Since I am currently on the Chadron State College wrestling team, I figured that I would focus this blog on specifically incorporating my faith into the sport of wrestling. Not only will this work aid me in my career presently, but it could also help me a few years down the road when I become a wrestling coach! By no means do I plan on shoving spirituality down the throats of my future athletes. Although, there are plenty of positive principles that I could include in my coaching philosophy to help my wrestlers reach their maximum potential!

With being a Christian, there are a number of values that we try to practice on a daily basis. A list of these values is love, discipline, truth, strength, courage, selflessness, boldness, endurance, self-control, confidence, patience, kindness, faith, purpose, gentleness, understanding, mercy, perseverance, persistence, grace, wisdom, passionate, energetic, empathetic, zeal, peace, hope, et cetera. I am a firm believer that if an individual consistently portrays these attributes, they will experience a wide variety of successes.

Day in and day out, I attempt to reflect on these morals and see whether or not I am displaying them. Doing this for my God, myself, my family, my teammates, and my friends is a big part of my life! I just want everyone to experience the love and all of the spiritual benefits there are when acting out your faith!

Here is a link to the FCA Wrestling foundation where I like to go for a number of different references and resources! They also provide numerous different accounts of Christian wrestlers who also happen to be some of the most successful athletes in the world! Some of the biggest names in this list include world champions and Olympic champions Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder, J’den Cox, and Brandon Slay! It’s in role models like these where I like to find inspiration!

https://www.fcawrestling.org/

Wrestling is tough. It teaches our boys and girls to become solid men and women in society! It can truly be used as a vehicle to improve other areas of our life such as spirituality, physical fitness, nutrition, self-discipline, time-management, academics, relationship-building, goal-setting, teamwork, mental toughness, and the list goes on! Balancing wrestling with life can prove to be a task, but overall, it helps us to become better people! Because wrestling can be so tough, there are a lot of times throughout the grueling season where I have to rely on my faith!

When my legs feel like jelly, my arms feel like noodles, my mind is foggy, my motivation is at an all-time low, my lungs are burning, my face is beat up, my knees are weak, my shoulders feel burdened, the pressure seems unbearable, my stomach is growling, my body feels parched, my muscles ache, and my confidence is low, that, that right there, is when I look to my God!

When I feel like I can no longer go any further, that’s when I feel the Lord at work inside of me! At the end of every season, I take a look back and wonder how I made it through. I am convinced that my faith in God is a big reason why I am here today! It is all for my good and His glory!

When times seem overly daunting, I remember the true reason why I continue to wrestle and why I am here on this earth. It is to glorify my God, live out His will, and love and bring other people with me in hopes of spending eternity with Him in Heaven!

When I first took a look at what we were expected to accomplish this week on the program called, ds106, I was a bit skeptical, to be honest. The website itself looked somewhat scattered and more progressive than professional, unlike your typical online learning course. However, the more I looked into everything ds106 had to offer, the more I started to appreciate it!

So, what on earth is ds106?

DS106 is a free and open online course to help others learn more about the subject of digital storytelling! It truly allows its users to display their creativity and individuality through numerous types of technology!

What’s also great about this course is that you are free to join whenever, you are able to leave whenever, and there are no teachers harping in your ear! It is totally up to you how much you get out of the fifteen weeks that they have to offer! Surely, there is a whole lot of potential to improve upon your level of digital literacy!

DS106 goes on further to describe the core of this class as, “using digital tools so that ordinary people can tell their own, real-life stories.” Throughout the fifteen-week semester, you are expected to create your own online identity, narrating the process as you move along. You are also expected to interact with other users to help develop your technological efficacy.

There are three main objectives to ds106 that are fairly straightforward. The first is to “develop skills in using technology as a tool for networking, sharing, narrating, and creating self-expression.” The second objective is “framing a digital identity where you become both a practitioner and interrogator of various modes of networking.” Lastly, the third objective of the class is to “critically examine the digital landscape of communication technologies as emergent narrative forms and genres.”

All in all, ds106 is an incredible online resource to improve your effectiveness with today’s technology!

How could I implement ds106 into my future?

First of all, ds106 could definitely help me to improve both my digital literacy and overall creativity! I could see some major development in these areas if I would commit fifteen weeks to taking this course! Secondly, I could also utilize this resource in my future classrooms as an educator! Getting the kids on board with some of the ideas that ds106 has to offer could see a major improvement in communication, class involvement, and self-expression!

DS106 is a terrific resource regarding the digital world! I am very grateful that I have been exposed to it!

For my independent learning project, there were a number of things that popped into my mind when I pondered about what topic to choose. My faith, school, wrestling, fitness, animals, nutrition, sports, exercise, and relationships all play major roles in my life, and it was tough to determine just one topic!

That’s why I decided to make my independent learning project a hybrid of two major aspects of my life. These two aspects are God and sports. I want to learn more about how I, along with others, can bring God into the world of sports!

I was raised within a household that was genuinely dedicated to its faith and I have been involved in sports ever since I could remember! What better than to dedicate a good chunk of time to learning more about how I can combine my relationship with God and athletics? I don’t know if there is anything better, in my personal opinion!

In my personal experiences, sport seemed to have a way into drawing me closer to my Creator. When I was nervous, I prayed. When I thought that I couldn’t make it through a workout, I asked for His strength. When I experienced doubt and fear, I asked Him for faith. When I was injured, I put my trust in His divine plan. When I was struggling with teammates, I asked myself, “What would Jesus do?” When I experience victory, I do my best to give Him the glory. When I suffer defeat, I still offer up the situation to Him. All in all, being involved in athletics has helped push my faith to new levels!

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) has also been a large part of my life! It has opened up many doors of opportunity to improve in my faith, my sport, as well as providing me with some amazing connections!

Currently, I am a leader for the FCA program here at Chadron State College, and I can truthfully say that it has changed my life for the better! The people I get to associate with are true, encouraging, positive, uplifting, enlightening, wise, selfless, loving, and passionate in everything they do! The relationships I have made within Chadron State’s FCA have truly changed my life and has helped mold me into the person that I am today!

These are just a few reasons why I would really like to dig into learning about how to implement my faith into my sport. Not only will it help me with my wrestling currently, but I also firmly believe that it will help me to be a better coach someday!

I am stoked to see where this independent learning project goes this semester!

Never have I ever thought about potentially hacking our educational system. Growing up, it was always just a given that I would go to school from age five to eighteen, earn my high school diploma, then go to college for another four to five years to earn a degree in hopes to find a career that suits me! So, you are telling me that “hacking” my education could potentially cut years off of my schooling and I would still receive quality information and experiences? Nonsense!

I was always taught that school is the best and only route to a high-quality life down the road, that I was to spend up to twenty years in the educational system to land a worthwhile job. On the contrary, it seems as though that this might not be the only way.

From the video and the reading, hacking education uses multiple resources, other than a traditional school setting, to provide an enhanced educational experience for its students! Getting out into the real world, participating in hands-on experiences, and working towards an education that will actually set you up to succeed and be satisfied with your life? That sounds incredible! Not to mention how many years you could shave off of sitting in a desk and getting out into a career that suits you!

Courtesy of http://hacklearning.org/

The benefits are manifold, and it seems like this would be a fantastic idea for our next generation of students! It would require a substantial amount of reform in our educational system, however, shouldn’t we be advocates for our children’s health and happiness?

When Logan touched on his concern for his and other children’s health and happiness, it really struck me. Exercise, diet, nutrition, nature, contribution to society, providing services, relationships, recreation, relaxation, stress management, religious, and spiritual aspects all need to be taken into serious consideration when we take a look at the health and happiness of our society!

I think that our schools need to put more effort into satisfying these qualities for the good of their students! Sitting in a desk all day might not be the solution at all.

Logan mentions that “hackschooling” involves four branches. Those branches are creativity and the hacker mindset, experiential classes and camps, technology and online resources, and the eight happy and healthy therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC’s)! I made sure to jot down these points in my notes so that I can refer to them one day when I am a teacher myself!

Bud Hunt mentions an approach called “Make/Hack/Play” when it comes to our education and learning! In his blog, he writes that learning happens when we make things, that hackers are innovators that improve things, and that playing with information and resources leads to powerful learning! Logan and Bud make some fantastic points that I myself will use one day for my students! These two sources were extremely educational and highly applicable!

All in all, what do I think about hacking our education? I think that it is a great idea, however, I am not certain if I would jump into it myself. I believe that traditional schooling does provide a number of benefits and opportunities for one to grow into the person that they are supposed to become!

Am I against these any of these ideas of educational reform? No way! A few years down the road, when I am an educator myself, I am going to make sure I implement these strategies that involve the students’ health, happiness, well-being, and improved educational experience!

Change is good. Moving forward, especially within the lives of the next generation, must always be done for the good of the world!

Digital literacy, according to the American Library Association, is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills. As we keep chugging away in this world, our technologies are ever advancing. Having the ability to use and understand these resources will either make or break you in this age!

According to Jennifer Sparrow and the Educause Review, digital fluency is a broader term. It refers to the ability to leverage technology to create new knowledge, new challenges, and new problems to complement critical thinking, complex problem solving, and social intelligence to solve new challenges. We need proficient communication skills and improvement in media literacy to tackle issues we experience both today and in the future!

When I was researching digital literacy, I found that there are, in fact, eight elements that coincide this term! They are cultural, cognitive, constructive, communicative, confident, creative, critical, and civic. It is known that this framework is applicable to almost any digital learning situation.

When it comes down to it, there are a number of things I feel like I am experienced in when it comes to digital literacy. Social media, online education, internet exploration, functioning applications, and connecting devices are some of the major technological skills I have acquired over the last decade or so of my life. I will admit, however, that there are a number of other “literacies” where I do not feel like I am competent! Technology is advancing at a rather alarming rate, and keeping up can be proven difficult!

There are a number of things that I would like to learn about when it comes to digital literacy. A few of them include how to set up particular devices, keeping up-to-date with a majority of entertainment systems, and just being open overall to new advancements and updates! I am expecting to learn a variety of new things on a regular basis when it comes to digital literacy. If I am not “fluent” or am unwilling to accept advancement, I just might get left in the dust!

How can we become effective digital learners and leaders? The answer might seem simple, but it will require quite a bit of work. Being open to change and willing to learn are among the two major traits that a leader must possess in this increasingly digital world! Our society is ever changing, so must we be.

Here is a link to a website that help me to better understand the concept of digital literacy!

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/what-is-digital-literacy/

 

Here we go again. Another student-athlete writing up a story about sports.
Yippee!

Though this might be a short excerpt on my experience with the sport of
wrestling, I would encourage you to take five minutes out of your day to give this a read. Who knows? My experience might actually give you some new perspectives!

Wrestling, by far, has been one of the toughest physical, mental, emotional,and spiritual challenges I have ever faced, and for some odd reason, I keep coming back to it. It has taught me infinite lessons about myself and life in general. In my biased opinion, wrestling is one of the best examples of a microcosm of life that there is.

When life is tough, you have to get tough. (I learned this through daily, grueling practices.)

When life takes you down, you have to stand back up. (Every loss I had in my career, I learned to bounce back and get the next best thing.)

When things do not go your way, you need to find a way. (I learned how to find ways to win, both on and off the mat.)

When all seems hopeless, you have to find your purpose. (Wrestling taught me that even in the darkest of moments, if your purpose is strong enough, you can make it through!)

When there is nobody to blame but you, take responsibility. (I was quick to learn that I was the only one on the mat, so I had to own up to my shortcomings.)

Believe it or not, life is not all sunshine and rainbows. A lot of the time
it’s a grind. It’s a fight to stay afloat. We have to roll with the punches and
push to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be!

Wrestling will teach you that. It will teach you how to win with humility
and lose with grace. It will teach you that your work ethic is one of the most
important things in your life. It will teach you to keep moving forward even
when you feel like you can’t. It will teach you to keep fighting when your back is against the ropes. It will teach you how to compete with constrained
violence, then shake an opponent’s hand when the dust settles. I think you get the point. The list goes on and on.

However, stay with me for one more minute. This is the ultimate lesson that
I have learned from this sport.

Sometimes, life is not fair. No matter how hard you work, no matter how
dedicated you are, no matter how bad you want it, your dreams don’t become a reality. Life can truly bring you to your knees, but that does not mean that it ends!

Taking pride in how far you have come, finding silver linings, and who you
become along the way are a few things someone can look at when things get
rough! Always remember to control the things you can control, and let go of the things you cannot.

Man, do I love this sport!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton