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Baseball serves as backdrop for lessons in science, math for local students(South Florida Sun-Sentinel (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 20--Jupiter -- From a folding chair behind home plate, 10-year-old Caroline Winston tossed the third baseman a delicate question Wednesday morning. "Do you think girls will ever play baseball in the major leagues?" the fifth-grader from the private Progressive School in West Palm Beach asked Ryan Barthelemy of the minor league Palm Beach Cardinals. A Roger Dean Stadium crowd of elementary school students heard Barthelemy field it cleanly: "Anything is possible. There are a lot of girls who are very athletic." Getting an up-close education in baseball, more than 2,000 kids from around Palm Beach County took the day off from school to role play as sports reporters, see a real game, compete in a bubble-gum blowing contest and experience long lines for pizza and cotton candy. It's the third year for Education Days at the Jupiter ballpark, a series of five official Florida State League games scheduled at the unusual time of 10:35 a.m. to fall within regular class hours. Tickets cost $6 per student, including a 12-ounce water bottle and one hot dog. "We condition ourselves to be night owls," said Barthelemy, a former Miami high school standout who later starred for Florida State University before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies. "But you learn to be adaptable." Stadium and school district officials want to teach students that the national pastime is about more than just hits and runs, steroid scandals or pricey pretzels and soft drinks. An elementary and middle school baseball curriculum, revised this year, uses the game as a backdrop for lessons in science, mathematics, language arts and social studies. Teachers use the curriculum before and after their visit to the ballpark. But Wednesday's outing was just to enjoy the game. Before the field trip, second-grade teacher Jillian Price of Heritage Elementary in Greenacres had her class pretend to operate a concession stand by selecting foods and setting prices. Fifth-grade teacher Mark Golzbein of Grassy Waters Elementary in West Palm Beach asked his students to conduct online research on how weather can affect the game. "We looked at how the ball travels at different fields depending on the temperature," said Golzbein, helping to chaperone 140 fifth-graders, including Joseph Lippi. Other educators said the game served as a well-earned reward for kids still recovering from intense FCAT preparation and exams. After the third inning in the game between the Cardinals and the Brevard County Manatees, Joseph was picked to race Robbie the Redbird from first to third base. Wearing a New York Yankees cap, the 10-year-old beat the mascot. "I like playing the sport and having fun doing it," said the multi-position player for a Royal Palm Beach youth league. To bring kids closer to the game, a lucky few were chosen to serve as guest public-address announcers, toss out the ceremonial first pitch and walk out with the umpires for the official team lineup exchange. The SpongeBob SquarePants theme song played during the Seventh Inning Stretch after Take Me Out to the Ballgame. "It's pretty fun to be here," said Noel Resendez, 11, from Forest Park Elementary in Boynton Beach. "It's my second time here. I really love this place." Over in the third-base stands, 7-year-old Vicente Messina Jr. of Greenacres said he enjoyed the action, but "my favorite game is soccer." He sat next to his dad, Vicente Messina Sr., who was a chaperone for the Heritage second-graders. "It's his first live baseball game," he said. "If he likes it, I'll take him to see the Marlins." Kevin Sterling, the school district's health and physical education administrator, hopes the kids become more than just students of the game. "It puts them in a different learning environment," he said. "It allows them to realize that education and learning things is not all done at a desk. You can relate math, science, social studies and language arts to any walk of life." The science of baseball also took prominence during a 2004 visit to the same stadium by baseball great Ozzie Smith. The Hall of Fame shortstop led a lesson called "Fastballs, Flips and Physics: Science on the Sandlot." Local middle and high school students helped conduct experiments that were broadcast to an estimated 14 million students in classrooms nationwide, during the program sponsored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. On Wednesday, the Cardinals won 4-0 with just four hits, but physical education teacher Ted Mongon of Progressive School says there's a greater purpose than scoreboard watching or academic challenges. "They see people having fun and being fit and athletic," Mongon said. "That's what kids need these days." Marc Freeman can be reached at [email protected] or 561-243-6642. |