Monthly Archives: June 2025

Continuing To Reflect

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In class we have talked about some very powerful and unsettling topics around things like Cyber-shaming and digital footprints. After watching some class videos and discussions with peers, it has opened my thoughts on the importance of teaching how to navigate through the online world and the dangers that can be out there.

For many years, the internet has been this amazing tool with endless information. What we forget about, is the danger behind the internet and those who use it for the wrong reasons. I think it is important to educate yourself and others about the harm that can be out there. This is also why I try to distance myself from the internet, I feel we are disconnected from the real world because everything you need to know can be right at your finger tips. Don’t get me wrong!! I get it, find answers to those questions you have been wondering about, or the best stuffed chicken recipe, how about the workout routine that what’s his name shared on how to get buff quick. Where would we be, if we were left in wonder? What if you didn’t need to know the answer to that question? or maybe making that chicken how you see fit. Or what about just working out to stay healthy? I have seen many different trends, I wonder if there will be a trend to “disconnect”?

HERE’S THE THING!! As future educators, we need to adapt all the time, and as much as I want to have my class not depend on technology, I understand we live in a digital world and it is my responsibility to teach and guide my students how to navigate the online world. Which starts with me, I need to have  an open mind, educate myself, and challenge myself to grow with the digital world! I can only hope the dark side of the internet changes over time, but for now, I plan to teach how to navigate through the good and bad of the digital world.

 

Reading the Green, The Algorithm Is Here

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Hey all!

For this post, I wanted to share some tips on reading the green with putting! This time I used two different resources, One being a YouTube video and the other a short podcast from Spotify! Wondering why I titled “The Algorithm is Here”, find out below!

Let’s back things up first! Reading the green is used to help a golfer understand / predict where your ball is going to go on the green based on slopes, angles, and even which going with or against the grain of the grass! This is something most people from beginners to pros think is the most crucial part of golf. But is reading the green really something you need to be really good at? well… good news! the answer is NO! You do NOT have to be really good at reading the greens to be a good golfer. What a relief! I will say, being able to have an idea of where your ball is going to go is usually helpful in the game of golf! Here’s what I learned on this weeks on reading the greens!

As it was a late evening, I was on my phone listening to music on Spotify. I went to search for a new song, and as I was typing the search bar auto populated a search recommendation called “golf tips”. I think I panicked and dropped my phone on the floor because never have I ever seen anything in my search on Spotify that was golf related! Now I know I have been searching lots on golf and talking about to friends and family! So why not Spotify! I went ahead and listened to the podcast called “Reading The Green” by GolfTipsForBeginners. Here’s what I learned from the 3 minute clip on Spotify on tips for reading the green!

Putting against the grain- If grass is a light shade, you are putting against the grain, the blades of grass are pointing toward you.

Putting with the grain-If grass is dark, you are putting with the grain, the blades of grass are pointing away from you.

Look for the setting sun! Grain often grows towards the setting sun.

One of the more common things that was talked about is looking for slopes on the green, putting uphill will take more swing power, while putting downhill will take less swing power.

Another trick for reading the green is based on feeling with your feet! yes, you read that right! If you feel the ground is soft the green, it is likely to be a slower green that might take more swing power, while if it is a hard ground, it might be a faster green and take less swing power. Another thing to keep in mind is if the ground is wet or dry as this will change ball speed!

Now listening only did so much for me, I needed to see more on reading greens! Which is where I found a great video by Brad Faxon and his take on reading greens! Here’s the LINK if you’d like to watch how Brad reads greens! This is what I took from Brad:

1.) Reading the green can happen 25-30 yards out from the green looking for slopes

2.) Walk around the green looking at grain, not just from behind your ball

3.) Be aware of playing partners

4.) Instinct and visualization, based on feel and seeing your putt through

5.) ROUTINE!!

The most helpful tip is #5! Make your routine and stick with it! building consistency through routine will build your confidence when you have the putter in your hand!

Stay tuned for more!

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching Digital Citizenship

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So I’m sitting outside reflecting on some of the articles, thinking about digital citizenship and how I might approach it in my future classroom. I started thinking what grade should we be introducing these 9 elements of digital citizenship. When I was in school, I never learned about anything related to the 9 elements. Now there was restrictions but we as students were never really educated on the digital world. The digital world is such a big of our lives now, we need to educate our students about the digital world throughout their educational journey.

The main question from the one article “Character Education for the Digital Age” by Jason Ohler is “should we teach our kids to have two lives or one?” This is a question I had to sit on for awhile. I am someone who struggles with the amount of technology kids are using today. What I am coming to understand, is that it is better to educate our students throughout their educational journey with digital citizenship to help them properly utilize the tool of the digital world. If I want to answer the question of two lives or one, I am going to lean towards one. For my future classroom, I envision the “one life” approach where mixing their digital experiences with their learning and understanding of community, values, and responsibility.

To break it down, I believe it is important to teach digital citizenship. If we are teaching our students about right and wrong in our classrooms, we need to teach the right and wrongs of the online world.

 

Keep the Tempo!

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This week I wanted to focus on my tempo when I am putting!

Tempo is how long your swing takes from the moment you pull the club into the backswing then follow through. I often wondered if there is a certain tempo you should use when you are putting. So I decided to get to work and start trying different tempo speeds. I tried many different speeds from slow to fast and really found that it didn’t really make to much of a difference for me other then it just felt uncomfortable!

I went golfing the other day on a course to try and put some things I learned into action. I think it was a good idea not keeping score that day because I wasn’t playing good and especially struggling with putting. As I was trying different tempos, I was starting to get frustrated because it seemed everything I tried wasn’t working. I went home and started to look up some videos and found a great trick to keep in mind when thinking about putting tempo.

Izidor Marik is a golf teacher at a golf course in the states and helps makes tutorial videos on YouTube with the account Rhythmic Golf. I would recommend checking their channel as they have some great videos on everything golf related to help you and your golf game!

I was intrigued when I was scrolling their channel and found a putting video that was titled “How To Find Your Perfect Putting Tempo By Using A Metronome”. Growing up playing piano, Metronome is something used in music to keep the tempo of a song. I NEVER would have thought it could be used to help me with putting. There was only one issue! I don’t have a metronome anymore! Ohhh but the internet is a wonderful place! You can actually just google metronome on and it has one for you!

So did it work?? well not exactly as I thought. No, I didn’t just use the metronome and my putting got better. I will say it did make me feel more in control. What I did learn, was that putting tempo is really a personal preference. I used the video as a guide and found what was comfortable for me!

Tempo is just a piece of the putting puzzle! Stayed tuned for more to come!