On a Closing Note...

Welp, the semester is over and so is my observation time. Overall, the experience was wonderful! I can honestly say that I STILL want to be a physical education teacher! I enjoyed everything from meeting the students to learning the ins and outs from my teacher and from playing active games with the kids to having the experience of a lifetime. And even the not so enjoyable stuff like grades, hall duty and waking up early. At first, getting into a routine was a little difficult, but after a few times I stated to settle in and feel comfortable. By the end of my observation, I felt very confident and sure of what to do. I loved when the kids finally felt comfortable with me to come up and ask me questions about rules or how to do a tumbling move correctly. I really loved just being there and observing everything I possibly could. As my education teacher would say, you will learn wayyy more out there than you ever will in here. Needless to say, she was definitely right! This experience just further confirmed the fact that I want to pursue physical education as a career.
ps. This is not the end of my blog... just the end of the beginning. :)

Check it out!

A few times in conversations my teacher mentioned her home page or website that she had for the students. So I deiced to hunt around for it and see what it was all about. After some searching on the Web, I found her site. Here, she had some quotes and her schedule. What I found most impressive was that she had the rules and expectations for the class, but also a general guidelines of the tasks she expected the students to participate in and complete. I feel like this is a great idea. It helps everyone out. She can have the students look at it to learn the rules or she can tell parents to view it to have a better understanding of what is being taught in physical education. Also, it gives the vibe that she is caring and wants to let the students know what is expected. She is not one to ‘hide’ how she grades. Even though her site is very simple, it severs a great purpose- to inform. This is certainly something I could see myself having for students when I have my own class. Heres the link.

Get Involved

A small town with a small school means everybody knows everybody. And caring is in large abundance. It’s not uncommon for me to hear the teachers ask the students how their parents are, or how they did in an afterschool activity. My teacher is very involved in the community. To the extent that she pretty much knows every students home life and personality. This care that she gives out to the students really shines through. Anyone can tell that when my teacher asks the kids about something they are involved in other than school, they lighten up a bit and are excited to talk about whatever she is asking them. She has made clear to me that the best way to truly understand your students is to be active in the community in which they live in. Caring is how my teacher makes personal connections to the students.

Art everywhere!

You know the old saying, “Never judge a book by its cover”? From the outside, my school looks uptight and strict. Well, upon entering my school, I was relieved. I saw art everywhere! But not just any art. Healthily art. Signs students made to promote a safe school, such as anti-bullying and respect posters were taped throughout the school’s hallways. You can’t take two steps without seeing one. Along with these signs, they also have the school motto placed everywhere. Not only is it posted, but the students know it. Impressive? I sure think so. Another thing that was very shocking to me was the 3-D art in the hallway. The eight graders made 3-D characters from recyclable cardboard and other products. They made things such as Snorlax, the Pokémon, Kevin, the bird from UP, Wall-e, Scooby-do, and the PINK dog from Victoria’s Secret. These large, incredibly real look looking characters added a sense of liveliness and creativity to the school. Throughout the time I was observing, I realized the students had a lot of admiration for the art in their school. They never ruined or vandalized the art and wholeheartedly appreciated it.

Dodge ball?

In many school districts, dodge ball is the most controversial game played in physical education. Why? Because it consist of the most athletic boys whipping balls that are supposedly soft, back and forth at each other like their life depends on it. Girls and the less athletic boys get trapped between the crossfire and can get seriously hurt. The athletic kids have been known to sacrifice their bodies on the hard gym floor to win a game or just bragging rights. The kids that are afraid of the game may lose participation points and get no exercise for the day. If this still isn’t enough of a reason for you, remember these are middle school kids. The prime age for bullying. One team may chose to gang up on one specific individual on another team, which frequently ends badly.
However, my teacher has come up with a unique way to play dodge ball, but still have everyone safely participate and get a workout. The game starts off with three kids in the center circle of the basketball court. They each have a basket full of the softest balls the school owns. Around the outside of the gym are several large objects set up. Such as, mats, trashcans, and ball carts. The students then run around in a circle and try to hide behind the large objects, while the kids in the center try to throw balls at them. It gets everybody moving, yet still makes the kids feel safe because of the objects they can hide behind. Also, you are never ‘out’ like you can be in regular dodge ball. They run around until all the balls are thrown. Each time they successfully make it one time around, without getting hit by a ball, they get a point. If they get hit, they lose a point. And yes, it is possible to have negative points. This also is slightly less competitive than regular dodge ball because there are no teams. This new style of dodge ball is more of an exercise and includes everybody. So, dodge ball anyone?

Core observing

Sometimes as an observer I feel as if I’m a fly on the wall. In my gym class, which is segregated by girls and boys, I have noticed that the boys are much more active than the girls. They are focused during the games and participate often. The girls on the other hand, usually have to be asked more than once to get involved. This is not true everyday or even to every student, but is definitely a trend. Right now the boys are playing team hand ball and the girls are tumbling. Having the boys and girls do separate activities helps each sex to feel more comfortable with what they are doing. Although the boys are more involved in the games, the girls have a longer attention span when it comes to listening to direction and explanation. The best way I’ve seen my teacher get their attention is blow a whistle. After she has their attention she make them sit down where they are and put any type of equipment down on the ground. No middle schooler can listen and hold a ball at the same time!
During tumbling it was easy to listen in on student to student conversation. The girls were genuine in trying to help each other to become better at each skill. If one girl knew more or was more skilled, she would show the girls that were interested and then explain how she did the tumble. The teacher gave guide lines and from there it was mostly each girl working to better herself at a specific skill. The only problem I noticed was there was one girl that was very good at gymnastics. She did dominate at times and I could sense some intimidation from some of the girls that were less skilled. However, it was helpful to have this girl in the class because if my teacher couldn’t do a certain tumble, she would ask the girl in gymnastics to show the class.

Ut-Ohhh

Disrupting class, cheating, horseplay, tardy, no gym clothes, violation of dress code, and profanity are just a few things that will earn you a demerit slip. At the school I’m observing at, this is the universal discipline system used throughout the school. If a student misbehaves or does not follow direction, the teacher issues a demerit slip. The slips are printed on carbon paper, which means there is a different color slip for the office, student, and teacher. Through this process, everyone is one the same page and helps avoid future conflict. The record of the demerit slips are tacked throughout the day by the office and teachers. If a student receives five demerit slips, they are then given a detention. The more slips a student gets the more severe the punishments become. It can lead to an in-school suspension, or a Saturday school. Obviously, if a student does something extreme, this system then goes by the way side and other actions are taken by higher authority. Most the teachers in the building take this system seriously and believe the system teaches the students discipline. However, I have witnessed a few students that are favored by the teachers get out of receiving one.

Here's the Layout...

The classroom I’m in is a typical middle school physical education gym. There is a basketball court in the middle, with medium sized bleachers on one side. There are two locker rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys, with a storage room in between the rooms. There is also another gym at the other end of the building. It is used for the smaller kids in the school, grades K through fifth and is much smaller than the gym for the middle school students. It does not even contain bleachers. In the big gym, that the middle school kids use, there is direct access to the outside. When it’s nice outside, the teachers have the option of taking the kids outside to play in the field nearby. This school is fairly new, and has modern and updated technology. They are fortunate enough to have access to a projector that can be set up and projected onto the walls of the gym. They use this on special occasions to play Wii Fit. I recently observed them playing “Just Dance”. Surprisingly, all of the kids were into it. Although four students can actually only play the game at one time, everyone gets up and dances along to the songs. I was very impressed that this game made eighth graders want to dance in front of their peers. They also have a surround sound stereo system and microphone, which the teachers use to start off every class. They turn on a popular song and that’s the students sign class has started and they need to run to get warmed up. The only flaw I can see in the set up of the gym and the locker rooms, is there is not a lot of room for storage. They store mats in the locker room and everything else is jammed into a small storage room between the locker rooms. The rules for the class, such as proper dress and expectations are posted in each locker room. Tornado and fire drill escape routes are posted by the gym entrance.

Ethnicity and Procedures

The demographic makeup of the students in the school I’m observing at is much like the school I attended. The students are primarily Caucasian, with a few African Americans and a hand full of Latinos. From what I have seen, the kids mesh every well with each other. I have never witnessed any bullying or harassment from other students because of race or ethnicity. To me, it seems as if the students are almost unaware of the differences.
The dress code is very strict for a public school. The girls must wear long shorts and are not allowed to have low-cut or revealing midriff tops. The boys must have their pants pulled up and can’t wear cut offs. For gym class, everyone must have properly tied tennis shoes and their hair pulled or tied back away from their face. The policy also states, that the students must bring a set of workout clothes for gym class. If the students chose not to bring their gym clothes or they do not follow the policy, the student is given a demerit slip. The teacher I’m observing follows this procedure very strictly and does not go lightly on anyone who refuses to abide by the rules.

Creative Games

It’s great to have a change of pace sometimes. Today, the 6th graders took a break from volleyball to play some creative games. The most interesting one to me was similar to bocce. The gym was split down the middle and 7 hoola-hoops were placed in a straight line across the gym floor on each side. The kids were divided into two even teams. Then, several different types of balls ranging from play ground balls to soccer balls, and from soft, foam balls to volleyballs were put on the center line. Each type of ball was worth a different amount of points. For example, the soccer balls were the most, at 25 points each. The object of the game was to roll the balls into a hoop and get them to stay in the hoop. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. At first, the kids were rolling the balls WAY to hard. They would just skip right over the hoops. Then, a few of the kids started getting the hang of it. They were able to figure out on their own that if you could get one ball in a hoop, you could then use that ball as a barrier to help the other balls stay in the hoop. This game was great because the kids were running around chasing the balls, but at the same time had to really focus on slowing down and being accurate when they were rolling the balls. I can definitely see myself playing this game when I have my own class.

Volleyball Stats

Currently, the kids in my PE class are in the volleyball unit. The gym is able to facilitate two courts, so the kids are split up into four co-ed teams. With almost 50 students for two teachers, it’s impossible to evaluate mentally how well a student does without some type of written recording. My teacher came up with a great way to tally and record how each individual kid does in each aspect of the game. First, it is broken up in to the activity. Such as serving, passing or setting. Then, has a line for the period and the day. Next, a line for the team number which is one through four. It is then divided into boys and girls, with their names listed down the side. Each name is followed by ten boxes with numbers one through ten in them.
For example, if a boy named John Smith was serving, the teacher would find his name on the chart and give him the go ahead to serve the ball. Then, circle the number if the ball cleared the net or put an X through the number if the ball didn’t make it over or didn’t clear the net.
This method insures that every kid is evaluated fairly and accurately. This way, if a parent calls in asking why his or her child didn’t receive an acceptable grade, there is evidence to show the parents why their child was giving a particular grade. The stats chart also inhibits the teacher of giving suggestive grades.