“How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal, and you have to be willing to work for it.” - Jim Valvano

Monday, December 19, 2011

Teaching Observation Day 1

        Today I started my 60 hours of 100 hours that I need for teaching observation at Potsdam Central High School.  Even though I did not attend there,walking through high school doors brought back good memories and I was excited for what I had in store for today.  This week's unit that is being covered is "Scooter Hockey".  It is a lot like hockey in a sense, except for they are on scooters and the sticks they have or only about a foot tall because they have to play sitting down.  It looked like a lot of fun and my host teacher signed a bunch of passes for students to attend PE instead of their study hall (as long as they are passing all subjects they can).  I used to do that back in Junior High whenever I had a study hall and no homework to do.  When I was in elementary, I used to be one of those kids who would pretend to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water because I didn't like sitting for long periods of time.  I also too liked getting passes and would often do so in middle school so I could do something active rather than sit in a study hall, so I could relate to these students. They also offered participation in the weight room as well if students did not choose to want to do scooter hockey for this unit.  There they have forms in which they have to do different exercises relating to cardio and weight training.  Most of the time disengaged students generally pick the weight room because they do not have to be as active, however all the students that I saw were fairly active, or more active than I thought would be.  Some of them do not put a whole lot of effort in, however, they are getting more in the weight room than they would sitting on the bleachers of the gym, or just sitting in the weight room.  I see the weight room option as a positive aspect not negative, whereas I would see some people seeing it just as negative.  I think getting those disengaged students to do a little bit of physical activity is better than none at all.
       Both my host teacher and the girl's PE teacher are also graduates of Cortland as well, so in the off time in between classes we had a lot to talk about and relate to.  Today I mostly observed in all the classes just to get a feel for how my teacher taught and what to be expecting for the next few days.  I filled out one form evaluating different teaching elements also, and did some planning and organizing for the other tasks I will be performing throughout the week.  Looking forward to what is in store for tomorrow!

No comments:

Post a Comment