Lessons in Baseball, in School...in Life!

As I sat at my son’s collegiate league baseball game on a breezy June morning, I reflected back on the decade and a half I have spent sitting in the stands watching him play. For twice that period of time I have either been an educator or have served educators. Spending time at his games has always provided me time for relaxation and reflection. During my relaxed reflection this particular morning, I began to wonder what it is these two of my life’s past times have in common. Several things immediately came to mind. In both instances I have observed examples of perseverance, teamwork, competition, and enjoyment.

First of all, I must frame what I am about to share with you by mentioning the fact that for the past several years my son has been a pitcher-only. It is for this reason that when he is not pitching, which he is not doing today, I have the luxury of time to wonder about such things.

On the ball field, as in school, fresh starts present themselves continuously. New pitches, new at bats, new games. New classes,new teachers, new school years. Acknowledging the existence of these fresh starts helps to fuel one’s optimism and to maintain a focus on opportunities. Success depends upon framing current actions with plans for the future and lessons learned from the past. In both education and baseball our future plans provide purpose and direction while lessons learned from past shape current perspectives and actions. These understandings prompt a persevering spirit in both instances and promote a focus on perpetual growth and improvement as well.

In baseball, as in education, this growth and improvement occur within the supportive context of a team. The educational team comes in the form of a staff, department, grade level or administrative team. These team members, like players on a baseball team, each possess unique talents and skills that best equip them for the position they play. Working collaboratively as a team to achieve shared goals synergistically enhances the impact of each team member’s individual contribution. When everyone does their part, the load is lighter for each individual member of the team. This happens most effectively when each individual on the team clearly understands his role and how the position he plays contributes to the success of the team as a whole.

Whatever level of teamwork is present, competition is inevitable in both schools and baseball. While there are always lessons to be learned from losses, games are played to be won. Wins and losses are recorded and reported, so too are pitching ERAs and batting averages. Such reporting for professional baseball teams may be found real-time online as well as in our daily newspapers. Such comparisons are similarly reported for our schools and districts. These results largely reflect student performance on standardized assessments. In baseball this reporting may serve to offer encouragement to players whose names appear at the top of the list and potentially discourage those whose names appear near the bottom. Equally, reported results of educators and students in states/districts/schools/classrooms may serve to exalt the efforts of some while seemingly dismissing the efforts of others. 

Despite the temptation (especially when on the low end of the standings) to cite such reporting as a reason for reduced attention to continuous improvement, the educator/student and coach/player must strongly resist such temptation. Instead, regardless of one’s standings, it is imperative to continuously set and strive to achieve high expectations for one’s self. Working to be the best that one can be may be the most important competition of all. It also ensures one’s value to the team remains as significant as possible.

While one strives to be the best on the diamond or in educational environments, it is essential to experience some level of enjoyment daily.  Experiencing this enjoyment may serve as a relished reward for the effort necessary to effectively engage in activities of the day. Such enjoyment offers fulfillment and purposefulness for work on the field and in the classroom. Neither school, nor baseball should simply be about preparation for various benchmark events, as there are no guarantees such events will occur. This reminds me of John Dewey’s writing regarding the purpose of school. Dewey insisted school is not merely preparation for life, rather – school is life.  I imagine the same could then be said about baseball as well!