Monday, October 19, 2009

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The good: I am helping out with the Hockey Canada Skills Academy which is run by certified coaches and also monitored/run by teachers from ADSS. I go on the ice every other day and help out with practices. It's so much fun and they really enjoy having me there as I am making great connections with the female players. I would be in heaven if I ever had the opportunity to be a part of this type of program in the future. I do believe that I will still be involved in this program come January, but I am pretty sure that half way through February they begin dry-land training. I am really interested in checking this out as well and think that I could be a valuable asset to this aspect of the program as well.
Another good: All of my sponsor teachers (i have 3!) are pretty welcoming and helpful. I am trying to get into many different classrooms but am finding it hard to find available and willing teachers. ADSS gets a lot of student teachers from VIU and some teachers don't like having more than one of us in the classroom at one time.
A good/bad: (depending on how you look at it!) Starting in February I will be helping to teach the Golf class. This involves a lot of time up at the local 18 hole golf course where the PE teacher works along with the Golf Pro. On days that we are not at the course, we head to Glenwood center which is a multi-sport center to do indoor golf(this should be interesting). The problem is.... I CAN'T GOLF!! My mentor teacher assures me that I will do just fine and I'll be a pro in no time but I seriously have my doubts!!
A bad: Both of the PE classes I am observing right now have HUGE participation/strip problems. There always seems to be a minimum of 5 students who are not participating and do absolutely nothing but sit on the sidelines. They are not involved AT ALL. Through speaking with my mentor teachers this seems to be an ongoing problem. They say that they call home frequently but see little improvement. Apparently a number of kids fail PE 9 and 10 every year which leads me to my ugly.
Ugly: Currently in SD 70, there are no specialized teachers in the middle schools (grade 8-10). The students remain with their core teachers and these teachers are supposed to teach PE. Often these teachers use eliminating PE as part of punishment or are simply not knowledgeable in the area of PE. My mentor teachers have told me that students are coming to the high school without even a basic understanding of sports and strategies and little to no skill. It has been shocking to watch some of the simplest games fall apart due to lack of understanding/ability. (Now I believe that the current teachers should be teaching the understanding and skill aspects before commencing with a game but this doesn't seem to happen)
Ugly: There seems to be absolutely NO build up to full size games. Each class I have observed begins with a simple warm-up, a static stretch then straight into full games that are played at walking speed and absolutely zero enthusiasm. It honestly makes me fear for my practicum but I am determined to make an impact and conduct my classes in a much more beneficial and strategic manner.
Ugly: Because of the influx of grade 9 students into the high school there is little room for PE classes. They split the main gym which is only one full basketball court in half. Basically the teachers have have of one of our one third gyms to work in. There is also a mini-gym available which is basically a weight room and I have also watched many classes take place in the back room of the cafeteria. Most of these classes have been circuit or aerobics classes but there is barely any room to work with.
Ugly: On a rain day, instead of splitting up the classes and utilizing the other available gyms all 3 classes remained in the gym where the teachers "ran" a game of 4 corner, 3 on 3 soccer. At any time I counted and there was a maximum of 12 students participating and at least 60!!!! sitting out waiting for their turn. It was shocking.
Ugly: When I asked about the ""Daily Physical Activity"requirement I was pretty much told that it was basically non-existent. There is one staff member who is responsible for collecting and logging the minutes but apparently the students do not take it seriously AT ALL.

I honestly feel that most of this ugly that I have witnessed comes from a simple build up of hardships the teachers have faced. Lack of space is a huge issue as is the students beginning ability level. I think this would be a huge issue for any subject-what do you do when you have students that are simply far behind in the abilities needed to run a succesful class? It seems to result in a nightmare for teachers!

But, overall, it has still been great. I am absorbing as much as I can and asking tons of questions. I can't wait to hear how others have enjoyed their observations. I know that in comparing this time to my 2 week practicum the difference in quality is astonishing.

2 comments:

  1. From a music perspective, I have experienced some of the same things. The feeder middle schools for my school have very poor music programs if they even exist at all. Many of the students join grade 9 band with little skills on their instruments and often some learned bad habits. This makes it very difficult to teach because some students are playing at high level and some are playing at a grade 6 level and trying to catch up. I am definitely recognizing the necessity for quality middle school instruction in all subject areas. I am glad (and sad, I guess) to know that this is not just my subject area that is struggling with this problem.

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  2. Hey Michelle I am in the same boat as you with regards to phys ed in middle schools. I can't believe that they dont have specialist in there helping the kids. It is crazy to see students in grade 9 and 10 that can throw a ball or move to a shot etc. Its seems that the school board doesn't particularly care about their students being physically active and healthy, but when the flu season begins they are scrambling to protect them with shots. How about we prepare them physically so their bodies can fight off such things.

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