Powered By Blogger

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Break the Bat


I recently watched another team win the World Series and it was not enjoyable. I sat and watched the games, wishing I was wearing my lucky hat and cheering on my guys. My team, the Detroit Tigers, beat the Yankees, but they couldn't get past the hot bats of the Rangers in the American League Championship Series. It's not that the the team that I have held close to my heart since I was a child wasn't trying, their best effort was just not as good or maybe as timely as the eventual Pennant winning Rangers.

There were a couple of times where I questioned the wisdom of the opposing team's manager, the entirely likable Ron Washington. The Rangers had runners in scoring position and they chose to bunt or appeared to just be trying move a runner to the next based with a swap at the ball. I certainly wasn't rooting for them to succeed, but I was surprised to see what my armchair coaching determined to be as a half effort. Of course, the Rangers knew what they were doing and won the series, and their strategy didn't diminish their effort. The situations did get me thinking though.

I talked with our class about the series the next morning. After announcements, the pledge, and the crucially important topic of lunch choices took up valuable instructional time yet again, I started talking about always trying your best. I told them to make the most of opportunities, and never do something worthwhile with less than your best efforts. Then I got on a roll.

We were going to be late to our special period that morning, but I wanted to make sure I got my point across. I work hard to make sure we feel safe in our room. We want an atmosphere free from ridicule, meanness, and physical harm, but also free to voice opinions, freely share ideas, and our laughter. I also want them to take hold of their own path, to be free to express or demonstrate their learning.

Then I told them I wanted them to fail. As my silence helped let that sink in to their 6th grade brains, I softly told them,  "that it was ok to fail." I want them to not be afraid to fail in our room."What's going to happen?", I asked. The outcome may not be what you would've wanted, but you'll learn what you can do better next time. When you fail, you will learn what you can change, add-to, or take away to make better. That's how you'll grow in your learning. "Don't worry about what your grade will be, worry about what you have learned", I said.

Make mistakes. Fail. It's ok. You're safe.

I want my kids to make their best effort in what we do in class. Well, maybe not all of their energy is required in spelling , but don't just try and get by. No half efforts. Don't just advance the runner. Swing the bat as hard as you can and try to break it. The splinters you will create can be used to build something great.
twitter-7a.png
Get Follow Me Buttons

11 comments:

  1. I love this post! I had some students learn this in October. They are high achieving students who always earn As on assignments. They missed a couple of items on the rubric, so they earned a B. They wanted to have a chance to redo the assignment and fix it. However, I told them their grade was still an A for the class. Also, it's ok to fail. I asked what they learned, and they said to always double check the rubric. I told them yes! You learned fro this, it's ok not to receive an A every time. Thanks for the post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. แจกฟรีเครดิตสล็อต xo ที่คุณไม่ควรพลาด เล่นสล็อตออนไลน์สนุกๆเล่นเลยเว็บนี้

    https://www.slot4u.com/slotxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. จกฟรีเครดิตสล็อต xo ที่คุณไม่ควรพลาด เล่นส superslot

    ReplyDelete
  4. ufa slot เป็นอีกหนึ่งเกมคาสิโนที่ได้รับความนิยมจากนักพนันออนไลน์ทั้งหลาย เพราะการเล่น สล็อตยูฟ่า เป็นเกมที่มีรูปแบบการเล่นที่เข้าใจง่าย ไม่ซับซ้อน ใช้เงินในการลงทุนน้อย แต่ให้ผลกำไรตอบแทนมหาศาล นอกจากนี้ เกมสล็อต ของทาง UFABET ยังเป็นเกมที่เล่นได้อย่างสนุกสนาน เล่นได้นาน ไม่มีเบื่อ

    ReplyDelete
  5. Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be
    Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here!
    It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained!

    My website::: 오피 (jk)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I must express some appreciation to this writer just for bailing me out of such a incident. Right after looking through the internet and coming across advice that were not pleasant, I was thinking my life was done. Existing minus the approaches to the difficulties you have solved all through your main posting is a crucial case, and the kind which might have in a negative way damaged my entire career if I hadn’t encountered the website. Your main understanding and kindness in handling the whole lot was crucial. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had not encountered such a solution like this. I am able to now look ahead to my future. Thank you very much for the expert and effective guide. I will not think twice to refer your web sites to any person who would like direction about this issue.

    Review my homepage ➤ 야한동영상

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I’m very glad to see such fantastic information being shared freely out there.


    Look into my page: 오피헌터

    ReplyDelete
  8. Having read this I thought it was very enlightening. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this informative article together. I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

    This entry was posted in 횟수 무제한 출장 and tagged!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so grateful for your post 마사지.Much thanks again. Really Great.

    ReplyDelete
  10. How do I make money from playing games and earning
    These are the three most https://vannienailor4166blog.blogspot.com/ popular forms of gambling, and are explained งานออนไลน์ in a very concise https://octcasino.com/ and concise manner. ventureberg.com/ The most common forms of filmfileeurope.com gambling are:

    ReplyDelete