Today I
arrived at work to find that all the National level Gymnasts from across
Saskatchewan had taken over our gym. Instead of cancelling my class, my boss
informed me that I would be coaching my kids on the recreational side of our gym.
Coaching a competitive group of gymnasts on the rec side is the equivalent of
teaching a grade 12 English class with See
Spot Run as the only resource…. Here goes 4 hours of training made up on
the fly…
I survived
by reviewing basics and having my athletes work on making up their own
choreography for beam and floor and having the girls work in groups to make up
and judge each others routines.
How does
this relate to education you may ask.
Well as
they say “The best laid plans of mice and men”… I had planned a really good day
for the girls, unfortunately life got in the way but the equipment I needed to
use in order to teach the girls a new type of vault, introduce twisting tumbling
on the competitive sprung floor and teaching giants to a few of the girls was
taken away from me.
When I’m
teaching I’m not always assured of being able to get access to the materials I
need, photocopiers will jam, students will miss class, and books will be backordered.
I have been coaching for 8 years now and have enough knowledge stored in the
back of my head that if need be I can make up lessons on the fly. As a beginner
teacher I may not know the material enough to make up all my lessons on the fly,
but being prepared for this to happen on occasion and having back up lessons
will mean that if everything goes wrong I can save face for long enough to get
through the day.
I’ll need
to remember that I can survive days like today when my teaching life is about
to collapse on me.
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