Many of you know that I am a Minnesota Twins baseball fan. I have written about them in the past, sharing how being such a loyal fan of this sport has surprised me over the years as I gave up playing baseball before I was ten, along with the fact that I was a high school soccer, basketball, and track coach. I have truly been interested in following and supporting the success of this. So it is with such great frustration that I write about their incredible self-destruction during the final weeks of the 2024 season.
For background information, they made little to no “moves” (trades, acquisitions) in the off-season to try and improve their 2023 performance, returning most of the players from a year ago. The year before they had won the American League Central division and a playoff series before losing in the second round. This had not been achieved for quite some time, so as with many sports, especially in Minnesota where we tend to have a “this-is-gonna-be-a-better-year” attitude, the beginning of a new season brought with it some optimism. The optimism did not last long. While they won the first two games, they lost as they lost six of the next seven, dropping seven more of the next eleven. I thought, “Well, this is what ya get if you don’t invest time and money into the club.” I was so disappointed that the excitement and energy of the prior October was not capitalized on with an awesome start of the season in April.
A funny thing happened, though, the team appeared to wake up. The optimism became a reality over the first couple of summer months. Then the calendar changed to August and September's reality hit, and it hit hard enough that it was a knockout punch. The team lost eighteen of the final twenty-seven games, failing to make the playoffs even when only a few weeks earlier they were challenging to take back the division and defend the previous season's title. A deeper dive is needed to understand what really happened and why the collapse occurred.
The Spectrum Middle School calendar just changed to October, and there are only a couple of weeks before it is mid semester. The optimism of a new year may now have led to some new or returning challenges. This can be especially true when someone is trying to make changes or have a fresh start: history has a tendency to reach up and hit ya the current reality with the old experiences. Was the hit hard enough for a knockout, or was can it be taken as a wake up call?
Let's take a look at a data point example: A student’s grade should be a reflection of the knowledge and skills one demonstrates in a class. A low grade, however, could mean many things. 1) She was absent and the knowledge and skills were not yet demonstrated. 2) She was present but the work that was to demonstrate the knowledge and skills was not submitted. 3) She was present but still needs more time to learn and then demonstrate the knowledge and skills. A deeper dive into the grade is required to know what is really happening; then the appropriate support can be given as the response.
Unfortunately, the proverb time waits for no one relates because more knowledge and skills keep coming while this dive into the data occurs, especially at Spectrum. What was somewhat manageable before now appears to be on the edge of collapsing or has already collapsed. Fortunately SMS is not a professional sports team, and there are actions we can do and are doing already, earlier and better than ever before. On the surface and with the low grade, it might not appear that anything is being done. Repetition, effort, support, and collaboration are needed while time keeps marching on. There is a cost, but middle school is the place to pay.
If it appears your child is overchallenged or underchallenged, please reach out to your child’s advisor. You always can go directly to the teacher, but as her/his advocate, the advisor is there each day as a support. We want all our learners to be appropriately challenged in order to meet their potential, to feel confident, and to be successful. We are your child's greatest support and greatest fan.
Ironically, maybe if the Twins had not done so well during those two summer months, the destruction that happened would have been easier to take: the disappointment and fall is not so great when already near the bottom. I guess I gotta start to work on finding the “this-is-gonna-be-a-better-year” attitude already. Either that or find a different team to cheer on.
Weeks at a Glance
- Thursday, October 17, and Friday, October 18 - MEA Conference: No School