Umpire rule knowledge is down this year

[bkbjones]

Originally Posted by steveshane67

So many things wrong with that philosophy.

A test is a way to evaluate an individuals knowledge of the subject matter. An open book, open neighbor.... test would be fine if being able to look at a rule book or phone a knowledgeable ump during the game were permissible.

So what happens if 5 umpires meet to take the test, and 4 dont know the answer to a few questions but the 5th does, he says the answer is ....... so the other 4 umps just right down ........Now 2 of the 4 that didnt know the answer are umping a game, the same situation occurs, only this time the 5th ump who knows the rule isnt there to instruct them.

"Testing how someone takes a test isn't the goal here" might be the biggest pet peeve of mine whether talking about umpire or schooling or whatever. Dont use the excuse, "im not a good test taker" either you know the subject matter, or you dont. Its not like theyre asking you to take the test while you are fighting off raging lions. Im assuming one would be given a quite test taking environment where there are minimal distractions.

Steve, I have not met you or worked with you. But I have worked with some who are of your same mindset.

You see, when you are on the field you should be working as a team. Same with the way we do the test. Sure, sometimes they eff it up, same as we sometimes do on the field. You know what happens when they eff it up? They all miss it, and then they all talk about it, how they missed it, etc. But they work together to do it.

We have a lot of umpires who think they are on an island. Guess what? You're not -- unless you are working one-umpire mechanics. The concept of teamwork is a good one, whether it is taking the test or umpiring a game.

Oh...it's not just the five umpires meeting to take the test. We have dozens meeting to take the test on veterans test night. If someone(s) can't find the answer, and they ask, we will guide them in the right direction, but it is still up to them to find the right answer...or to find the wrong answer and be gently led to the right answer later on.

As for taking the test, you need to get out from under the rock and realize that people have different learning styles, and perform differently when taking a test. Your last paragraph reminds me of the teachers my youngest daughter had during her first nine years of school. They had her pigeonholed in so many ways. Today, just three weeks after her 25th birthday, she called us to let us know her bonus for 2Q 2009 was $9,000. Sometimes learning the subject matter requires a different method. All we are doing by proscribing other learning methods is excluding those who could be umpiring with us...and could be good or even great umpires.