Lessons from The Sandlot
Posted January 28, 2019
Play is not frivolous.
Recent research by the American Academy of Pediatrics reveals that play helps children develop language and executive functioning skills, learn to negotiate with others, manage stress, and figure out how to pursue their goals while ignoring distractions, among other things.
Today’s college students are challenged to think critically in order to weigh relevant evidence to make sound decisions, craft a sense of identity that honors and balances their own and others’ needs, and develop intercultural maturity to work interdependently with diverse others. Moreover, successful transition occurs when students achieve full membership into the social and academic communities of their institution.
So what do these kids from The Sandlot have to teach us about student success in college?
Community is important. SIUE helps students find community through the SIUE Experience, Focused Interest Communities and more than 300 student organizations.
Mentoring bridges the gaps. Much like Rodriguez helped Smalls become part of the team, students connect with faculty mentors through research and community service projects.
Learning to effectively engage is critical. To traditional freshmen, an instructor’s criticism might sound like the ultimate insult, “You play ball like a girl!” Through advising, tutoring and counseling, students learn to interpret feedback.
Students prefer a collaborative approach in dealing with challenges, like when the ball went over the fence. Peer-led team learning is in place for many STEM courses and supplemental instruction is offered for 35 courses that have high D, F, Withdraw grade rates.
And like Squint’s plan to kiss Wendy Peffercorn, graduation is the result of a goal. “Of course I planned it. I’ve been planning it for years!”
Remember: “Everybody gets one chance to do something great. Most people never take the chance, either because they are too scared or don’t recognize it when it spits on their shoes.”
The Sandlot. Directed by David Mickey Evans, performances by Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi and Art LaFleur, Twentieth Century Fox, 1993.
Written by Dawn Huckelberry, MA, SIUE Integrative Studies Program Advisor
