I know some of you think I refer to sports too often, but this week I can't help it. I look forward to March Madness all year and today a huge underdog almost ruined my bracket in the first round while another made me look brilliant. Today, Robert Morris a 15 seed took Villanova a 2 seed to overtime before losing a heartbreaker. Shortly after that a 13 seed Murray State handed a 4 seed Vanderbilt a first round loss. Then later in the evening my heart was stepped on when Ohio (14 seed) dominated Georgetown (3 seed). This only happens if the players and coaches believe it can happen. When we talk about meeting our students where they are that includes believing in them. We must believe they can succeed and they need to know that we believe in them. It will not be easy to overcome the baggage many carry with them, but we need to convince them that they can overcome any obstacle if they believe in themselves. Take the time to build them up and to convince them that they can be the underdog that beats the odds.
I teach a math unit each year called "March Madness" in which we review math concepts using data from the NCAA tournament. We use 3 pieces of math data to "predict" the winner mathematically. It almost never works out that we are right. We discuss that there would be no reason to play the game if you knew who was going to win mathematically. I try to make the point that we all need to "play the game" and give our best no matter what. You have to show up, try your best and have a good attitude and anything can happen!
ReplyDeleteLove the comments by Cynthia :)
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