‘The Right Position’: From the Baseball Diamond to the Classroom
| by Hannah Sparling
At first, Orlando Rodriquez just wanted to play baseball. He grew up playing ball and played second base for three years in college. It was a huge part of his life.
Then, he wanted to coach baseball. He found a coaching job near Phoenix and moved from New Mexico to Arizona, which had long been another dream of his.
After a few years of coaching, Rodriquez got another opportunity, this time to become a special-education teacher. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but once he stepped into the classroom, he knew he was in the right place.
“I feel like God put me in the right position to be there with these students,” he said.
Rodriquez is now a special-education teacher for Willow Canyon High School in Arizona as well as the infield coordinator for the Ottawa University Arizona baseball team.
In a few months, he’ll graduate from Moreland University. He’ll have his professional Arizona teaching certificate along with his M.Ed., with a focus on special education.
Rodriquez was already the first in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree. Now, he’ll be the first with a master’s as well. His goals: Support and encourage his students, be a positive role model in their lives, and set them up for successful futures.
“The way I look at it is, someday my time is going to be up, and God is going to call me,” he said. “And what kind of impression did I make?”
Orlando Rodriquez is a teacher and baseball coach.
Learning and Adapting
Rodriquez taught for a couple years on a temporary certification before his then-principal told him about Moreland University. He decided to earn his master’s degree through Moreland along with his certification because he’ll be better set up to grow his career.
“And I’m the type of person that likes challenges,” he said.
It took him a few weeks to settle into Moreland’s program, but once he adjusted, he liked it. His professors have all been great, he said — flexible and responsive to any questions or concerns. And while the assignments aren’t easy, he is learning and growing as an educator.
He teaches freshman algebra and financial algebra for seniors. All his students have IEPs, and Moreland has helped him make sure he’s accommodating and modifying his lessons to their needs.
“I’ve learned to adapt my teaching style,” he said. “To look at certain assignments or certain lessons outside of the box and say, ‘Hey, I didn’t think about it this way,’ or, ‘I could go this route.’”
Teaching Perseverance
Every Monday, Rodriquez spends the first 5 or 10 minutes of class showing a clip from a motivational speaker or video. He gives his students a few minutes to journal about their response, then they talk about it together. What did they take from the clip? How does it apply to their lives? He is teaching his students how to persevere and overcome challenges.
“Right now, you’re building skills that you’re going to need in life,” he tells them. “Don’t just sit there and give up. Because if you do that now, you’re going to do that when you get older and face a challenge.”
Rodriquez thrives on building relationships, especially with students who are sometimes labeled as “difficult.” A lot of his students come from broken families or don’t have a positive influence in their lives, he said, so he tries to span that gap. When students come to him with problems or concerns, which happens regularly, he’s always ready to listen, encourage, or offer advice.
Rodriquez finds a lot of similarities between teaching and coaching.
In a lot of ways, teaching is like coaching. Rodriquez tries to be a positive role model on the field and in the classroom. He encourages his baseball players to practice, and he encourages his students to do the same.
Several of his students are gamers, so he uses that analogy with them: “Right now, we’re on level 1. So, we’ll learn these skills and apply them for level 2.”
Ultimately, whether he’s teaching or coaching or both, Rodriquez wants to be remembered as someone who was supportive and encouraging. He wants to make his siblings and parents proud and set a good example for his nieces and nephews.
He wants his legacy, the impression he leaves, to be a life of service.
Earn your professional teaching certification in as little as 9 months with Moreland University. From there, you have the option to add on a master’s degree in just 3 additional months.
