Saturday, October 18, 2008

rodriguez and me

wolverine fans all across the nation have had a very difficult fall. michigan football isn't quite what we had expected. the end of last year heralded new hope with the coach who practically invented the spread offense. but the present problem is, i don't think, an issue with the coach or even with the team. the problem is the combination of the two. the michigan football team has been built off the standard quarterback passing and runningback running kind of plays we've all come to know and love. it's not quite yet built the way rodriguez wants or needs to be successful. there were a few times this season when they just pulled the ball down and played the kind of ball they're use to playing. moments like these have been saving the season from complete and utter failure.

recently, i'd been having quite a bit of trouble with my exploring psychology class. AP has been going very well, but that's probably because they're AP kids. we pack them 33 to 35 to a classroom built for 30, and they still learn just fine. but a small class of 27 exploring psychology kids quickly became a thorn in my side. it wasn't until recently that i began to realize the problem. i was trying to teach like rodriguez has been trying to coach football. i was teaching according to the style and method of my mentor. even though she is excellent at what she does, i don't have same group of kids, the same time of day, or the same kind of personality.

this past week has been a huge turn-around for my small exploring psych class. we've hunkered down into my style of projects and lectures with a good smattering of discussions. i think in the end, this is a whole lot better than trying to fit that round peg into the square hole.

i sure hope rodriguez figures out his game soon too.

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