Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

46 - Science Fair

46

Science Fair

Monday, May 1

"Good morning, students and staff of Valle Grande Elementary School. We would like to acknowledge the track and field team for their achievements in Newport Beach over the weekend." The principal had started off the daily bulletin over the school's public address system with the accomplishments. He read out the names of eleven members, mentioning their certificates, ribbons, and performances. "I would like to thank Mr. Watson and the team for their exemplary representation on behalf of Valle Grande. And a special mention regarding Valerie Holmes, who won her age-level race in the 600-yard run, our school's first state award winner ever. Congratulations to the whole team."

Well, thank you, Mr. Smith. That was better than expected, and our kids deserve the recognition. Maybe there's a decent side to you after all?

Kevin floated on the high for a while, then reality settled in. The Science Fair was this Friday, in the school's auditorium. He had lots of progress reports to read. He was anxious about what might not have been done yet, but he had a few days to communicate and solve problems if needed. Deadlines motivate!

The day's lessons went smoothly, as did softball practice at lunch. After school, Kevin read through science fair progress updates. Where he had concerns, or if the final week's form hadn't yet arrived, he made phone calls. Seemed good, but you never knew for sure until the fair.

Tuesday, May 2

It was hot. All perspired freely, including Kevin, but he hoped that by showing them he could ignore the heat, they would do so too. Rather than face competitive pitching, the softball league was easy on hitters. Teams pitched to themselves. Kevin did the pitching during tryouts, so the kids had a predictable delivery. But during games, he needed some kids he could count on. Batters would have just three chances, or they were out. So his pitchers had to be confident and consistent. And to reduce pressure on the pitcher, Kevin insisted that the batter must swing on the first pitch unless it was in the dirt. Three-pitch softball meant the games were shorter, and more players got a turn to bat. The kids adjusted to it. They had to.

He wanted to get them used to running around the base paths, too. During practices, kids took first base, even if their fly ball was caught or they grounded out. When they legged out a grounder with a throw to first, they listened to Kevin and went to the right after the bag, so they could not be tagged out for trying to turn the hit into a double. The kids learned to round the bases by touching their feet on the inside corner of each, to save time and distance. There was no sliding or contact allowed. Safety was the priority in softball rules.

All made hitting contact. Kevin decreed there would be no strikeouts in practice, as there would be in games. He kept pitching till they hit the ball somewhere. This was the time to build up their confidence, and he kept emphasizing watching the ball till they saw it make contact with the bat. They whiffed when they got excited and looked where the ball would go before they even hit it, so they needed to learn discipline.

On defense, the kids practiced shuffling their feet sideways, so they moved in front of the ball. That way, in case it bounced up, their torso would block it and keep the ball in front of them. Most were reticent, worried that they would get hit hard. But when it happened in practice, they learned that it didn't hurt much at all, far less than they expected, so their fear level decreased, and they got in the correct position to play better defense.

As some of the infielders got better, Kevin required double-play action. He didn't expect success with this in a game, but it gave them practice in turning the ball over faster, and usually, twice as many players handled the ball on defense, giving all more repetitions. The number of ball touches each kid got mattered, and it increased competence with fielding and throwing.