Perfect
For coaches out there, this is a great example of someone who has good sportsmanship.
I hope that Armando Galarraga has many blessings to come for his graciousness with the umpire who blew a call at first that cost him the "perfect game." Little did he know that his perfection would come in forgiveness. Too often when we look at perfect, we think it is in not making mistakes, when rather it is in forgiving others.
It is great that Corvette presented Armando with a car before the game started (he didn't get the perfect game but he got the perfect car.)
But, it was the fact that this pitcher, who some say was cheated out of the perfect game by a heretofore well respected umpire, was sent to deliver the scorecard to the official, Jim Joyce, this past Thursday afternoon (by a wise manager.) Joyce has had his wife and kids threatened for the bad call and has been devastated about the mistake. It has threatened to ruin his career and he is the first one to agree that he made a mistake.
We all blow it. We have humans in our schools and we are humans who "keep score." In this, sometimes a student may be "perfect" but in fact it is the teacher who blows it. Good teachers know it when they blow it. Bad teachers don't care.
Perhaps the toughest thing about blowing it is the unforgiveness and "nailing to the wall" that happens from the parents and others when a teacher does make a mistake. Teachers make mistakes. Kids make mistakes. Mistakes are not "OK" - we cannot excuse mistakes but we can expect them.
And when they happen and those mistakes come from genuine, honest, accidental "humanness" - we must realize that sometimes the most perfect thing we can do is forgive and move on.
I'm not a huge baseball fan, but, my friends, I'm now a huge fan of Armando Galarraga and also the umpire who has publicly admitting his mistake. His tears at being forgiven when handed that score card on Thursday night ran down my face this morning as I saw it on the news.
Funny how Perfect is so rare. Perhaps this game is one of the most perfect ever played.
I hope that Armando Galarraga has many blessings to come for his graciousness with the umpire who blew a call at first that cost him the "perfect game." Little did he know that his perfection would come in forgiveness. Too often when we look at perfect, we think it is in not making mistakes, when rather it is in forgiving others.
It is great that Corvette presented Armando with a car before the game started (he didn't get the perfect game but he got the perfect car.)
But, it was the fact that this pitcher, who some say was cheated out of the perfect game by a heretofore well respected umpire, was sent to deliver the scorecard to the official, Jim Joyce, this past Thursday afternoon (by a wise manager.) Joyce has had his wife and kids threatened for the bad call and has been devastated about the mistake. It has threatened to ruin his career and he is the first one to agree that he made a mistake.
We all blow it. We have humans in our schools and we are humans who "keep score." In this, sometimes a student may be "perfect" but in fact it is the teacher who blows it. Good teachers know it when they blow it. Bad teachers don't care.
Perhaps the toughest thing about blowing it is the unforgiveness and "nailing to the wall" that happens from the parents and others when a teacher does make a mistake. Teachers make mistakes. Kids make mistakes. Mistakes are not "OK" - we cannot excuse mistakes but we can expect them.
And when they happen and those mistakes come from genuine, honest, accidental "humanness" - we must realize that sometimes the most perfect thing we can do is forgive and move on.
I'm not a huge baseball fan, but, my friends, I'm now a huge fan of Armando Galarraga and also the umpire who has publicly admitting his mistake. His tears at being forgiven when handed that score card on Thursday night ran down my face this morning as I saw it on the news.
Funny how Perfect is so rare. Perhaps this game is one of the most perfect ever played.
