Is it Over?

Hello C-Deckers,

As this quarter ends and the summer begins I am asking myself this very question. Some of it is me being stunned because within the first two weeks of this block I had sworn that I had actually been in it for two months. So on that note is it really over or am I getting “punked” right now? I feel that some of my questioning vies toward uncertainty.

Up until this quarter my self-confidence on my teaching ability was lackluster to say it best. Now I am ending the quarter and I feel that I can hold my own. The more you learn about the profession, the more you realize that you’re not going to be a master of your craft right away; the only thing I can hope for is to deliver a quality education for my students.

All that is left to deal with before I student teach is uncertainty. You can have all confidence in the world but you always have to account for uncertainty. Doing so will allow you to be flexible and adapt to your surroundings. A favorite quote of mine from the movie No Country for Old Men addresses this, “Even in contest between Man and Steer, the issue is not certain.” Before that he tells a story about a farmer that was trying to put down a steer, which he had done hundreds of times, with a rifle. The particular animal bucked slightly, right when the man shot and the shot ricocheted around and hit the man in the arm. Point being we can never take for granted what we have in front of us, because it might end up biting us in the behind.

From the Nosebleeds,

Bad News Bears

The Boat

Hey Deckers,

I will be attending a houseboat at Dale Hollow (Holler) Lake this weekend and I think I have checked out early. Ever get that feeling? It doesn't help that I have a bunch of homework due next week before finals. What ever will I do?

Elsass

Moving the Bar

Hello C-deckers,

I feel that it is important for one to note that when discussing and counting victories and defeats, winning is not a black and white subject. I know that I just told you what every sports movie every invented teaches you, but it takes two hours to watch a movie while I'll get straight to the point. To me, it is important to constantly be moving the bar. What does that mean you ask? It means that you should always be readjusting what you would consider winning. The easiest way to think of this is to mix the definition of goals and the definition of winning. Your goals should constantly be revisited and changed for the situation.

To get the best results you need to evaluate your situation and move that bar accordingly. You wouldn’t accept a coaching job with a football team that went 0-10 last year and expect them to win the state playoffs their first year. To do so would make you delirious and irresponsible. Instead maybe accept a 4 game improvement, hit that mark… winning. Win less than four games… losing.  I feel that real inspirational people can move the bar on the fly and make others feel that challenge. Moving the bar up is always going to be the desirable direction, however there may be specific situations where the bar should be lowered, a concept I will delve into later.

At the beginning of every new officer term for an FFA program officers should reevaluate the goal of the chapter. This change can be a good indicator of how you did that year. Did the chapter win or lose? Are you raising the bar or lowering it? Also don’t be afraid to accept those small victories. You may have not won the state creed speaking contest but you did beat a rival school. Anything to keep that chapter/team moral up.

“We must be careful not to let our current appetites steal away any chance we might have for a future feast.”

-Jim Rohn

From the top... kind of,

Matt Elsass

Being the observer

Hello Top Deckers,

Keeping with the victory and defeat theme, I want to discuss one of my favorite phenomenon with you, being the observer. To clearify, remember to yourself a time when you were observing some sort of competition, whether it be a basketball game, an election, or just your at your buddies playing pool. Try to make that memory one that you were just on the edge of your seat. Within seconds you could be on top of the world with your fellow observers or you could be crushed for days under the weight of heartbreaking defeat.

If you cannot conjure such a memory you are either lying or the most bland human being every born... which is unfortunate. But what exactly causes us to be in such emotionally comprimising situations. Us as fans or observers are not going to win the ring, the trophy, or the title. You will not be able to rationally convince anyone you are responsible for the glory, even though we all will try.

You could rationally conclude that it is just the magnitude and intensity of a competition that gets us fired up about our side but this still doesn't get to the root. You still need a reason to be watching a certain competition, otherwise you would miss the magic. Your not going to be at the Reds game were they come back from 6 runs in the bottom of the ninth if you are a Yankees fan. (given that they aren't playing the Yankees that day) I feel that it is really do to the fact that we as people need something to have faith in, to believe in. In todays fast paced world, being "man of faith" isn't enough. That is in the long term for us. People want hope they can see and latch on to it like a toddler latches on to his dads leg.

Lets take for example a certain basketball player by the name of Lebron James. While he played for the Cavs, the city of Cleveland latched on to him. He was that symbol of hope that a place like Cleveland needed because he took their ever failing NBA team and made it into a force to be reconed with. As soon as he leaves, he is on Clevelands most wanted list. We can all understand why this is but in the grand scheme it doesn't matter. All that really matters is that Lebrons tenure in Cleveland made millions of people happy... and then bitter.

I guess to bring it back  to education, especially ag ed, you can use CDE competitions and other forms of winning to inspire and raise the moral of your "observors". You have to be careful though, sometimes the higher your highs are, the lower your lows will be.

I thought this was an appropriate topic because this topic is what the C-Deck is all about, observing. From way up in the nosebleeds that is all your doing. You know you have something special if you can sit in the cheap seats and still be just as into a game as if you were in the front row. Good thing about sitting in the upper deck and being away from the action is that its easier to let go of that pesky defeat.

     “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” - John Quincy Adams


From the Nosebleeds,

Elsass

Small Victories

Being hard pressed to find topics to write about in this most noteworthy of blogs, I finally fell upon some inspiration. Today as some of you know was the Ag Olympics at Ohio State. During the event I managed to place second in the bale toss competition. After the dust cleared on my close second place finish I was overcome with pride in the fact that I hadn't expected to do well and that I had contributed some good points for my team. In reality having a far bale toss is not a real wowing activity, especially since much of the outcome relies on some luck. Also where am I going to take that victory? Not to the hay barn. If the competition was on proper technique I would have failed miserably. So why did I feel so good?

Well I like to think of myself as a victory junky. (Not a Charlie Sheen joke) On a regular basis I try to set myself up for small victories. Maybe I will be at work and I will attempt to make the ball of tape we just pulled up into the trash can across the ballroom, or have a marshmallow catching competition with some block students. No, I’m not just trying to stroke my ego; I don't think it is that big. But small victories can definitely help you maintain your self-esteem and confidence. It's also doesn't hurt to grow your reputation as you perform awesome tasks of random and not so random.

In a teaching setting I feel giving students that small victory on a regular basis is important. Whether it would just be a simple, "great job Johnny!", or having a student take the lead on an important project. Let the students know that they are doing good work, or they have your respect, or that they have the respect of the class.

I am hoping that this is the start of a multi-blog series on my thoughts on victory and defeat. I am simply fascinated of the different components of how victory and defeat can make a person feel. Some planned topics are: Blaming in Defeat, Humble Defeat, Being the Observer, Winning with Style (and without style), Moving the Bar, and the Moment.

"You taught me victories sweet even deep in the cheap seats"

-From Cape Canaveral by Conor Oberst

From the Nosebleeds,

BEEF, BEEF, BEEF, BEEF ...!

How Neat is That?

Hello C-Deckites,

Yesterday on my constant search for things to use when i'm teaching, I stumbled upon this youtube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm3JodBR-vs

Now you watch this and say to yourself, why on earth would Matt Elsass show this video in a classroom of high school students. It has no credible educational information. While this is all true, sometimes the most important part of a lesson is the interest approach. If you can't hook students into the idea, the day might as well be over. I mean one of the secondary principles of interest is humor. I feel that it is ok to introduce humor to create interest as long as you, yourself can properly convey humor. There is a fine line when trying to be funny in a classroom.

I personally feel that when opening a forestry or wildlife unit, I could have students rolling on the floor and then learning to content in no time at all. I'm curious to see what others think about using humor in the classroom. Honestly some of the best teachers I had in high school were the ones I could laugh with.

From the Nosebleeds,

Elsass

One Great Trip

Hey All,

This weekend I went with the Ag Ed Block to the Greene County Career Center. It was an amazing experience. We got to meet students in all of the different types of career training classes. I personally sat through the Advertising and Design class for about two hours and had a blast with Ms. Patton and her students. In two short hours they had me sketching windows in AutoCAD and making 3d Lego models in inventor. It was great. We also sat through some wonderful seminars held by the GCCC staff about interviewing skills, school moral, IEPs, and cultural competency. We also got a look of some of their technology. One piece that was specifically awesome was their smart board. I have never been a big proponent of the smart board but this was the nicest one I had ever seen. It was bigger, sleeker, and more functional. This experience changed my outlook on career technical schools forever.

From the Nippert Stadium Nosebleeds,

Elsass