September 21st, 2012

Today honestly did not start great, and I thought for the first time in my life that I would just give up and just leave. A lot of personal matters had happened the night before, and the last thing that I wanted to do was teach and deal with the stressors of thirty children misbehaving. I went to the gym earlier that morning like I normally do, I was barely able to lift because of my lack in focus. Then when I got ready for class my stomach felt as though it was doing back flips and it felt like I had a ton of breaks in my shoes and on my shoulders. I really did not want this today. I stood by the door to greet the students, and get attendance, and the first thing that happened was a student came in with the biggest smile on their face. They said "Hi Mr. Jones! I can't wait for class today!" That kind of made me feel better that a student really appreciated class, then it seemed like one after the other would walk in smiling and just so excited for me to be teaching them. Class went amazing, it had to be one of my best lessons I have taught. I was able to instruct, and at the same time put my personality in to my teaching. No one misbehaved, and everyone was so focused on the lesson. This happened throughout the day, and it really helped heal from what happened the night before. I find it kind of amazing how these kids can really make your day better no matter how bad it's been.

September 20th, 2012

I thought that today went quite well. It was the first day of lesson three as well as the first day of teacher assessments of the student’s ability in performing the spin and flick passes. Also new today I introduced the skill of punt and conversions. This I found would soon become the most favorite unit for the students, because they love to see how far they can kick the ball. Of course I focused on the technique of the skill, but I allowed a few good kicks for each student. Almost every student I had in my class received a four on the spin and flick pass during my assessment, with only a few getting threes, and no one getting below that (four being the highest). The attitude of the classes I found to be quite focused today. It is surprising to see how much the students increase their listening skills once they know they are going to be assessed. One student today I was quite proud of. At the beginning of the year I felt as though this would be my "problem student," but watching him in class, and during one of my daily lunch duties, I have noticed a change in his demeanor. He pays attention more to me, and I can tell he is trying his best to keep himself under control and on task. During the stations he took charge organizing his group and helping the students that needed it. I hope that this behavior is not a one time occurence, and it continues all year. Today was a great day.

September 19th, 2012

So today we were able to finally go on out to the turf and perform the circuit stations that I had planned for the students in my rugby unit. So far the unit is going ok. I feel as though I want the students to know everything right away, but I have found that not every student is going to understand right away every aspect of a skill. This just allows me to have more one on one time at the stations in order to help these students. Other than a few students the majority of the students understand how the game works. This I find quite good, because I remember how confusing rugby was when I first played it back in high school. I found out yesterday that I am going to be coaching an entire match in volleyball as well. When I heard this at first I was somewhat hesitate, then as it all began to set in I started to become quite excited. I have found that watching the sport and actually participating with the athletes in some of the activities in practice whenever there is an odd number has really helped me to understand the game. I honestly wish I had participated in this sport because back in High School I feel as though I would have benefited from it greatly. Also I probably would have had a few less mTBI's. It is a great sport, and it always makes my day end on a positive note.

September 18th, 2012

So today was quite an interesting day. Due to the rain we had perform today's lessons within the gymnasium. This totally stopped the circuit training lessons I had planned for the day and caused me to think more outside of the box. I therefore split the gymnasium that was already cut in half to halves again. I used large groups to perform our new skills, the ruck and lineout. I was able though to make these more game like due to the increase in numbers that I now had within each group. This plan worked out well. I also was able to observe other teachers today during my off periods. I observed how they taught their lessons, and after tried to incorporate the techniques into my own. I sometimes think of how amazing their attention to detail is and their fluidity while teaching the activity is, and compare it to my own. The thought is not that great of one. I just have to realize that these are teachers that have been here since I was the age of the of the students we're teaching. Everyone says that I am doing a great job here and that my lessons are improving, but I want to more, I want to be better then great. My goal is to be fluent and concise with all my teaching by the end of my time here at Victor.

September 17th, 2012

Today was the second lesson of the rugby unit I am teaching. The first two classes I felt went quite rough. I started implementing circuit training for the students, having one station be a certain type of pass, or parts leading to a ruck, things of that nature. This type of activity is great because it can maximize the amount of time the students have interacting with each other as well as the activity. I though felt it to be so taxing! I love to teach, and to just be able to go around from station to station was not too stimulating for me. This made the first two periods quite rough for me. My host teacher said that can happen during circuit training so I should just loosen up and try to make it fun for myself. The last two periods I did this, and it was like teaching an entirely new lesson. I enjoyed the circuit training, and it seemed as though the students enjoyed it too. I am starting to feel really comfort ale with the students here. They are a great bunch of kids, and I can tell some are starting to respect me more. This is a great feeling. I have noticed those students who respect me have taken initiative with their classes, and have helped me maintain the class discipline. It is great to know that the students respect me enough to help me out with that.

September 14th, 2012

Today I felt was much better for me as far as teaching goes. It was the final day of my rotation through all of the classes, and I tried to use all of the techniques I learned in my other classes to really try and make these last few classes the best. I came in this morning and my host teacher told me I would be watching him teach the second class of the day. During the first class I would teach my class, and he would be keeping track of my instruction time versus my activity time. He would also be keeping track of the amount of appraisal and reinforcement I would give the students. I would then do this same thing to him in the next lesson, then I would see the improvements I could make to my last lesson. The first lesson I taught that day I thought went amazing. I have this one student that is highly respected by his classmates, and it was amazing, because at the begging of the class I reminded the students of their personal and social responsibilities and he took charge helping me to maintain control of the class. Without him the class would have went well, but I do not think it would have went as well. During the activities I really motivated the students to push, and communicate as one functional group. Overall I felt the lesson went quite well. Watching my host teacher was amazing. He had such control of the students, and his transition time between each activity was clean and precise. He allowed the students to challenge themselves during the activities by giving them options, and he had the students analyze one another in an almost peer assessment type of situation. I did not feel so good about my lessons after this, he assured me though I was doing fine. In the last class I tried and use many of the techniques I observed from my host teacher. During the lesson I tried to challenge the students, and when I was showing them the skill I would have them tell me exactly what it was I was doing. I felt as though this made them pay attention more, and understand the skill better. Overall I felt as though this was one of my bests classes. Next Monday I start my second lesson, and I hope that is my best yet. "Keep Moving Forward!"

September 13th, 2012

Today was the second day of my lesson, and I feel as htough each class is better then the previous. I learned a lot from yesterday, and I feel as though my transitions between each activity have become much better, and more efficient. My first class today was probably the one in which I have the most out of focused students. I have been trying techniques like taking those students and using them during demostration, and trying to get right into the activity by shortening my instruction. Now this worked somewhat, but I had to take a lot of time out of the lesson for behavior management. This resultede in not being able to teach the entire lesson. At the end of class i brought the students that were not focusing in class and I asked them what grade they should recieve for themselves. At Victor the students are held for 20% of their grade being Personal and Socail Responsibility. The students in question were obviously not following this. The students were much more hard on themselves then I would have been, and I found this quite interesting. I explained to them the grading system and told them that we are now wiping the slate clean, and that they should act as role models to the other students, trying to give them a responsibility in the clas to try and steer them away from trouble. I am not sure if this will work, but I will keep trying to rmind them before class about their Personal and Socail Responsibilities. Other then that the classes today went quite well, and the students were quite cooperative.