This assignment reminds me of a scene in the original "Bad News Bears" movie about a little league baseball team. I don't recall all the details, but one scene stuck with me. In it, the coach is struggling to teach one of his players, a poor hitter, how to make better contact with the ball. The boy keeps moving his back foot and no matter how often the coach describes or models the correct technique, the kid can't get it right. Finally the coach pulls out a quarter from his pocket and puts the coin on the ground where the batter should keep his back foot. "You don't want to lose this quarter do you?" (I am paraphrasing here, by the way) he asks.
The boys says "no."
"If you lift your foot, you'll lose the quarter," the coach finishes, walks to the mound, and throws another pitch.
Of course, the batter keeps his foot in place and hits the ball.
I don't have any analogous story from personal experience. Things that have helped me through tough situations have always been more mental or symbolic. If I'm taking a photograph, I remember the rule of thirds. If I'm trying(usually in vain) to hit a drive straight down the fairway, I have a "swing thought" that I use. When I have had to help students who were struggling with a particular concept, I have relied on the same sort of devices that have helped me--careful analysis, lots of practice, and perhaps a simple mnemonic device. For many, that worked, but for some I have clearly been doing them a disservice that I will have to rectify.
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This assignment reminds me of a scene in the original "Bad News Bears" movie about a little league baseball team. I don't recall all the details, but one scene stuck with me. In it, the coach is struggling to teach one of his players, a poor hitter, how to make better contact with the ball. The boy keeps moving his back foot and no matter how often the coach describes or models the correct technique, the kid can't get it right. Finally the coach pulls out a quarter from his pocket and puts the coin on the ground where the batter should keep his back foot. "You don't want to lose this quarter do you?" (I am paraphrasing here, by the way) he asks.
The boys says "no."
"If you lift your foot, you'll lose the quarter," the coach finishes, walks to the mound, and throws another pitch.
Of course, the batter keeps his foot in place and hits the ball.
I don't have any analogous story from personal experience. Things that have helped me through tough situations have always been more mental or symbolic. If I'm taking a photograph, I remember the rule of thirds. If I'm trying(usually in vain) to hit a drive straight down the fairway, I have a "swing thought" that I use.
When I have had to help students who were struggling with a particular concept, I have relied on the same sort of devices that have helped me--careful analysis, lots of practice, and perhaps a simple mnemonic device. For many, that worked, but for some I have clearly been doing them a disservice that I will have to rectify.
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