Week 3

Week 3 is over and one word comes to mind - EXHAUSTED.

I'm not sure why, but I am definitely feeling it this week... even though it was a short one.  I guess the go-go-go is really catching up with me.  Speaking of catching up, it was SO nice going out to Daiva's show with everyone from Midtown.  It was really nice talking/ranting with my fellow Midtowners about our similar experiences.  It's so nice, and frankly unsurprising, to hear how well it's going for everyone - we really lucked out this year with our group.. we're amazing!
                                                                                                         






Pictured: Daiva and her accordion and Mack
and his sweet dance moves.

Now on to the school stuff...

My week went really well.  I finally got the new assessment piece finished and up in the gym and it looks great - it took a chunk out of the class to explain, but I think it'll be a good thing.  I'm finding it very difficult to ensure everyone is engaged while I'm teaching volleyball.  The basic skills just aren't there for the majority of the kids which makes it really difficult to do anything.  When we do play games, we're lucky to get rallys that go for 3 hits or more and I find myself feeling really badly, particularly for the kids who love volleyball.  I want to do some more fun drill and games, but it's hard for 2 reasons - the first being the varied skill level, and the second being that we only have one net and with up to 35 students in some of our classes, it's really hard to find drills that get everyone involved.

The flow of the class feels great.  Although I still have some disruptive behaviour, I have realized that the trick is really to get them sitting down and wait for them to be quiet - no matter how long that takes.  Firstly, it helps you assert yourself and show them that you won't tolerate any disrespectful behaviour in the class and secondly, it's nice to have a voice at the end of the day.  That may seems like it came off a little harsh but the reality of being a 5'3", female phys ed teacher really hits you when you're in a class full of 35 screaming pre-teens who half the time are taller and louder than you are.

Assessment in the gym is another issue that I find myself dwelling on often.  It is hard not to assess based on skill, but that's not what PE is about to me.  I am working on a few checklists for assessment and have to constantly remind myself that the mark goes deeper than whether or not they can volley, bump or serve.

I was also fortunate during week 3 to have the help of a science teacher in working with a program called Microsoft Publisher - I became totally addicted to it!  My associate teacher and I have gone label-crazy in the gym and everything is now SUPER organized.  The science teacher who helped me out with the program said a very interesting thing.  When I thanked her for her help, she responded with "No problem, I can tell that you are someone who will pass on this knowledge, so I can feel happy knowing it is going to good use".  Knowledge is power.  Teach a man to fish... etc.  Insert inspiration quote here but seriously, it's true.  It got me thinking even more about the importance of using your co-workers for their wealth of knowledge but not just that - the importance of spreading your own.  We all become teachers and coaches to pass on what we know to future generations, but it is equally as important to share this knowledge with the educators of today.

Thus far, this placement has been an amazing experience.  In 3 short weeks, I feel like I have held true to my teaching philosophy, but I have learned so much from a classroom management standpoint that will undoubtedly be incredibly valuable throughout my career.  I am very interested to see how all I have learned and developed into over the last three weeks will transition into a smaller classroom where I don't have a whistle!

Han