Friday, April 30, 2010
more studentism's
Speaking of students who don't know much, this week a junior in US history became confused when another student asked when New Mexico became a state. She wondered why anyone cared when New Mexico became part of Mexico. The shocked stares of her classmates must have convinced her she said something which was a bit on the outlandish side, but all she seemed able to say, was, "It's part of Mexico, isn't it?" Another student asked where she would be going on class trip when the seniors visit Washington DC. She said "to Washington state, isn't that in the north somewhere?" Her classmates tried to help her out but I'm still not sure she gets it. Plus looking at a map would probably be way too much work.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
students
This year has made me wonder whether students are becoming dumber, lazier, or some combination of both. I have been making notes of some or the comments students have made which just make me wonder what is going on (or not going on) in their heads.
When we were looking at Greece we were looking at the philosophers Plato, Socrates and Aristotle along with some of the others. One young man raised his hand and blurted, “Did they invent soccer?” I asked, “What?” He repeated his question, “Did they invent soccer?” I asked, “why would you ask that?” His response, “Whenever I hear about the old Greeks, someone always talks about “soccer tee’s.”
More recently when we were looking at India I showed the movie, “Gandhi.” The movie starts with the assassination of Gandhi, shows his funeral, and then goes back to when he was a young lawyer in South Africa. A girl in the class asked me to stop the dvd because she was confused. So I found the pause button and asked for clarification. She then asked, “Was he just reincarnated?”
In general their vocabulary is more limited than it should be. On the test which had a question about the partition of India and Pakistan, the word “partition” created serious problems for half the class. This despite it being one of the text’s vocabulary words meaning it is printed in dark bold letters followed by the definition. A fifth grade teacher told me it was on the vocabulary test for his kids last week.
This doesn’t include students who can’t remember the US government has a Senate and a House of Representatives, name the States which border Iowa, and sometimes think the Atlantic Ocean is really where the Pacific is located.
When we were looking at Greece we were looking at the philosophers Plato, Socrates and Aristotle along with some of the others. One young man raised his hand and blurted, “Did they invent soccer?” I asked, “What?” He repeated his question, “Did they invent soccer?” I asked, “why would you ask that?” His response, “Whenever I hear about the old Greeks, someone always talks about “soccer tee’s.”
More recently when we were looking at India I showed the movie, “Gandhi.” The movie starts with the assassination of Gandhi, shows his funeral, and then goes back to when he was a young lawyer in South Africa. A girl in the class asked me to stop the dvd because she was confused. So I found the pause button and asked for clarification. She then asked, “Was he just reincarnated?”
In general their vocabulary is more limited than it should be. On the test which had a question about the partition of India and Pakistan, the word “partition” created serious problems for half the class. This despite it being one of the text’s vocabulary words meaning it is printed in dark bold letters followed by the definition. A fifth grade teacher told me it was on the vocabulary test for his kids last week.
This doesn’t include students who can’t remember the US government has a Senate and a House of Representatives, name the States which border Iowa, and sometimes think the Atlantic Ocean is really where the Pacific is located.
Friday, April 23, 2010
IMS soccer - Williamsburg
The IMS soccer team traveled to Williamsburg to take on the Raiders on a windy and soggy Friday evening and came away with a 4-0 win. Play opened with IMS heading into the wind. Williamsburg came out strong and attempted to deny midfielders Vince Rhodes and Brian Miller the ball. Truman Shetler and Jacob Yoder worked hard at their forward spots to create some chances abut crossing the ball into the wind was difficult and with the wet conditions it took some time to get used to the ball skipping in unpredictable ways. In the meantime the back line of Kyle Miller, John Nicholson, Chris Perez and Marshall Schrock did a great job of keeping the Raiders from mounting many strong chances.
Play was back and forth through much of the first half until with eight minutes on the clock, Brian Miller sent a ball from the midfield to a streaking Jacob Yoder who struck the ball strategically into the net for the 1-0 halftime lead.
With the wind at their backs in the second half the IMS players came out strong in the second half. Three minutes into the half Jacob Yoder beat his defender down the right side of the goal before sending it across the box where Truman Shetler was waiting to turn the ball into the net. Ten minutes later Chris Perez cleared a ball from his back line sending it to Brian Miller who flicked it on to Vince Rhodes who burst through the back line, gathered in the ball, dribbled into the box and when the goalie made his move, struck it to the left corner of the goal. A few minutes later Brian Miller sent a ball into the box where Shetler’s hard work paid off as he beat the goalie to the ball at the far post and poked it into the goal.
This game was a good challenge as Williamsburg was a physically strong team and coupled with the weather conditions it made for a difficult game. The guys did a good job of adjusting to the play and overcoming the weather conditions. IMS moves to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
JV
IMS 5, Williamsburg 1
The IMS JV continued to improve as they notched a 5-1 win over Williamsburg. Justin Boller scored three times on assists from Malachi Bontrager, Joel Shetler, and Matt Libby. Tommy Rhodes scored on an assist from Peyton Thompson. The other goal was considered an “own goal,” after Nathan Peters sent a beautiful cross into the box. In an attempt to clear the ball a Williamsburg defender accidentally knocked the ball into his own goal. Peyton Thompson, Dillon Bender, Levi Schrock and Jesse Shetler did a good job defensively. Ben Brenneman allowed no goals in the first half while Joel Shetler played well in goal the second half allowing just one goal.
Play was back and forth through much of the first half until with eight minutes on the clock, Brian Miller sent a ball from the midfield to a streaking Jacob Yoder who struck the ball strategically into the net for the 1-0 halftime lead.
With the wind at their backs in the second half the IMS players came out strong in the second half. Three minutes into the half Jacob Yoder beat his defender down the right side of the goal before sending it across the box where Truman Shetler was waiting to turn the ball into the net. Ten minutes later Chris Perez cleared a ball from his back line sending it to Brian Miller who flicked it on to Vince Rhodes who burst through the back line, gathered in the ball, dribbled into the box and when the goalie made his move, struck it to the left corner of the goal. A few minutes later Brian Miller sent a ball into the box where Shetler’s hard work paid off as he beat the goalie to the ball at the far post and poked it into the goal.
This game was a good challenge as Williamsburg was a physically strong team and coupled with the weather conditions it made for a difficult game. The guys did a good job of adjusting to the play and overcoming the weather conditions. IMS moves to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
JV
IMS 5, Williamsburg 1
The IMS JV continued to improve as they notched a 5-1 win over Williamsburg. Justin Boller scored three times on assists from Malachi Bontrager, Joel Shetler, and Matt Libby. Tommy Rhodes scored on an assist from Peyton Thompson. The other goal was considered an “own goal,” after Nathan Peters sent a beautiful cross into the box. In an attempt to clear the ball a Williamsburg defender accidentally knocked the ball into his own goal. Peyton Thompson, Dillon Bender, Levi Schrock and Jesse Shetler did a good job defensively. Ben Brenneman allowed no goals in the first half while Joel Shetler played well in goal the second half allowing just one goal.
IMS soccer - Columbus Community
IMS 4, Columbus Community 0
IMS traveled to Columbus to face the Wildcats on the soccer pitch and came away with a 4-0 win. As play started it took some time for the IMS players to become used to the bumpy field and hard turf. Nine minutes into the half, Brian Miller beat a Columbus player to the ball, then passed it to Truman Shetler who sent a strong shot by the goalie. Seven minutes later Jacob Yoder beat several defenders and placed the ball behind the Columbus defense where Vince Rhodes was waiting to turn the ball into the net. IMS created several more good chances in the half but could not add to the score. Columbus upped their intensity level and made several good runs at goal but the defensive unit of John Nicholson, Marshall Schrock, Kyle Miller and Chris Perez along with Brian Miller and Vince Rhodes in the midfield did a great job of turning them back.
Columbus came out strong in the second half and it took some time before IMS matched their level of play. Michael Darby made one key save while another Columbus shot banged off the crossbar. IMS began to respond and to turn the tide and began to take control of the game. After cutting off one ball, goalie Michael Darby punted the ball up field where Shetler headed it forward into the path of Peyton Thompson who beat one defender and the charging goalie to put IMS up 3-0. With just seconds left on the clock Shetler sent a crossing ball across the box where it bounced to Ben Libby who took one touch before putting the ball in the back of the net for the 4-0 final score. IMS moves to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
JV
IMS 0, Columbus Community 0
The JV played two 20 minute halves since many of the Columbus varsity players also needed to play with the JV. The IMS JV put forth a good effort creating several good scoring chances but could not stick any into the net. At the same time the defense stood strong and though Columbus created some scoring opportunities goalie Ben Brenneman made several key saves to keep Columbus scoreless on the evening.
IMS traveled to Columbus to face the Wildcats on the soccer pitch and came away with a 4-0 win. As play started it took some time for the IMS players to become used to the bumpy field and hard turf. Nine minutes into the half, Brian Miller beat a Columbus player to the ball, then passed it to Truman Shetler who sent a strong shot by the goalie. Seven minutes later Jacob Yoder beat several defenders and placed the ball behind the Columbus defense where Vince Rhodes was waiting to turn the ball into the net. IMS created several more good chances in the half but could not add to the score. Columbus upped their intensity level and made several good runs at goal but the defensive unit of John Nicholson, Marshall Schrock, Kyle Miller and Chris Perez along with Brian Miller and Vince Rhodes in the midfield did a great job of turning them back.
Columbus came out strong in the second half and it took some time before IMS matched their level of play. Michael Darby made one key save while another Columbus shot banged off the crossbar. IMS began to respond and to turn the tide and began to take control of the game. After cutting off one ball, goalie Michael Darby punted the ball up field where Shetler headed it forward into the path of Peyton Thompson who beat one defender and the charging goalie to put IMS up 3-0. With just seconds left on the clock Shetler sent a crossing ball across the box where it bounced to Ben Libby who took one touch before putting the ball in the back of the net for the 4-0 final score. IMS moves to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
JV
IMS 0, Columbus Community 0
The JV played two 20 minute halves since many of the Columbus varsity players also needed to play with the JV. The IMS JV put forth a good effort creating several good scoring chances but could not stick any into the net. At the same time the defense stood strong and though Columbus created some scoring opportunities goalie Ben Brenneman made several key saves to keep Columbus scoreless on the evening.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Burlington Notre Dame
IMS 2, Burlington Notre Dame 0
Two teams without a loss this season met on the soccer pitch at IMS Tuesday evening when IMS hosted Burlington Notre Dame. From the opening whistle forwards Truman Shetler and Jacob Yoder and the midfield of Vince Rhodes, Brian Miller, Stephan Peters and Seth Miller established control of the ball and maintained consistent pressure on the Notre Dame goal. Ten minutes into the half, Shetler passed the ball across the eighteen where Yoder placed the ball neatly by the goalie.
IMS continued to create good scoring opportunities as Notre Dame kept the majority of its players back and played for the counter attack. The strategy nearly worked as Notre Dame had several long runs only to see them chased down by the back line of John Nicholson, Marshall Schrock, Chris Perez and Kyle Miller. The few balls which got through were snagged by goalie Michael Darby.
Play continued much the same way through the second half as IMS established possession but could not get the ball by the Notre Dame goalie. With the clock running down, Vince Rhodes took the ball down the right side towards the touch line, before cutting back and crossing the ball across the goal. Several players took a crack at the ball before Brian Miller pounded the ball into the back of the net for the 2-0 win. IMS moves to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference.
JV IMS 5, BND 0
Because of limited numbers for BND the JV played one 30 minute half. Two minutes into the game Justin Boller beat the goalie to the ball and slid the ball into the goal. Boller assisted on the next two goals, the first scored by Tommy Rhodes, the second by Matt Libby. Ben Brenneman, playing on the field instead of his usual spot in goal, scored on an assist from Dillon Bender. Boller and Libby combined for the last goal of the 30 minute period as Boller sent a ball behind the defender as Libby ran on to it and struck by the goalie for the 5-0 win.
Two teams without a loss this season met on the soccer pitch at IMS Tuesday evening when IMS hosted Burlington Notre Dame. From the opening whistle forwards Truman Shetler and Jacob Yoder and the midfield of Vince Rhodes, Brian Miller, Stephan Peters and Seth Miller established control of the ball and maintained consistent pressure on the Notre Dame goal. Ten minutes into the half, Shetler passed the ball across the eighteen where Yoder placed the ball neatly by the goalie.
IMS continued to create good scoring opportunities as Notre Dame kept the majority of its players back and played for the counter attack. The strategy nearly worked as Notre Dame had several long runs only to see them chased down by the back line of John Nicholson, Marshall Schrock, Chris Perez and Kyle Miller. The few balls which got through were snagged by goalie Michael Darby.
Play continued much the same way through the second half as IMS established possession but could not get the ball by the Notre Dame goalie. With the clock running down, Vince Rhodes took the ball down the right side towards the touch line, before cutting back and crossing the ball across the goal. Several players took a crack at the ball before Brian Miller pounded the ball into the back of the net for the 2-0 win. IMS moves to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference.
JV IMS 5, BND 0
Because of limited numbers for BND the JV played one 30 minute half. Two minutes into the game Justin Boller beat the goalie to the ball and slid the ball into the goal. Boller assisted on the next two goals, the first scored by Tommy Rhodes, the second by Matt Libby. Ben Brenneman, playing on the field instead of his usual spot in goal, scored on an assist from Dillon Bender. Boller and Libby combined for the last goal of the 30 minute period as Boller sent a ball behind the defender as Libby ran on to it and struck by the goalie for the 5-0 win.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
IMS soccer -Mid-Prairie game
April 15, 2010
Iowa Mennonite Soccer IMS 6, Mid-Prairie 0
IMS hosted Mid-Prairie in a local derby (meeting between local rivals) Thursday and came out on top with a 6-0 win. With the wind at their backs Mid-Prairie put immediate pressure on IMS. Just a few minutes into the game George Sanches ripped a wicked shot from about 20 yards out only to see it bang off the crossbar. IMS players picked up their pace and succeeded in maintaining possession of the ball and limiting Mid-Prairie to just one more shot in the half.
With twenty four minutes showing on the clock Vince Rhodes sent a ball into the box where Jacob Yoder ran onto the ball and pushed it by the goalie. Mid-Prairie tightened their defense and limited further chances for most of the half but with just seconds remaining on the clock, Vince Rhodes dribbled into the box and sent a shot into the net for the 2-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, IMS continued to create good pressure. Awarded a corner kick Brian Miller sent the ball into the box where Truman Shetler out jumped the defender to head the ball into the corner of the goal. On the next goal, Yoder beat a defender then pushed the ball across the goal to Shetler who pounded it into the goal. A minute later Yoder sent a ball into Shetler who tapped the ball to Rhodes who did a beautiful job of finishing. The final goal came with three minutes left when Seth Miller passed the ball into the path of Matt Libby who struck the ball into the corner of the goal.
The back line of Chris Perez, Tommy Rhodes, Peyton Thompson and anchored by John Nicholson did a good job of turning away Mid-Prairies offensive thrusts and of helping in maintaining possession of the ball. With the win IMS moves to 4-0.
I didn't send this next part to the papers, but it is sort of a hard game to coach. Mid-Prairies coach, Neil Yoder played for me at IMS, was my assistant at IMS for a few years, and he helped me at Mid-Prairie when I was helping to try to start the program over there. Neil took over the boys team while I concentrated on the girls team. What makes it hard, is that he is a good guy and I want him to do well, just not the night we play them. Plus I know he will always have his guys pumped up because Mid-Prairie would really like to beat us. My guys get up for the game, but not nearly as much to match the intensity level.
Iowa Mennonite Soccer IMS 6, Mid-Prairie 0
IMS hosted Mid-Prairie in a local derby (meeting between local rivals) Thursday and came out on top with a 6-0 win. With the wind at their backs Mid-Prairie put immediate pressure on IMS. Just a few minutes into the game George Sanches ripped a wicked shot from about 20 yards out only to see it bang off the crossbar. IMS players picked up their pace and succeeded in maintaining possession of the ball and limiting Mid-Prairie to just one more shot in the half.
With twenty four minutes showing on the clock Vince Rhodes sent a ball into the box where Jacob Yoder ran onto the ball and pushed it by the goalie. Mid-Prairie tightened their defense and limited further chances for most of the half but with just seconds remaining on the clock, Vince Rhodes dribbled into the box and sent a shot into the net for the 2-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, IMS continued to create good pressure. Awarded a corner kick Brian Miller sent the ball into the box where Truman Shetler out jumped the defender to head the ball into the corner of the goal. On the next goal, Yoder beat a defender then pushed the ball across the goal to Shetler who pounded it into the goal. A minute later Yoder sent a ball into Shetler who tapped the ball to Rhodes who did a beautiful job of finishing. The final goal came with three minutes left when Seth Miller passed the ball into the path of Matt Libby who struck the ball into the corner of the goal.
The back line of Chris Perez, Tommy Rhodes, Peyton Thompson and anchored by John Nicholson did a good job of turning away Mid-Prairies offensive thrusts and of helping in maintaining possession of the ball. With the win IMS moves to 4-0.
I didn't send this next part to the papers, but it is sort of a hard game to coach. Mid-Prairies coach, Neil Yoder played for me at IMS, was my assistant at IMS for a few years, and he helped me at Mid-Prairie when I was helping to try to start the program over there. Neil took over the boys team while I concentrated on the girls team. What makes it hard, is that he is a good guy and I want him to do well, just not the night we play them. Plus I know he will always have his guys pumped up because Mid-Prairie would really like to beat us. My guys get up for the game, but not nearly as much to match the intensity level.
With soccer season starting it has been hard to find the time to write the way I want. Since the local papers no longer send reporters I have found it easier to write my own descriptions of the games and send them in for publication. So I figured I might as well include them on this, especially since the Kalona News doesn't usually credit me with writing the game summary.
I know I should probably be writing about what is happening in the West Bank, or maybe even some of the things happening in class but that will have to wait, at least a bit. In the meantime here it is.
Iowa Mennonite Soccer IMS 3, Holy Trinity 2
When the #7 and #8 ranked teams in 1A meet on the pitch one could reasonably expect to see a good match. That was certainly the case as IMS hosted Holy Trinity on a beautiful spring evening and came out on top with a hard fought 3-2 win.
Holy Trinity scored first as their quick forwards burst through the back line on a through ball and scored three minutes into the game. IMS evened the scored four minutes later when Vince Rhodes took the ball near midfield and began dribbling towards the goal. Weaving his way through several defenders, Vince Rhodes found his passing lanes cut off so he continued towards the goal, where he beat two more defenders before stroking the ball into the goal.
Both teams settled down defensively and for much of the rest of the half, play took place in the middle third of the field. With five minutes left in the half, Jacob Yoder took a ball deep into the corner of the box. Cutting back towards the goal he drilled a shot from an impossible angle but curled it around the post and into the goal. Holy Trinity equalized the score with just seconds left on the clock as a ball bounced badly off an IMS defender, allowing the Holy Trinity forward to run unimpeded towards the goal.
The second half saw IMS take the field with a bit more energy which showed as the players kept the pressure on the Holy Trinity defense much of the half. Forwards Truman Shetler, Jacob Yoder along with Chance Miller got off several shots but found it difficult to score as the goalie made good saves, or as shots hit the post or crossbar. Midfielder Stephan Peters nearly found the back of the net as he one touched a crossing ball but it hit the post and deflected to the goalie.
With five minutes on the clock Jacob Yoder sent a ball to Vince Rhodes on the left side. Determined to score, Rhodes took the ball, cut back and struck the ball into the net for the winning goal. This game provided a good test for our defense and with two exceptions the guys did a great job of slowing down the Holy Trinity speed. John Nicholson, Marshall Shrock, Kyle Miller and Chris Perez did a good job on the back line while Brian Miller and Rhodes anchored the midfield. Though he didn’t score Truman Shetler provided a lot of energy up front through out the match. With the win IMS moves to 3-0.
In JV action IMS lost to Holy Trinity 1-2 in a tough match. IMS scored first when Justin Boller ran down a long pass, beat his defenders and scored with 16 minutes left in the half. A second goal which IMS thought it had scored when the ball crossed the line was not called so the half ended with an IMS 1-0 lead. In the second half, Holy Trinity took advantage of some defensive miscues to notch two goals. IMS JV players found some bad fortune as several shots hit posts or the crossbar. Both teams played well as the IMS boys learned they need to play with intensity the entire match.
I know I should probably be writing about what is happening in the West Bank, or maybe even some of the things happening in class but that will have to wait, at least a bit. In the meantime here it is.
Iowa Mennonite Soccer IMS 3, Holy Trinity 2
When the #7 and #8 ranked teams in 1A meet on the pitch one could reasonably expect to see a good match. That was certainly the case as IMS hosted Holy Trinity on a beautiful spring evening and came out on top with a hard fought 3-2 win.
Holy Trinity scored first as their quick forwards burst through the back line on a through ball and scored three minutes into the game. IMS evened the scored four minutes later when Vince Rhodes took the ball near midfield and began dribbling towards the goal. Weaving his way through several defenders, Vince Rhodes found his passing lanes cut off so he continued towards the goal, where he beat two more defenders before stroking the ball into the goal.
Both teams settled down defensively and for much of the rest of the half, play took place in the middle third of the field. With five minutes left in the half, Jacob Yoder took a ball deep into the corner of the box. Cutting back towards the goal he drilled a shot from an impossible angle but curled it around the post and into the goal. Holy Trinity equalized the score with just seconds left on the clock as a ball bounced badly off an IMS defender, allowing the Holy Trinity forward to run unimpeded towards the goal.
The second half saw IMS take the field with a bit more energy which showed as the players kept the pressure on the Holy Trinity defense much of the half. Forwards Truman Shetler, Jacob Yoder along with Chance Miller got off several shots but found it difficult to score as the goalie made good saves, or as shots hit the post or crossbar. Midfielder Stephan Peters nearly found the back of the net as he one touched a crossing ball but it hit the post and deflected to the goalie.
With five minutes on the clock Jacob Yoder sent a ball to Vince Rhodes on the left side. Determined to score, Rhodes took the ball, cut back and struck the ball into the net for the winning goal. This game provided a good test for our defense and with two exceptions the guys did a great job of slowing down the Holy Trinity speed. John Nicholson, Marshall Shrock, Kyle Miller and Chris Perez did a good job on the back line while Brian Miller and Rhodes anchored the midfield. Though he didn’t score Truman Shetler provided a lot of energy up front through out the match. With the win IMS moves to 3-0.
In JV action IMS lost to Holy Trinity 1-2 in a tough match. IMS scored first when Justin Boller ran down a long pass, beat his defenders and scored with 16 minutes left in the half. A second goal which IMS thought it had scored when the ball crossed the line was not called so the half ended with an IMS 1-0 lead. In the second half, Holy Trinity took advantage of some defensive miscues to notch two goals. IMS JV players found some bad fortune as several shots hit posts or the crossbar. Both teams played well as the IMS boys learned they need to play with intensity the entire match.
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