I am so glad I'm a somewhat organized human being. If I wasn't, I'm sure I would have had a nervous breakdown by Tuesday this week (hehe). The new job is proving to be stressful but I'm not horribly shocked by that. I knew I'd be busy, especially this first week of class. I'm trying to utilize my time well in classes so I don't let students leave early. I have discovered that most of my PE students in my Outdoor Team Sport course do not know how to write a lesson plan....we're supposed to start teaching a week from today (Wednesday) and many of the kids are very overwhelmed now that they know my expectations. My lesson today rocked though as I taught a floor hockey lesson to show them the flow of teaching. I gave them all a copy of my lesson and let them see my organization. We went through the lesson, they asked questions, and I really broke things down for them so they understood how to teach in a basic sense.
Gavin successfully rode the bus to and from school today. He got home around 2:30pm and I didn't get home until 3:20pm due to my teaching schedule. He did fine thank god with walking home, entering the code to get into our building, and letting himself into our apartment. I'm glad he's responsible because everything was fine when I got home. He was watching tv and just hanging out. There's one less thing to worry about. :)
I really love my PE Curriculum class. It is only for seniors so the discussions are more in depth and more exciting. I have also included a component that discusses the issues surrounding PE now a days so they think critically about challenges and barriers they may face since PE is being cut and reduced in some school districts. It's so exciting to plan my lectures.
PE student teaching supervision has added some stress to my life. I had to schedule a preliminary meeting with those student teachers and their cooperating teachers this week and finding the time was tough. It worked out though...I had 2 of the 3 meetings today and the last one takes place on Friday. I'll visit them 2-3 times to evaluate their teaching and have one final meeting during the 8th week to discuss their evaluation before they move to secondary student teaching for PE. Next semester I have double the number of student teachers so I'm glad I have low numbers now so I get used to this part of my job.
The other class I'm organizing is the observation course for PE teachers. They have to observe 40 hours of secondary PE this semester to fulfill requirements for PE licensure in Iowa. I have to make contacts with principals first to ensure students can enter the schools. Then I have to make contacts with the PE teachers to get their permission as well. PE teachers aren't great about checking email...neither are some of the principals. So it's a slow process and I won't have as much information as I'd like by Friday.
My Individual Sport class begins in the middle of the semester when Outdoor Team Sport ends. I'm not even going to think about the class until October hehe.
I'm also organizing our after school program (starts Sept 15) and will be hiring undergraduate students. Ran into a road block today as Risk Management wants me to do background checks on my new employees. I'm hoping they can be cleared before the 15th especially with the holiday occurring during the waiting period. We have used grad students in the past and apparently we should have been doing background checks then too. Whoops.
I haven't used my treadmill yet....things have been crazy all week and when I get home I have parental stuff to do and prep work for ISU duties. Excuses I know....I just wish life would settle down some so I could start my good exercise habits. Hehe.
Ok, enough info for now! Hope everyone has had a delightful week thus far!
2 comments:
Wow, it does sound busy. It also sounds like you've got good, productive lessons going on in your classes. It's good that you found a weakness in your class/students; now you can attend to it and they'll be better teachers because of it. I'm quite proud of Gavin and his responsible actions. It's good to know he can handle it and if he does get scared he can locked the apt. door. I'm sure you'll find the time for the treadmill to be added to your schedule. Good luck. Tomorrow is Friday!!!!
Wow, what a blog! It does sound like you've been one busy girl. Once you get into the swing of things I'm sure everything will seem easier and you won't believe how stressed you were in the beginning (I know from personal experience about the job starting business)! I'm also glad that the Gavin/bus situation is worked out and that he's able to take care of himself after school. The fact that you can trust him by himself for a while is a testament to your parenting skills.
Post a Comment