Service session are a platform where underprivileged children from government schools are given a chance to learn new skills. For 6 consecutive saturdays, we teach the children various sports and skills like frisbee, basketball, cooking and dancing etc. These sessions help the children to attain knowledge and develop skills about various things that they are not accessible to. Since, I am good at sports and I love playing Frisbee, I chose to opt to teach these children basic skills to play Frisbee. Another reason for choosing Frisbee was that the children could see my passion towards it and therefore, find a connection too by engrossing themselves in learning more. I wanted to share my knowledge to them in a fun way which might benefit them in their lives.
LO1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
Playing Frisbee is my strength and by being a part of these sessions, I was grateful to utilise my strength for a good cause. It was easy for me to teach them basic skills which included forehand and backhand throws. One area of growth could be my patience level. Due to the hot atmosphere, I was getting very annoyed, which made it difficult for me to concentrate. This make me lose focus on teaching the children how to play. But then, I used to constantly remind myself about the good things I am being a part of. This kept me motivated and energized throughout the sessions.
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process:
It was difficult for me to teach them a 100% because of the different languages we used to speak. The children only spoke Gujarati which made it difficult for me to communicate with them. So, I thought of only speaking to them using my actions. Somehow, I managed to teach my group of students with basic skills. I was able to see how keen they were while learning. It took them a lot of time to open up. They were shy at first and seemed uncomfortable. I had to make them open up to me so that they could attain the most out of the learning. The smile on their faces, reflected their enthusiasm towards learning. It made me realise the importance of learning and how it can change our lives.
LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
We had not planned for the first session which cause chaos and wasted time. That made us realise the need of organising and planning the session so that both- the children and us can utilise the time properly. By doing this, we were able to start our sessions on time and complete early, which gave us a lot of time to play games and interact with the children.
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
We had to make a commitment to volunteer for 6 consecutive Saturdays. At first, I thought that it would be a hectic task but then I was ready to take up the challenge, which turned out to better than I expected.
LO 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working
Our team consisted of students all the grades 7 to 12. We had a lot of people in our team, and so we were divided each other and taught 2 children individually. One volunteer focused on two children which made them learn more. So, it was beneficial to have a huge team as it divided our work and took load off our shoulders.
LO7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
The children learned from our actions and words. Therefore, our actions and words played an important role. We had to be sophisticated around them and use a tone which made them feel comfortable and create a bond between us.
To sum up, this was a learning for both the children and me. I learned to be grateful to all the resources that are available to me. Seeing the kids smile, made me feel happy and relieved that I was able to deliver my content to them. Overall, it was an amazing experience.
