T E AC H Chapter 3
Using a Team Approach
S
ally walked from the bus stop into a recently built neighborhood in the sprawling suburb of Oakwood, Ohio. The homes were pretty typical, the kind that seemingly pop up overnight once the developer gets approval. Like most of the other kids there, Sally and her brother were getting used to their first home, one their parents had dreamed of for years! It was a beautiful spring day, and the gaggle of kids streaming off the bus was excited to be outside. Jimmy, the de facto leader of the cool kids, was organizing a pickup baseball game. Sally ran home as fast as her legs could carry her to retrieve her mitt from the moving box labeled “sports stuff” still stacked in the garage. By the time she got back to the vacant lot, they were already picking teams for the first game of the neighborhood season. She waited nervously with some of the other girls, secretly hoping she would get the chance to show that she, in fact, did know how to play baseball. Despite being picked last, she was still happy to be on the team with Jimmy and her best friend, Sonja. But once she pitched the first inning, her place on the team was secured! Three up, three down! Her teammates cheered! All was right in the neighborhood. From a very young age, all of us, like Sally, learn about teams. We learn that teams are groups of people who spend time together doing something fun or productive. We learn that it is natural and rewarding to be with others and work toward a common goal. It could be Little League baseball, neighborhood soccer games, school debate 45
