"I am still learning." -Michelangelo
"Finish what you started." -Nolan Ryan
In 1977, the year I was born, Nolan Ryan led the American League with 22 complete games. In 2012, Chris Sale led the big leagues...with 4. Completion has become a lost art---in more ways than one.
If anyone can think of another time Michelangelo and Nolan Ryan were quoted back-to-back, please let me know. But there is a method to my madness here.
As you can probably guess based on the title, there is certainly a bit of a baseball theme intertwined into this blog (I apologize if the references are lost on you, but contact me directly if you need clarification. I will ALWAYS talk baseball). I wanted to take the opportunity to use my first post to explain the thought behind this endeavor of mine. In other words, I'm just getting loose in the 'pen. Since it's supposed to be in the 90s this week, it shouldn't take too long.
I've been thinking about the concept of publishing my own blog for a while now. Like many others, the question that continued to stop me in my tracks was, "Who am I, and why in the world does anyone care what I think?" (Trust me, that doubt is still there).
I figured that if I was going to share my thoughts, I wanted the forum to be unique. It got me thinking much more big-picture...about who I am now, how I got to where I was, and where I hope to continue to build toward.
I know, I know...deep thoughts.
It didn't take long for me to recognize that any big-picture item addressing such issues would need to have something to do with baseball, the game that has had such an incredible impact on my life to this point. I began making subtle connections in my mind to the lessons I have learned on the field as a player and coach, and those which I hope to instill in the players I am entrusted with.
Thoughts of baseball brought me back to my days as a pitcher in college. If I was known for one thing on the mound, it was the desire to, as Mr. Ryan stated, "finish what I started". Some starts were better than others, but most of the time I took the ball, I wasn't handing it off to anyone for the rest of the day. That desire to follow through and complete the task in front of me continues to fuel me today, off the field.
When it comes to education, I am at a very interesting crossroads, both personally and professionally. As a high school teacher, dean, and coach, I cross paths with hundreds of students on a daily basis. I volunteer my time at North Park University, helping the baseball program there. I've also taught middle school, and get to hear plenty of stories about the elementary gifted education students my wife works with in her district. At home, I am the proud father of a 1 1/2 year old (James) and a 3 year old (Jillian) who is about to embark on her own educational journey in a couple of weeks as she begins pre-school.
All told, I have some sort of connection, on an almost daily occurrence, with young learners from age 19 months to 24 years.
I hope that I'm doing right by them. As educators, we have always been under a lot of pressure. We're entrusted with children...with learners...with bright, impressionable, enthusiastic minds. With that in mind, I began to ask myself if I am truly "pitching" a complete game right now. I don't just want a five-inning win. I want to dominate. I want completion.
After today, this blog will be updated 9 more times this school year--one for each inning needed to complete a game. Within each post, I will try to focus on one characteristic that I feel I have learned from my players, my students, and my children...one characteristic that I feel is necessary to truly be complete as an educator.
It's customary to "air it out" with the last fastball in the bullpen. I've done that, and I'm taking that long walk to the dugout in anticipation of the first pitch. There are always butterflies, but they come in conjunction with a heavy dose of adrenaline. Here we go....
