Impact Reflection: Section V Throughout my 10 days at a junior high school and a high school, I learned quite a bit about

myself as a teacher candidate !a"ing the e#perience and teachers that I $as able to $or% $ith taught me a lot about myself and a lot about the realities of physical education I $as able to lead $arm&ups, lead cool do$ns, demonstrate practices, obser"e different teaching styles, and obser"e ho$ a physical education program is supposed to be structured and run The school that I $as able to obser"e in $as a treat to see as a physical education major They opened my eyes to $hat a curriculum should loo% li%e Through the help of my teachers and e"en the students, I learned a lot about effecti"e physical education 'hile at the high school, I $as only able to lead $arm&ups They $ere in their last $ee% of classes so it $as assessment time for the students The students had to ta%e a $ritten test and $ere assessed on their ability to perform each s%ill I $as able to lead $arm up and cool do$ns for the days though The first time I did the $arm up I felt confident and it $ent "ery $ell The students listened and follo$ed e#actly $hat I did They respected me and understood that I $as in charge This has been a struggle for me because during ()* +,, I $as "ery quiet and constantly getting feedbac% that I need to -ta%e charge. and sho$ my class $ho is boss This happened at the high school $hen I $as leading $arm ups !o$e"er, after my first day leading them the teacher I $as $ith ga"e me some constructi"e feedbac% She told me that I could e"en be louder and -bouncier . She e#plained that the students $ill follo$ e#actly $hat I do, so if I $ant energy and enthusiasm I ha"e to gi"e that to them first and they $ill reciprocate that beha"ior She also told me to mo"e around and get closer to the class, -they $on/t bite,. she instructed me 0fter this, I did some thin%ing about ho$ I could impro"e on my $arm up The ne#t day I $ent in $ith energy and encouraging $ords for the students I $as able to stay

energetic and acti"e and as she e#plained to me, they pic%ed their attitudes up This e#perience taught me that I could not be scared to be outgoing and silly sometimes Students enjoy that They $ant to see the teacher enthusiastic about they are doing because then it encourages them to act this $ay as $ell 1eading $arm up also allo$ed me to interact $ith the students and become comfortable $ith them right a$ay They %ne$ $ho I $as and respected me the rest of class Setting e#pectations for a class is "ery important I $as able to see the difference in teachers $ho set clear e#pectations and those $ho did not In the junior high school, I had the chance to demonstrate and teach a s%ill The unit $e $ere in $as floor hoc%ey I $as able to teach the students ho$ to do a $rist shot 0s I $as e#plaining, I %ne$ that I had to be loud and concise $ith my e#planation The teachers there had rubrics of $hat they e#pected the students to do so they students had copies of this in their hand to follo$ along to as I e#plained 2y demonstrations $ere clear also I sho$ed slo$ly and them e#plained the shot and then again at full speed I $as ner"ous at first but after a fe$ classes I $e perfecting and e#plaining the s%ill at ease 2y host teacher could tell I $as ner"ous and tal%ed to me about it after the first class She just ga"e me some pointers and small aspects that I left out She $as pleased though $ith my demonstrations and e#planations 3or myself I learned that confidence is %ey If I can stand up in front of a class and loo% li%e I %no$ $hat I am doing, the students $ill listen and respond accordingly The students %no$ $hen you are uncomfortable and $ill stop listening or question you as an authority figure I learned to sho$ confidence and al$ays be prepared to adapt and change if you need to This e#perience has taught me a lot about myself as a teacher candidate I learned a lot about ho$ to be confident in front of a group of students 'ith more practice it became easier and more enjoyable to do I ha"e reali4ed that this job has se"eral jobs and responsibilities The

teachers at the school I $as obser"ing $ere al$ays $or%ing on impro"ement of their lessons They $or%ed as a team to build a curriculum that helped students gro$ and learn I also learned that physical education is not seen as a priority for other teachers in the school so ha"ing to $or% $ithout support from colleagues $ill be a challenge $hen $or%ing in a school district (ach of the teachers I $or%ed $ith $ere also coaches of sports teams so the responsibilities of both being an effecti"e teacher and coach need to be balanced and scheduled in !o$e"er, the teachers I $or%ed $ith $ere "ery organi4ed I learned that organi4ation and time management can ma%e or brea% a teacher The best teachers that I encountered had great organi4ation s%ills and managed their classes and e#tra $or% $ith ease They had a routine they follo$ed and li"ed by each day This e#perience $as $hat e"ery physical education teacher hopes to see in a school They e#emplified e#actly $hat a physical education department should be li%e The teachers communicated and $or%ed together to create a common goal There $as a curriculum that all of the teachers had a copy of 5&1+ containing rubrics, s%ills, and goals and strategies that $ere e#pected to be co"ered at each grade le"el The teachers %ne$ $hat their job $as as educators to ensure their students mo"ed on to the ne#t le"el $ith the %no$ledge they need I hope to $or% in a district li%e this someday !o$e"er, reality is, not all schools ha"e it together li%e this one This has taught me a lot though It has sho$n me ho$ important communication is It has also taught me ho$ important resources are for teachers I hope to teach in a school $ith good communication and $illingness to impro"e