Monday August 27^th 2012

Day Thirty Six at Mountain Creek State High School

I had today off! My friend Sharon and I decided to go to the Australian Zoo. Each term we are allowed to choose one long weekend to take off and most people will travel. My roommates went to Sydney with a fair bit of others. I choose to save money and stay here for the weekend, but I still took my one day off!! The weekend was amazing and I knew I could use the extra rest. My experiences here are absolutely incredible. It is almost unreal all of the things I am doing because of who I have connected with while here. I attended a motor cross race Sunday morning where Sharon’s good friend Andrew’s company sponsors a team called Full Force. They entire family is involved including his Mum, Dad, brother, uncle, cousin and a bunch of friends. The rider who is his close friend is an amazing racer. He is something like 6^th best in all of Australia. It was awesome to be a part of this experience and getting to see behind the scenes. Andrew and his company (CarsRus) provided a huge end of season party for Full Force, friends, and family. Sharon and I were also invited and included for this. So Sunday night we got all dolled up, helped finishing set up, and went to walk the red carpet of their factory entering the party. We helped the caterer in serving his dishes while tasting each one before, which were all so good! The motor bikes were all on display, expensive cars were on display and guarded by security, live band, bar setup, beautiful decorations, and just a fun time! I felt a bit out of place considering how fancy this party was, but all in all it was amazing. We decided to take today off in order to rest and relax after our big day yesterday. The Zoo was beautiful! I love going and seeing the different set ups and how animals are displayed. I have been to many Zoos and enjoy myself each time. It was a great day walking around with no worries. Tonight my friend Jordie came over to my apartment and I cooked him and my roommates dinner! It is fun to hang out with another pre-service teacher outside of school. We get along great and it was a good way to end my long weekend!

Friday August 24^th 2012

Day Thirty Five at Mountain Creek State High School

Last night I met up with another pre-service teacher named Jordie. He plays AFL and was able to help me create a lesson for today. We went over the rules and even got up and passed the footy around. He taught me how to perform a kick for a demonstration, but also great tips when teaching the students. I also learned how to perform ball handling. It was really fun connecting with another pre-service teacher here. Not to mention it was a fun way to interact with him on a more social level. I learned a lot and I was actually impressed with how quickly I caught on. Today AFL was first session! Jordie’s class and my class combine and this is where I have about 40 male students. This is always a tough one for me! I was in charge of leading the lesson and Jordie was basically my assistant. I killed the demonstration and I was so excited! He also seemed excited, knowing it was him who taught me! The boys were not listening well and I still struggle in ordering them around. I need to be more firm from the beginning. I just feel like I want them to like me, so it’s hard to find that balance. Session 2 was my aerobics class and today made me happy. Most of the groups are close to finishing their 2 minute routines. They are coming along so nicely. Next week I am doing aerobics assessments for 3 different classes. This is not even for a grade for the students, but I am using it as my own practice to assess and give feedback. I am proud with the groups and excited to see how they turn out next week. Session 3 my year 8 class started their assessments. They have been creating their own team sport games during theory lessons, and today 2 groups had to teach the class their own games. It was so fun watching. The games went fairly well! It was management and organization that stumped them both. I guess it is a common thing to mess up on, seeing how I still sometimes can’t figure it out!! The weekend is here and I am so ready to chill out.

Thursday August 23^rd 2012

Day Thirty Four

Today I went to my friend Sharon’s primary school. This is a very unique school due to it being a multiage base school. Basically the school believes that there is not such thing as ‘normal’ when it comes to education. Who is to say a year 8 student should be performing this way in year 8? So in their classes they combine different age groups and treat them all individually. This means much more work for the teachers; however it seems to be very worth it in the end. The class I visited was year 5, 6, and 7. To be honest in the beginning I really could not differentiate the ages of the students. They all seemed to look the same age. It was a real fun and relaxing day for me. I liked observing my friend teach her algebra lesson and to also see how primary students behave. The only really bad aspect of this school is that there are no trained physical education teachers. The school believes the students should be active every day, which I agree with, and therefore the teachers also perform as the PE teacher. They are responsible for taking the students out and running the physical education classes. Although this is a great way for the students to be active frequently, these teachers are not trained to teach this, which worries me a bit. Sharon told me it is very common that the students just get out there and play. Yes they are being active, yes play is healthy for kids, but in reality they should still be given the chance to learn physical education. All in all my day was fun. I got in and taught the students a new game they could play. It was fun teaching younger students because they seemed to listen to well. It was so hot out and Sharon and I were sweaty the whole day! It is a beautiful school and I really enjoyed checking out a classroom filled with all different ages.

Wednesday August 22^nd 2012

Day Thirty Three at Mountain Creek State High School

I have to say I am quite proud of myself today! This was the first oval lesson I feel went very smooth. I was organized, firm, and the students participated well! My year 12 REC class was combined with another year 12 class leaving me with about 17 students to participate. It is so sad that even with two classes combined, when you eliminate those who are out for work experience, those who are excused absent, and those who just do not come, we are only left with 17. It worked out pretty well with numbers though considering lacrosse is usually 10 players for each team. This morning I had already planned out whom to ask to set up the goals and the two girls are great students and set them up just how I asked. I found it is easier to choose those well behaved students to ask for help because they will do it right, rather than asking those who misbehave and have them help for punishment. Yes helping me may give them a sense of responsibility, but in reality it just wastes more time because I have to redirect and instruct them after they try the first time. Once the goals were set up, the class and I were already reviewing from last class. I went over the basic rules and safety concerns, throwing and catching, and a few rules of the game. I gave quick instructions and got them into drills right away. It is always hard for me to decide how to organize drills. I do not want to waste a bunch of time placing markers out on the field to keep them in lines, but at the same time, without the markers they sometimes do not stay in correct positions. Today I chose to use a clear indent line on the oval for one partner to stand on, and told the other partner to go across from them. This worked in a weird way. They got the point and understood, but still spread out in their own ways. I let this slide because to me it was more important for them to be practicing throwing and catching that where exactly they were standing. I am learning to react to the more important things during the lesson. Depending on the class, the age group, and what game we are playing, I need to remember all these are factors in the student’s behavior. We got into game play faster today and we even played field positions. We were able to man up, and switch positions on the field every 10 minutes. I think the students are terrible at lacrosse, but they were all participating, smiling, competitive, and sweaty by the end. I thought this was a good sign! My year 9 sexuality class went good as well. These students are just to die for. Sometimes I need to raise my voice and remind them to listen, however they behave very well considering. I am under covering all these classroom techniques I never knew I was capable of. Yesterday I was grading papers, and today I was designing new assignments for the class. We went over the reproductive cycle last week and today they had to bring in homework of a story of how babies are made. Some students were asked to read their stories out loud which a fun way to encourage participation was. I created a new assignment for this class to create a television commercial promoting the contraception method they are assigned. Next week they get to work on it within their group’s then act it out for the class. I love the fact that I am finding ways to have the students more interactive! Tomorrow I am visiting a different school where my friend Sharon is teaching. It is a multi-aged school and I am so excited to engage in a different school!

Tuesday August 21^st 2012

Day Thirty Two at Mountain Creek State High School

This morning I got to experience my first grading! My year 12 PED class had their theory sociology draft assignments due. Once I collected the drafts it was up to me to take them back during morning tea, read, and mark. Some of these papers were absolutely terrible. I really could not believe how difficult it is for year 12 students to make an opening paragraph that makes sense. The assignment only asks them to write 800 words, and they struggle to even begin. Out of the 10 papers I read, only 2 of them seemed to be at a comprehensive level for a year 12 student. It is so crazy how different school is here. At my high school we had a lot more accountability to earn high grades. We honestly had to do so many more assignments and do them well to even move from grade to grade. These students are lucky, and they cannot even complete such a simple task. It was very hard for me to not mark all over the paper correcting literally every sentence for some of these papers, but I tried my best to just give feedback at the end guiding them for their corrections. It is a good thing these were just drafts!! I really like how I can compare theory from here to home now. Although I believe it is great how in depth this school gets with each topic by spending a whole term on specific things, I really think the way my high school approaches education is stronger. I feel I was so much smarter and well-rounded in 12^th grade than these students. I knew how to research, how to write a paragraph, how to cite in a paper, how to analyze situations and much more. But what I did not know that these students do receive is the intensity of the topic they are learning. The problem with this is that the students care a bit less, so even though we are covering one topic for 11 weeks, it should be worth-while, but ends up being a waste for most students. It is disappointing how different education is, and how motivated students are. I would like to say I am proud of where I came from and where I have been educated! Although it was hard to read through, I am glad I got to experience marking papers and seeing the students in a different light than aerobics. I am ready to go for classes tomorrow and cannot wait to tackle another oval lesson!

Monday August 20^th 2012

Day Thirty One at Mountain Creek State High School

I have had a head cold for a couple of days and this particular Monday was a tough one for me. It was not the fact that my classes were difficult, but just being up and ready to go all the time is not an easy task when I feel a bit sick. When I am a student, I can go through the motions of school and get by just fine when I do not feel well. When I am the teacher, I have to be energetic and ready for anything no matter how I feel. I am the one all the students are looking at, and I constantly had to remind myself of that today. It was my teachers’ birthday over the weekend and it was great to see her in a different light. I joined her and her friends for lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. I really love hanging together outside of school it truly helps me feel a part of her life. A girl in our staff house has announced she is pregnant and my teacher, along with a few other girls, all have encouraged me to talk to the principal to let her know I am interested in a contract here next year. How exciting is that!! I love the fact that my teacher and other teachers look at me and think I am capable of working her for real (I am really loving this). School is becoming more natural for me and I have gotten the hang of everything by now. I am ready to get home and rest to hopefully feel better before the rest of my long week!

Friday August 17^th 2012

Day Thirty at Mountain Creek State High School

I have been a bit worried for session 1 today due to the fact I have some of the students who were around during the kangaroo poo situation. I just got nervous that people would be talking about it or that it would still affect me. I learned quickly that it just did not matter. I grabbed my equipment for handball, got students to help carry it, and went down to the oval. Today I asked my teacher if we would combine with another class to give me more students to work with. Last Friday I only had about 10 students participating and it just dragged out. So basically this morning it was me teaching 40 male students. The class we combined with is a group of year 11 boys entering the fitness program. To say the least, they are very rowdy. But in a good way! They were all eager to participate and have fun. We were playing handball and got into game play quickly. It was fun to see my year 12 REC students participate more due to the fact that these year 11 students were showing them up. There was also something different about this session! The teacher we combined classes with had a pre service teacher as well. This pre service teacher is somewhere around 25 years old, and we got along great! He is pretty cute as well!! This was my first interaction with an Australian pre service teacher and it was cool to talk to someone who goes through this process here a bit differently than me. The class went great and I was happy to see all the boys listen and participate well. There was no poo in my bag at the end which was also a plus. Aerobics again went well and the students have now gotten a hang of our daily routine. Year 8 HPE was not exactly ideal today. I took the students out to teach them lacrosse. This was my last lesson to teach them before they start to take over the classes and begin their assessment of teaching us the games they created. Basically the students went wild. I learned a lot today. My teacher has been writing and giving my feedback lately during each class. Because I have now taken over each class 100%, my teacher has more time to sit and observe more thoroughly. Basically the students have never played lacrosse before which gave them energy and excitement. I tried to be firm in the beginning, but clearly was not firm enough. Once we got up and into the warm up game, rules were immediately not being followed. I have to have them drop their sticks and run to the end of the field and back. Once they got back they were to sit in front of me while we discussed the rules that were broken. I had them give the warm up game another go, and they were still having problems. Literally after every section of the lesson we had to stop, bring it in, and sit for the next directions. I was getting very frustrated and annoyed. I tried to set up the next drill for them to pass and catch with a partner. The one main rule I had for them to keep two hands on the stick at all times due to safety. This rule kept being broken and in result the only punishment I could think of in the moment was to run. Basically they were not listening or obeying at all and I was pretty fed up by the end. We never even got into game play due to lack of listening. I sat the students down at the end of the lesson and had to yell at them all. I was unimpressed with their actions and very disappointed with how the lesson ran today. Basically at this point all the students were looking up at me with their sad faces, silent as could be. I suppose I should have started off a bit stricter from the beginning to resolve some of the misbehavior problems I encountered. I hate yelling at the students, but sometimes it just needs to be done.