Fitness Testing (Appraising)...Who? What? When? Why? How?

So, I'm sure every PE teacher that blogs, blogs about Fitness Testing - How's it done? What's the purpose of it? Why do we do it? How can we manage time better in doing them? At what grade level do we begin fitness testing? ...and the list goes on. I guess I'll start by sharing how we do things at MIS:

This year, we changed our fitness tests to be named 'fitness appraisals' to try and eliminate some of the negative connotations related to the term that has been linked to PE since (probably) the middle ages. We also switched up the format of the test and took away one large, looming aspect - points. Previously, our fitness tests were run like the old-school American Presidential Fitness Tests where students received points based on their performances and then their points would be added up to place them in a Gold, Silver or Bronze ranking...or none at all as the case was for many students. I can understand how this would create stress for students in upper grades but some very unnecessary anxiety for younger students. Because of this, a lot of negative stigma has arisen from the term 'fitness testing'. +Jayson Bowerman

Of course, I understand that fitness testing (or appraising) is the least bit inquiry based and pretty far fetched from the PYP...but I still see the benefits of doing it. At MIS, students complete the fitness appraisals at the beginning of the academic year and then again just after the midway point of the year. Students set goals for themselves after the first round and then again before completing the fitness appraisals the second time around. Goals are then set again for the next year and papers are scanned and kept for reference the following year (well, that's the plan); the practice of setting goals, writing about how they can be achieved and then having students reflect on them is practical in PE as well as throughout the PYP so fitness appraising certainly offers a great platform for this. Students complete different tests (but some the same) in Grades 2-4 and then once they reach Grade 5 (which is now part of the MYP at MIS), they can choose what activities they complete to show their fitness in different areas and go around the gym completing them in groups of 2 or 3; from what I have seen, this works brilliantly! This eliminates so much of the 'wait time' which accompanies traditional fitness testing and more importantly, students aren't put on display for the entire class when completing a set of tasks and they can keep their achievements private - I think this makes a huge difference for middle and senior school students! This wait time and 'all eyes on you' factor still remain issues with our junior school classes.

Grade 4 students can work pretty well on their own and even more so once they know how the appraisals work and how to complete the listed activities. Grade 3 students can work a little more independently but still need guidance to stay on task and like the Grade 2s, there's a lot of wait time involved. Now that we've nearly wrapped up fitness appraisals for this academic year, we're reviewing the necessity of having Grade 2s do the activities. What age is an appropriate age to begin appraising fitness? At what age is having students get into the process of evaluating their cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, agility and speed as well as balance and reaction time fitting? The best thing that comes from these appraisals, is seeing students understand their progression (and very rarely regression) over the year, seeing the satisfaction they get when they achieve or surpass their goals and the overall enthusiasm (from 95% of the students) they put towards doing both of the above. By appraising fitness at a younger age, it prepares students for the inevitable appraising that takes place in the upper grades but, does this outweigh the negatives of playing the waiting game and the possibilities of damaging the self-confidence of those less physically able/confident? These are the questions we struggle with as we explore the option of omitting Grade 2s from the appraising and finding ways to get the Grade 3s to be more responsibly independent.

What are your thoughts on fitness appraisals and testing? Should it be done in schools? What are the pros and cons of this traditional practice in physical education classes? 

PYP Student Led Conferences - SUCCESS in PE!

Student Led Conferences have come and gone again for another year at Munich International School.

Last year was my first year doing SLCs for PE and I was at a loss as to how they should work given my non-existent experience with them as a single subject teacher. I had done them in my classroom with my 5 and 6 year olds and they had done them with their PE teacher at my previous school, but PE equipment was extremely limited and PE class consisted mostly of playing soccer. This experience was another reason why I wanted to give PE teaching a go as the potential was a lot greater than what was happening; often I'd join the students and the PE teacher to help him plan and do something other than soccer but my ability to help him with SLCs on the day of was pretty limited as I had my own classroom stuff to deal with.

I love Student Led Conferences. I think the idea of them is brilliant and I know that schools back where I grew up are starting to do them more, despite not being PYP schools. At MIS, we have Parent-Teacher Conferences near the beginning of the year and then SLCs towards the end which is a perfect set-up, in my opinion...but getting the parents on board with the idea isn't always the easiest task. Schools really need to hold workshops about SLCs for the parents so they can be informed and educated as to how they and their children can get the best out of this learning experience. On Friday, I had a few parents coming up to me and asking me how their child is doing, filling me in about issues with their child(ren) that may impact their performance in PE, etc., etc., but it was pretty obvious that I was on the move...and I didn't get the feeling that anyone wanted a formal conference or sit-down with me which is a good reflection of their understanding of what should be happening; a lot of the parents at MIS have been here for a while so they know how it works and that's great. But let's rewind...how do SLCs work? Well, obviously, everything is student led! The student is in charge, the student is the teacher and the student is in the spotlight showing you what he/she has learned over the course of the year! So, as a parent, you let him/her shine, be proud of what this fantastic opportunity provides for your child's confidence and make sure you ask questions about his/her work because it doesn't get much better (as a teacher) than seeing a child's face light up when they have the knowledge to answer or demonstrate an answer to you! As a teacher, you sit back, be confident that the child knows what he/she is doing and be on hand to answer any questions or offer support in case there are any hiccups.

For SLCs in PE, I spoke with the students I teach prior to the day, asked what their favourite activities were and then together with my PE team members, we chose seven stations that we'd set up in the Junior School Auditorium. In previous years (before my time), SLCs were held in the gym but with students having a limited amount of time to get through their conferences, PE was often skipped as it would take a couple of minutes to walk over to the gym. Also, Middle School and Senior School students have regular scheduled classes on this day and we have one gym booked and set-up for the IB Art Exhibition, so space is limited. By having PE set-up in the auditorium, it's hard for parents to miss or skip it and I must admit, it's quite enticing as it looks a bit like a carnival when it's all ready to go. To this end, a difficulty presents itself in that students and parents may think it's just a free-for-all space to run a muck and play in. Hearing the difficulties of past SLCs from my team, I came up with a system to help control the space:

I came up with a 'ticket' that had to be used by parents and students to enter the PE SLC area. When parents and students arrived, I had them come to me (or one of my colleagues) to ensure they had their ticket OR to see their route planner for the day and give them a new ticket if they didn't bring theirs with them for whatever reason. I then explained quickly to the students and parents that they'd be learning from their child today and I requested parents to fill-out the bottom of the ticket with feedback about how well their child(ren) did not only showing their skills, but teaching them the skills required for the activities. The students had been previously instructed to act as though their parents were 'aliens' having no prior knowledge of the activities and they were encouraged to get their parents to do the activities; obviously, not all parents were down with doing forward rolls but a number were...and all of them did at least one of the activities!

My favourite part resulting from the day, is reading the comments from parents...I've included some of my favourites above and I'll include the rest of them below. I did receive over 100 forms but reading them all was entertaining...and I couldn't narrow my top picks down to less than 11...so have a look! Some parents comment about taking action in getting equipment at home, others comment about how old age has hindered their skills and I just love comments of praise with an added, "Love, Mom". I will distribute the tickets to my PE team tomorrow so they can have a read of what their students' parents have written and then I'll give them to homeroom teachers to add to their portfolios as I feel it's another great piece of evidence of student learning! :)

So, this was just a little (or a lot? :P) of insight into how I have successfully run SLCs for PE...if you have any questions about how this could be adapted or just other general questions or comments, email me or add a comment below. I was having problems with my comments before and am hoping it's fixed now...? I can also be reached on Twitter and via email at: melindadasme@gmail.com 
Enjoy some photos from some of our parents and students in action below:  (I've gotta say, I was most impressed with students getting their parents to try partner balances with them!)

Inquiry in PE - Assessing Student Learning

This is a topic that I plan on visiting often in my blog and it's one that I struggled with in PE for my first year and a bit of teaching. Now, I finally feel that I've got my head wrapped around it...but I'm always looking to improve assessment tasks that I have in place.

When I arrived at my school, I wasn't sure how to go about teaching PYP PE, let alone assessing the students. The main means of assessing student learning at my school was a set of benchmarks/outcomes that were to be graded on a list at the end of the unit. I was told there were other things in place, like reflections, in the past but I went about creating my own in true over-achiever, early childhood teacher form anyway; after having taught in a school for 2 years prior with very, very limited resources, I was used to making my own rubrics and assessments from scratch. I still tend to use the benchmarks that are in place to guide my understanding of student progress, but I also think that linking to classroom units and by grading outside of the box, I get a better picture at the skills of students that may otherwise be overlooked...such as cooperation skills, leadership skills, risk-taking and other things that aren't just one-unit specific.

Some of the better unit assessments I've done (that are also more inquiry based) have allowed students time to come up with their own end of unit assessment tasks and gave them freedom to choose how they want to present their learning. For our dance units, students are given one or two lessons to work in groups to create their own routines that incorporate some of the moves we learned from dances we did throughout the unit. During performances, the class assesses the performing groups on criteria they think are important when performing and then the group self-assesses themselves as well; my role in assessing is just on overall effort (did they use the practice time wisely) and their audience behaviour. I also allow students to choose songs for warm-up activities (like 'musical statues') based on their behaviour and we listen to different types of music and reflect the way it makes us feel through movement. BUT, the best assessment task I have done to date was last year when my Grade 2 class completed their "Games" Unit.

We have just begun this unit for this year so I haven't seen the outcomes/final product of student learning yet, but I want to share the video I compiled last year for the students. Blogger wouldn't let me upload it directly, so I'm importing it from YouTube, where I uploaded it as an unlisted video. A big thanks to all the parents of these students who granted me permission to do this! I think it's a great example of inquiry in PE and consolidation of student learning...and best of all, the students LOVED doing it and still talk about it today! :)

Promoting PE - Yes, it's JUST as important as every other subject you learn in school!

Yesterday, I gave you the background to how I got to where I'm at today - teaching PYP PE. Some days, I miss the classroom incredibly. I miss the special bond you grow with one (lucky :P) group of students. I miss the time you spend getting to know everything about them. I miss the interaction with the parents. I miss the value that the parents place on me as an educator and as a powerful influence of their child's lives. This year, I've gotten some great feedback from a handful of parents about how much they value me and how much their children love PE so that's definitely a plus...but there are still a lot of parents who I feel under value PE and its importance in not only education, but life. I also feel that schools can also influence this lack of understanding of parents by not placing more value on the subject in cutting it out or limiting it in the curriculum, but also in 'simplifying' and not placing greater emphasis on it in reports or other communication to parents and the community. I know I've already written about this in a similar post but hey, it's got me itching again.

I have completed my portfolio pieces for another year - hooray! These pieces, which have taken a while to complete, include reflections, goal settings and feedback, as well as photographs, of the students in action in PE. I've mentioned in my last post that the amount of time they consume was worth it as they are my way of promoting PE and getting discussion rolling about the subject when students browse their portfolios at home but also during Student Led Conferences (ours are happening on Friday!). I thought it'd be worthwhile to share a glimpse of what parents can expect in their portfolios from PE at MIS this year but also give any PE teachers out there some ideas as to what portfolio pieces could look like and/or include:

While portfolios offer a great glimpse into student learning and progress over the year, it wouldn't be enough of an opportunity in itself to highlight PE. At the beginning of a new unit (I have to do a new one next week!), I work with my PE Team to create PE Newsletters to be sent home to the parents. These newsletters include blurbs about what's going on in each grade level or class, as well as lots of photos of students in action. This is another means of promoting the subject so parents are given information on what's happening without asking and it's in the same format that they receive information from classroom teachers about what's happening in the classroom:

At an International School, diversity and intercultural awareness are things that are fostered, valued and are ideally the focal point of the school. I'm on a committee that quests to find ways to promote diversity and intercultural awareness so I made it a point to use PE as a stage to do this. Back in February, we made a really awesome link to Asian culture in our PE lessons. My goal was to get students talking about a culture they knew but were far away from (home) or about a culture they didn't know much (or anything) about...and it worked! Students partook in games that came from Asia or that were influenced by Asian cultures to celebrate the Lunar New Year; the last page of the PE newsletter I posted above, shows some of these events which I can go into more detail about in a later post. In short, we can promote Physical Education by setting a stage that puts the values underlying the foundations of the schools we work in, in the spotlight!

Another fantastic outlet for promotion presents itself with linking to classroom units. In this way, student learning in the classroom can be consolidated as they're putting learning into action and making connections. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to do this in a large school with limited space...but when it can happen, the results can be powerful. Ideally, it'd be awesome for a Unit of Inquiry to begin or end with formative or summative assessment tasks that happen in PE - instead of a publishing party, we could do something physical! This is something I'm working towards achieving (with at least one unit in the school!) and I'll keep you posted on that! :)

Finally, we have Student Led Conferences - like portfolios, they're a showcase of student learning and progress BUT it's live...LIVE! AND actually happening...in the flesh...physically happening. JUST like PE! This is the most powerful means of promoting our subject and I'll share with you how students in Junior School at MIS go about showcasing their PE skills at Student Led Conferences in my next post! :)

Inquiry in Physical Education - My Journey

Today was a special day at school - we had Kath Murdoch on campus to give us some inquiry tips and share with us how to create an inquiry-rich classroom setting. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kath Murdoch, she's the inquiry guru and the creator of the "Inquiry Cycle" which has been a part of my teaching since I began student teaching in Australia back in 2007. She's an Australian lady and the Australian (at least Queensland) education that I received was very inquiry based which I think is why I was able to move into understanding and grasping the whole PYP curriculum when I began teaching it.

Kath Murdoch travels around the world visiting schools and educating educators (a tough job!) about how inquiry can happen, be powerful and is the most effective way to teach children. We were very lucky to have her visiting MIS today and I was fortunate enough to have two opportunities to speak with and learn from her today, followed by a second PE targeted chat tomorrow that I'm really looking forward to! Undoubtedly, teaching students using inquiry is the best way for the students to learn. Inquiry helps students to have a stronger and deeper understanding on what they're learning by allowing them to make their own connections to a subject/topic/idea/lesson. Traditionally, in PE, inquiry doesn't have as strong a correlation as it does in the classroom...and I don't think the research, tools and evidence of inquiry in PE has made its rounds enough to educate teachers that it IS powerful, that it IS necessary and that it NEEDS to happen. Traditionally, PE (including my own experiences growing up) involved a teacher (varying levels of scariness) barking orders at students in a gym. In my years growing up, my teacher would show us how to throw, catch, kick and stop a ball, then make us do it AND yell at us to run faster, jump higher and be quieter. The latter part, we weren't even sure how to do as she never told us or gave us the tools to figure it out...so was this actually inquiry?! :P I do have to give credit where credit is due though - in Grade 4, we were required to come up with a skipping routine to music of our choice and that did involve some legit inquiry action. In the whole of my childhood education, though, my inquiry opportunities were very limited, especially in PE.

My undergraduate degree from +Acadia University in Canada was in Kinesiology so I have a pretty solid understanding of the human body, how it works, what happens when we exercise/move and (most enthusiastically) about what it looks like after an injury, how to fix it and help it heal. I never thought that I'd be revisiting this knowledge from a teaching perspective though as I had fully intended to become a chiropractor after a gap year teaching in Korea. Needless to say, I kinda liked the idea of teaching children and decided to pursue it as a profession. In 2007, I started my Graduate Diploma of Primary Education at +James Cook University in Townsville, Australia and I again revisited PE (after my K-12 education experiences and undergrad sport experiences) but now, it was called HPE - Health and Physical Education. And get this, the classroom teacher taught this subject - not a single subject or 'specialist' teacher. Now, I have to say, we had a lot of inquiry moments here as well as a lot of fun. We got to treat our classmates like elementary/junior school 'students' and teach them a variety of games that focused on different skills...but there still wasn't much inquiry going on on the 'students' end. Of course, in game and sports situations, kids/athletes are forced to be inquirers and thinkers in certain situations but I still think the potential to create these opportunities can be broadened and maximized. But hey, I wasn't a PE 'specialist', I wasn't going to stay in Australia to teach and the majority of my training was about how to be a classroom teacher.

Sure enough, I left Australia and JCU and went back into the classroom. I spent a year and a half at a 'hagwon' (private after school academy) back in Korea as an EAL/ESL teacher where the idea of inquiry was unfathomed. This didn't stop me though, I created summer camp classes that allowed children to tap into their creative side and didn't require the use of a text book. I also volunteered at kindergartens where I sang songs and had students create songs and new lyrics to tunes they already knew. Then, I moved on to my first 'International School' job in China, at EtonHouse International School - Wuxi, where I really got an eye-opening glimpse into how education could work with the IB PYP. It was fantastic to have my own class, my own classroom and to initiate Units of Inquiry with the kids and really see them take control of their learning. I was so proud of myself for seeing the way education should be, but even prouder of my students who took ideas and flew with them! As I began to understand the units, the central ideas and the transdisciplinary themes I began to see the potential for transdisciplinary planning and teaching...but this wasn't happening at my school. When I spoke to my principal before leaving, I posed the idea of teaching PE so that I could tie classroom units into the physical education program. The next day, I had an email from Paula Baxter at +Munich International School proposing a job interview for the position I had just discussed with my then boss, Rob Stewart. When I got the job offer, I knew that it was something I had to accept.

So, here I am now, a year and a half into trying to make inquiry in PE happen. Trying to link units at a K-12 school that shares gym space on different time tables has not been the easiest task (sometimes it just doesn't work) but I have been trying with the help of my fantastic team of PE educators. I am excited to hear what Kath Murdoch suggests and has to share with us tomorrow and I'm sure I'll be inspired to write more! Until then, I must share this fantastic link for any PE teachers out there who may stumble upon my story and struggle with the idea of inquiry in PE:

http://www.iphys-ed.com/iphysed-inquiry-cycle.html    +iPhysEd

Upcoming Adventures and Reminiscing of Old Ones

I initially thought I could pull off making this a daily blog, but work responsibilities got the best of me and convinced me that this wasn't going to work! So, here I am, on a Saturday evening, writing on my blog...

BUT I'm excited!

I've just secured accommodation (on a houseboat with a lady named Rose) and booked 3 flights for myself, my mom and my aunt to visit Amsterdam in April. My mom and aunt arrive here in Munich next Sunday and will be with me for a month. We've got a lot to look forward to during the time they're here and I'm getting pretty pumped! We've booked a 12 day tour of Turkey and Greece that begins on March 29th and lasts until April 11th - I'm so excited to see Turkey and have this European-Asia bridge experience with my mom and aunt as I'm hoping it'll be a totally different world for them! What's a little frustrating, though, is some of the advice that random people at home are giving to my mom to "help" her prepare for her trip...things like, "Make sure you bring your own toilet paper." and "I really hope none of you are blonde because that makes you a target for Turkish men." REALLY PEOPLE?! I've lived in the places where you need to have toilet paper and by default, always have some...but in Europe, this isn't necessary. And the blonde thing...well...don't get me started! :)

We'll begin our trip in Istanbul, continue on to Cappadocia where I'm hopeful I can convince my mom and aunt to do the hot air balloon experience...of course they're hesitant because of the accident in Egypt with hot air balloon (if it makes the news at all, it's probably safe to say it rarely happens!)...but, I'm hopeful! After that, we head to Konya and Pamukkale then Hierapolis, Aphrodisias and Kusadasi followed by Ephesus. We then fly to Athens, spend a day there and then we're off to Santorini for some sun and beautiful weather, if my plan pans out! :) I'm really looking forward to the trip, seeing some new places and having my mind blown as I do with most travel experiences I have. Although I've been to Athens for a chaperoning trip (see, awesome job perk!), I'm excited about visiting it again, taking my time and having a sense of where things are to guide my mom and aunt around! SO, lots to look forward to on this trip! The weekend after we arrive, we're then off to the Netherlands (it'll be my 4th trip) to see tulips, windmills, canals and some really awesome architecture. I know that my mom and aunt will love it and I'm looking forward to the houseboat experience as it was really neat to stay on a houseboat on one of my previous visits. Since I know the city pretty well now, I'm looking forward to showing the ladies around with confidence here and I also hope to finally see the Anne Frank House as I've missed it on all of my previous visits.

I absolutely love travelling. I live for it.

Living in Europe is expensive but you can't afford NOT to travel when you're here because everything's so close and internal European flights aren't so bad...well not bad at all compared to flying in from outside of Europe.

 This is Lake Starnberg with the German Alps in back...barely visible is the Zugspitz which is the tallest mountain in Germany. This is a five minute walk from where I live...and hence why this is probably such an expensive area to live. This is also the lake where King Ludwig II was found dead...he's the man that built Neuschwanstein Castle (among many others - he had a castle obsession) which is the inspiration for Disney's castle. I took this photo this morning.

These are the woods behind my school...after having lived in a busy place like China, it's nice to escape into the wilderness and complete quiet tranquility within a 10 minute walk of where I live. Bliss! This was taken yesterday afternoon.

I'm totally taking advantage of my geographic location in Europe by seeing as much as I can while I'm here...even if it means broke pockets. I am so grateful for my recent trip to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina as I had my mind completely blown with what I saw and what I learned. To me, travel is unlike any education you could ever have elsewhere or otherwise. I actually called my high school history teacher while on this trip because I wanted to share my experiences with her...and thank her for opening the door to travel for me. I learned so much from her (more about history than from any other teacher ever) and I love going to new places and seeing the things she taught me about. This was especially true in Jerusalem, Rome, Moscow and Sarajevo. As an educator, you have so much power to influence the future of your students and she has done this to an extent that I'm not sure she'll ever comprehend. I've taken what she's given me and just flown with it and now, I'm addicted to seeing and learning about the world. I wish I could go on a trip to a new place with her and I hope she's seen all of these places where the iconic events she taught us about actually took place because it's such a powerful feeling...like having things come full circle. People who don't travel so much can't understand this feeling but all of those who do, can easily relate. In fact, one of the reasons for starting this blog is because I feel so many conversations are impossible to have because when I talk about my experiences (or start to), I feel awkward or uncomfortable because I'm not sure how people are taking me...but I NEED TO SHARE! You can't keep these things all bottled up inside forever because, well, the world is too awesome to NOT talk about it. I'm looking forward to doing travel updates here, from now on, as they happen! My only regret is that I didn't have this blog while I was in Sarajevo, but when I'm feeling REALLY type happy, I'll do a flashback about that trip. A trip to Sarajevo is something I would highly recommend you do in your lifetime, especially if you're in your late 20s or early 30s because it'll really hit home how lucky you are to have had a childhood free of war. Of course, I realize that many other places are still at war and could offer the same feeling/experience but the guides in Sarajevo were stellar and the information I left with was, I'll say it again, mind blowing! But, I'll blog on more about that later!

 Here's a building along the main street in Sarajevo...scars of the war continue to haunt the city as so much was destroyed and money to restore buildings is obviously limited.

Now it's time for bed with my lovely canine sleepover buddy, Pancia, who I'm taking care of for the night. Life's good and I hope it is with you too! :)

Toonie Tuesday, Terrible Tuesday, Bachelor Tuesday!

If you would have asked me back in elementary or junior high school what my favourite day of the week is, I'd respond with Tuesday. Why? Well, partly to be different from the normal choices of Friday, Saturday and then Sunday but also because this was the day that my mom and her friend would make a trip to New Glasgow to do grocery shopping. I would return home from school to a freshly stocked fridge and cupboards...including Scotsburn chocolate milk (still the best I've EVER had) and Passion Flakies or Ah Caramel! cakes, which were of course special treats. Tuesday was also (maybe still is?) the day that new albums would be introduced in stores and I remember Tuesday NEARLY made a comeback as my favourite day in Grade 9 (...by high school, I was converted to being a weekend lover) when Britney Spears released her first album; I was a pretty big fan. Tuesday was the day you could go to KFC (the only fast food restaurant in my town) and get a Toonie Tuesday meal deal which had a piece of chicken, fries and a drink included in it and it would be the busiest parking lot in town. Now, KFC is closed down in my town and I'm not sure where people spend their toonies (a Canadian $2 coin) on a Tuesday in Pictou. In university, Tuesday was a great day for $2 cheap drinks at the campus bar but I never took advantage as much as I should have! Now, Tuesday has probably become my least favourite day of the week except for one bit of saving grace...The Bachelor!

Okay, so, it's an awful show. The idea of it, I have to admit, is also pretty horrible. But man, I can't deny that it makes for some pretty great brainless entertainment - especially in recent weeks when I've been cutting and pasting while watching! And now, it's all over! Sean, this season's Bachelor, (with his over-exposed, hot, beefy body and uber blonde hair) is no longer a bachelor! He's found "the love of his life" on national TV and he's even gone as far to declare that he and his new fiancé will also get married on national TV. The road to love for Sean and his soon to be wife, Catherine, has been a trialing affair while Sean has made out with 20 other girls and really put himself out there in the name of love and I'm so elated that he can now no longer doubt his decision to be The Bachelor when saying something like, "It's been such a long journey of self discovery and I've finally realized that I could, might, just possibility be able to fall in love on TV." Along Sean's journey for love, viewers were treated to some feisty personalities on the show and some very lucky viewers even got a surprise visit from Sean himself as they were watching the show in their homes. REALLY?! It's all pretty ridiculous and probably reflects poorly on "Bachelor Nation" (yea, the fans have a name!)...but I love it. And what I also looked forward to right after watching the weekly episode, was a weekly recap on this guy's blog (which I highly recommend if you want a good laugh): http://www.rocket-shoes.com/  The Bachelor also made for some excellent lunch time discussions with some of my colleagues...hey, it's better than always talking about work though, right? :P

So, onto Wednesday tomorrow...! I don't know how I'll get through without any trash TV to look forward to next week...

Portfolio Tiiiiiiime!

So, one of the things that working in an IB PYP School involves, is portfolios for the students. Some schools go the electronic route, which I'd love to give a try, where as others go the old school paper and binder route; the latter is the only I've experienced.

In my previous school, I would spend one day of the weekend at school nearly every week. I was a classroom teacher then and work consumed my life. I'd stress out about getting work done but not just done done...perfection done. I always had lots of photos of the students in their portfolios and constantly had a camera with me to document student learning - either with photos or videos. I started with scribing but later figured out it's better to have it on video...and then I would scribe from the video to put words into the paper portfolios since it's not really possible to include videos - though I'd include a CD at the end of the year. At my old school, portfolios went home three times throughout the year. I remember I'd think I was done but then a student (or students) would do something amazing that I just felt I had to include...even if it meant staying up late and coming into school at ridiculous hours in the morning...I would spend more time on these portfolios than I did on my own school work in university! We were required to include a 'tag' with all of the student work we put in the portfolio that would explain the piece...and I would go the extra step to write a comment on how the work was completed by the student or something along the lines of the process that particular student went though to complete it. We also had to mount all of the students' work on black paper before sliding it into the binder sleeves. But, in the end, I was always happy because my students' parents always really appreciated them and I'm REALLY optimistic that the students will treasure them later on. I mean, my mom still has some of my elementary school work in a large chest in her bedroom...I wish it was all neatly organized in a binder as that would certainly save space and the process of going through bits and pieces, one by one, to see any progression of work. With a portfolio, it's (usually) in a chronological fashion, even if it's still divided by Unit of Inquiries, so this progression is obvious.

Now, I teach Physical Education (PE) and I'll be the first to say, it has been refreshing to not have the same pressures of being an elementary classroom teacher for a while and also get a new perspective on teaching. At the same time though, I feel that (unlike being a classroom teacher) my role as a single subject teacher and the role of physical education is severely under appreciated. I miss parent contact as most of my dealings with parents now are about negative behaviour as it occurs in class. I miss the feeling that parents take me seriously and that what I'm teaching is actually valuable for kids! Like all subjects taught in the classroom, physical activity and the promotion of living a physically active lifestyle is very important...if not more important (yes, I said it!)! With epidemics of obesity and the high carb/sugar/fat diets that kids are now exposed to, it's even more important that the role of PE teachers be profiled more seriously. I've even read articles recently about PE in schools and the threat that PE programs face because of cutbacks in school districts...REALLY? What's going on people?! Instead of taking PE classes away, wouldn't you think we'd have more? And that it be combined with extra health classes as the two go hand in hand? Here's one controversial read that was emailed to me by my principal a couple of weeks ago:

http://nyti.ms/11RIZM3

While some of the ideas are good and I am a huge fan of transdisciplinary teaching across subjects, I don't think it's helping with the fight to promote PE as a valuable and extremely necessary subject.

At MIS, PE doesn't face such challenges so that's something to be grateful for. I teach each of my classes twice a week for 45 or 55 minutes each and most students are involved in after school activities which get them active. I'm not saying that I don't think the students should have more PE classes because ideally, that'd be great, but the students aren't in any danger of losing this valuable subject. As for my role in promoting it? Well, it comes back around to portfolios!

For the past several weeks, these things have been time eaters. I've transformed my living room into a work station - cutting, pasting, collaging and cropping photos. I am now confident that when I retire, I will kick a** at scrapbooking but, that's still a while away. Portfolios should be all student work and evidence of student learning including mostly pieces chosen by the students. What I'm submitting to the classroom teachers is the kids' work - they're in the photos, they've done the reflections, they've answered the questions I've asked them about PE in interviews during my non-teaching time. What I do (and where I go the extra mile) though, is make them look pretty and make them stand out. My hopes are that the parents flip through the students' portfolios, come to the PE page and say, "Hey! This looks great! Bruce, tell me more about what you do in PE. What are you doing here? Do you like PE?" etc. When parents start asking these questions, the profile of the subject grows. Parents may just flip on by something that blends in or doesn't really stand out and that could leave out this valuable PE discussion time that the subject needs. These portfolios also feel like my one opportunity I have to "show off" PE as our current reporting format doesn't allow me to comment on student progress but only give letter grades. It's an uphill battle but I think I've already got a couple of parents expecting something great from PE in the portfolios again this year and I feel that I've got some serious support from a couple of them...and that makes the hours and hours of cutting, pasting, collaging and cropping worth it to me. Three classes of pieces left to complete by the end of the week makes for an extremely busy week, sore hands and a scummy coffee table from glue...then it's on to Student Led Conferences...but that's another post! :)

On the table, on the sofa, on the floor...surrounded by portfolio madness!

Chaperoning Sports Trips...potentially the best job perk out there?

On Wednesday, March 6th - Saturday, March 9th, I enjoyed another perk of working at an International School in the PE Department. Though I miss the classroom quite a lot sometimes, this is definitely a bonus in teaching PE that I'm going to take advantage of before I make the switch back to the classroom. Before I go into details about the trip, I feel I oughta share the pros and cons of such a gig:

Pros:
-I get a break from teaching.
-I (in most cases) get to go visit a new place.
-I get to know a new group of students.
-I sit down most of the day and relax.
-When I'm not sitting down and relaxing, I'm cheering and getting pumped for the team I'm chaperoning.
-I get to stay in a hotel that sometimes has a tub...I don't have one at home so that's always nice.
-I get to meet other coaches and chaperones from other schools and 'network' with them...which almost always includes having a drink or two, eating good food and hearing some great new stories...of course, the students are all with their housing families by this point!
-On the same note as above, I meet people that know other people I work and/or worked with and get to hear stories about them...to be used for professionally blackmailing down the road! :P
-I get to practice my education from 2003-2005 while I (sometimes) tape ankles or visit other injuries that may occur during the sporting event.
-I'm merely a chaperone, meaning I don't have the same responsibilities for the students as the coach does when he/she is getting them ready for games and interacting with other teams, coaches and refs...I get to just sit back and support.
-Pretty much everything (except drinks and food) are reimbursed by my school.

Cons:
-It takes me ages to write substitute lesson plans...I was at school until 7:30pm the evening before my trip finishing off said plans. This is never fun. Especially when the person teaching your classes neglects to even read a line of what is written. I still do it though because it's important...and I have hope they'll be followed.
-I have to wake up earlier in the morning than I normally would for school. I'm also around students for a longer period during the day, as we tend to be at the sporting event/venue later than 4pm.
-A student could get sick or injured and I have to spend the day at the hospital with them...this has not happened yet, though one of my chaperones ( +Teresa MacDonald ) has had to do this for me before. Maybe she would list this on the Pros list though? :P

Obviously, the list of pros of this 'job' outweigh the cons so it boils down to being a pretty fantastic gig. The trip I went on recently, however, was one of the best chaperoning experiences I've had and the trip before this was similar as well. Why? Well for a number of reasons. The trip I just chaperoned was the Division II ISST (International Schools Sports Tournament) Varsity (High School) Girls Basketball. This is the biggest tournament of the season for the varsity teams and the top two ranked teams will advance to Division I the following year...while the bottom two of Division I come back down to compete in Division II. While the team I was with wasn't expected to advance to the upper division, they were the underdogs and put in a fantastic effort. I had chaperoned a different trip with some of the same girls last year while they were under the leadership of a different coach. This year, they were a completely different team though! They were motivated, real team players and they played incredibly well together - a complete turn around from the tournament before. They look up to their coach and his coaching style pushed them to be the best they could; it opened my eyes to what coaching CAN do to a team. I arrived home from the tournament feeling inspired to start spring training with my middle school girls soccer team on Thursday as they are the (ultimate) underdogs in all of their games. Although I'm not as admired by my girls as the coach of this team is, I still think I've got something to work with...and when I say admired, the VG basketball coach was probably the hottest topic of conversation (and photo creeping) that I've ever experienced...and although it was awkward at times (being around the 20 year old best looking coach in the tournament) I smiled cause it reminded me a bit about this and another good lookin' fella that I've been around when someone's asked to take a photo with him:

(Yes, this was a national Korean ad! :P)

Moving along, I also have to give props to the team themselves. Being a junior (primary) school teacher, I get a bit freaked out by 'big kids' and am not really sure how to act in some situations. I travelled with middle school kids a month ago and thought it was a fun experience so I felt prepared for this trip (and as I mentioned, I'd chaperoned some of these girls once before). One plus of 'big kids' is that they can make jokes and be more sarcastic than 'little kids' and living by myself and working with the same colleagues day after day who get sick of my jokes and sarcasm, I can appreciate this outlet. All of the girls were great, they had positive attitudes and they were GREAT basketball players...despite some impossibilities that were suggest by other teams in the tournament like, "How can you concentrate with a hot coach like that?" and "You guys must just have a hot coach to distract us!" Either way, they were great. I connected with these 'scary' girls and was pumped and excited for them at all of their games. One of the girls is graduating this year so I was really in her corner as she attempted and shot at least one 3-pointer in every game of the tournament...in one game, she sunk FIVE 3-point baskets! She was that all around player that knows the game in and out, she led her team to where they're at and she was hilarious. At the end of the tournament, there was an all-star team selected and I was so hopeful this one student would be chosen for it and was devastated for her when she wasn't. Another very deserving MIS player was chosen (awesome for her! :) but I felt this graduating student deserved it just as much! She was pretty heartbroken about this too, but wouldn't outright admit this. I supported her by writing an email to the AD of the tournament hosting school to share my opinions (this may have made me look like a bit ridiculous/petty in his eyes) on what I thought must have been a mistake in not choosing her. I also bought her a rose at the airport that made her cry out of appreciation and this just melted my heart even more. I have so much respect for amazing kids and she is just one of these kids. The team also presented an award to their coach at the airport, the "Best Looking Coach at the 2013 VG Basketball ISST" award which he was really flattered to receive...complete with signatures and comments from the other coaches at the tournament. I thought he'd appreciate something to recognize/commemorate him on his first ever ISST as a coach with a fifth place finish (could have easily been 4th or even 3rd but they got messed up on seeding!) complete with a lot of great comments from much more experienced coaches who recognized what a great coach he is.

(At a team dinner with the lovely MIS VG Basketball team in The Hague...when in Holland, eat sushi, right? :P)

So, that's my past few days in the Netherlands. I didn't even get to comment on the great meals, chats and people I met while there. I even shared one of the best laughs I've had for a while with one of the other coaches and I always appreciate these sort of experiences! :) I also got an ISST badge which is pretty cool considering I never had the opportunity to play a competitive sport on this level as a kid...but it's pretty great that these kids have these opportunities at MIS! Being a part of this international teaching scene makes me feel incredibly lucky. Now, I'm going to spend the rest of the day cutting and pasting photo collages for my PE portfolios. Stay tuned as that'll be my next topic of bloggersation! :)

(Check out my sweet patch! If only I still had my green high school backpack from Eddie Bauer that still smelled amazing like the Eddie Bauer store years after I got it...it was also covered in patches!)

In 5, 4, 3, 2...you know the rest!

After a thought provoking (and fun) weekend, I've decided that I need to take the advice of my peers and colleagues over the years to begin writing...a BLOG!
So, why you may ask if you're not someone who prompted me to do this? Well, for a number of reasons which I can state below:

1. I don't want to be one of THOSE people that always talks about "When I was in China/Korea/Australia/India/Germany..." that really annoys other people when they are always talking about themselves. I've been in situations and group conversations before where I felt these 'world travellers' dominated the discussion. This weekend, I found myself reflecting back on experiences from my travelling and living abroad but felt like I was starting to pipe in too much. I felt a blog would offer me a place where I could share these experiences AS they come up in my day-to-day life WITHOUT sacrificing anyone else's discussion air-time.

2. I don't have the opportunity to speak about my travel experiences very often, except for with my Facebook photo albums, and naturally, I'm wanting to share what I've learned/seen but don't always get to talk with someone about it right away. A blog can be my outlet for this.

3. I live by myself. Despite being engaged, I'm in Germany away from my love. We all know that solo living can be somewhat dull when there's no one to talk to...it also offers perks like being able to watch endless TV shows on my computer and taking a shower whenever I want without anyone caring. BUT there are days I wish I had someone...or an animal...to share my humble abode with. As my dad has proven over the years, communication with cats and dogs is completely legit...and I sometimes even wondered if he possessed a super power where animals could communicate back to him. He's had some really lengthy conversations with our beloved Freddie (still miss that cat) and now their big, loveable Buddy. BUT, being in a foreign country and not being home much, I've ultimately decided that the cat/dog would be more lonesome than me during the day. SO, again, a blog can be my pet...    And for the record, being able to communicate with animals (like actually understand what they're saying and being able to speak a language they understand) would be my dream super power. I have to credit @Rollie Babinec with the idea of this and that dates back to a high school conversation.

4. From a professional standpoint, and not to be entirely conceited, I think I come up with some great teaching ideas and just great ideas in general. While I'm not ready to go out and start an "Educational Blog", I still want to have an outlet to share the great things I've done without fishing for compliments from those I work with...well not ALL the time, anyways. I think, as an educator, it's valuable to share your views and get the views of others on something that worked well...or didn't work at all! So, I'll share some of the more standout school and teaching experiences I've had (or will have) on this blog.

So, since I've just justified why I'm starting a blog with four pretty solid reasons, I think I'm ready to do this...so...let's get this show on the road! :) Thanks in advance for your support and taking the time to read this!

I thought it best to include at least one photo in every blog post I've made. This is me taking a selfy...the only means of photography including photos of myself when travelling alone...which I tend to do quite often as well. I guess that'd be another reason to want to share travelling experiences since no one is actually with me to see and discuss what we're experiencing. Ljubljana, though, was a nice city, some long history in the castle from where this photo was taken BUT it's pretty much your standard European city with a river, cute bridges, cobblestone and those oh so Europeanesque houses and buildings. The rest of Slovenia, though, is a place I'd definitely be keen to explore! :)