Life after EDM 310
Spring semester seemed like it lasted a lifetime and now I am in full swing of the Summer semester chocked full of condensed material and short term-itis. Sometimes the plethora of information is quite overwhelming but it is a necessary evil for a vast majority of students, especially non-traditional ones. So life after EDM 310 seems splendid and a sense of relief lingers at not having to watch videos and comment on blog posts and make blog posts, unless you took something valuable away from the class.
My middle son plays park baseball and I was browsing about looking for something to enrich his experience of playing a team sport. I feel that it is necessary to teach my own children about how everything we do in our daily lives has an influence or effect that sometimes may seem insignificant, but affects us in many ways. Upon my search I discovered a re-enactment of a true story. A story of how winning has many different meanings. By definition from Dictionary.com to win means: 1. to finish first in a race, contest, or the like. 2. to succeed by striving or effort 3. to gain the victory; overcome an adversary verb (used with object)4. to succeed in reaching (a place, condition, etc.), especially by great effort. 5. to get by effort, as through labor, competition, or conquest 6. to gain (a prize, fame, etc.). 7. to be successful in (a game, battle, etc.). 8. to make (one's way), as by effort or ability. 9. to attain or reach (a point, goal, etc.).
Check out this video:
So, after experiencing this video it really hit me how this example of winning reflects the idea behind education and why I am becoming a teacher. Learning is not something that we do completely on our own. Teaching is not something we do on our own, either. Teaching and learning are both collaborative and at times we are carried, motivated or coached by others that strive to see us succeed. Sometimes we struggle to meet the requirements of our classes but that is not a valid reason to give up on the task at hand. Being part of a larger group or network, attaches our thoughts and ideas to people and resources that may have not been available otherwise. The importance of connectivity and personal learning networks will not be evident immediately but have effects over a period of time.
Winning is the result of hard work and determiniation, but sometimes the same preparation, results in losing. Last year the team my son was on lost every game, not one win. It was hard to see those young guys work hard at practice and then lose every game. This year his team has won every game so far. We have to lose at some point to appreciate the wins.
You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there. - Yogi Berra
