate. It is all a matter of perspective, are you as a teacher, in front of or behind the ball.
One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something. -Nolan Ryan
I have swung and missed many times this year. When one takes the mound, more often, than one steps up to the plate, one loses sight of the pitch. I have been hit by the ball or been struck out, more times than I can count. But, upon reflection, they were misses, because I either gave too many instructions, taking away my students control. Or, they were overly complicated and frankly, more designed to accomplish what I wanted them to achieve, rather than, what they should have been able to decide for themselves.
The base hits were numerous: some made it to the outfield, while some were grounders, barely making it to center field. Most lessons were successful, in the sense that, students learned something, they were engaged and they actively participated. The important thing though, with my many fouls and strike-outs, is that I dusted myself off and after a quick respite in the bullpen, I walked back up to home plate, picked up a bat, and waited for the pitch. I became a hitter rather than a pitcher. Allowing my students to choose the angle of the curve, the degree of difficulty and slope of the action. Opening me up, to a more observatory role. I became a true fan of student-centered academic athletics- my classroom became even more flexible and crowd based.
The classroom dynamic, became more fluid and organic. However, what I discovered, after students took the district cumulative exam, was that at the time, students absorbed the information, but the content lacked a firm footing. It didn't resonate enough, for them to remember it months later. I decided at the end of the semester, that I would step away from the pitchers mound and home plate and be even more, of a spectator.
I made a conscious choice, to incorporate after each inning, rather than, keeping the same line-up, or to simply wait for the 7th inning stretch, a recalibration. After each play, as a class, to review our strategies. To focus on our game errors and on how to eliminate them. When a team, as a whole, watches the playback and sees where improvements need to implemented- the club becomes cohesive and no player is left behind.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal. George Will
Strategies that work: one minute check-in's, makerspace/STEAM activities, collaborate pairs, the graffiti wall of big ideas and flexible seating. Not all strategies are created equal. Strategies that didn't work or were not utilized to their full potential: Podcasting, blogging and the connections board. I just had students do these a few times, they will definitely occur more frequently, in the spring semester. Students need more experience, in order to, get better, at both blogging and podcasting.
The connections board, requires students to find articles and artifacts to connect with yarn and make an evidence board. This I admit, I didn't keep up with. Now that we are no longer focused on the human body, it will be more fun to make those larger connections with topics like: Genetics, Adaptations, Ecology and Ecosystems. The most difficult thing, for a teacher to overcome, is time-constraints. Budgeting our time in the classroom, takes balance and planning. For me, I try to do too much and it often backfires.
Goal two: simplify and stream-line. The best lessons are not overly complicated, nor are they too easy. They have found the right balance of skill, curiosity, and length. I need to create lessons that are doable, in a class period. That way, as a class, we can have more fun and explore more avenues. I tend to try to make things multi-layered. Sometimes, a base hit is okay, because it leaves room, for the next player, to fill the bases and the next player after that, to bring everyone home. It is a team effort, after all.
The best thing about baseball is there's no homework. Dan Quisenberry
Like a Baseball field, a classroom, is a diamond in the rough. It is maintained not by one groundskeeper, but by a myriad, of like-minded, architects, each with their own idea of perfection. The turf is mowed, the sand raked, the stands cleaned, all leading up to game day. Spectators file in, students take their seats. The pitchers are on the side lines, stretching their muscles, practicing their skill. Teachers are reviewing standards and creating activities.
Players suit up and motivate one another. The bull pen, may seem like a resting area, but it is one of constant support and camaraderie. A player can not fill their full potential, without the support of their team. Teachers need to have a tribe, a company of colleagues, who support them on the field. Like athletes, we as educators, need our team, our bull pen, our professional development, to push us to new heights. To hit it out of the ballpark.
There are wins and loses. No hitters and home runs. But, there are also, games that are uneventful. They are played, with little fan fare. But, they are finished, none the less. While some days, our classrooms are vibrant and energetic. Others, are quiet and routine- we need these kind of days. If we didn't have days where we bring everything together, where we reflect and build off of what we have learned, we lose sight of the content. This happened many times throughout the first semester. I now understand, that simple, deliberate, contemplative days are necessary, in order for the hustle and on the edge of your seat days, to exist.
Every day can't be game seven, the only way to make it, to the World Series, is to play every game, like you are already there. Luck, is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. As teachers, we know this. The cool thing about being an educator, is that homework is optional. The best thing about being an educator, is that growth is inevitable. Being in the classroom, will change you. You will learn from your mistakes, if you recognize them. Teaching is a pitch. Keep swinging. Whether you make contact with the ball or it whizzes by, if you don't swing, you will never hit a base run, or a pop fly, or a home run: each essential to the game of education.
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