Everyday year, our school organises Service Sessions where students from a few government should come for 6 consecutive Saturdays. The main aim is to provide them with opportunities to develop themselves, which they do not get. We teach them various skills like dancing, cooking, arts and sports and many more. Since I have been playing frisbee for the past three years, I chose to opt to teach them the basic Frisbee skills which include forehand and backhand throws. I wanted the children to gain something from these sessions, have fun and cherish the time spent learning they deserve which might help them later in life.
Learning outcomes achieved:
LO1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth:
One area of growth could be my communication and socialising skills. To interact with the students and children, I could have been more enthusiastic, instead of being nervous. But my nervousness was eventually hidden because I was confident about what I was teaching. I am good at Frisbee and that became a plus point for me. I realise it now that if I wasn’t confident back then, i would have failed to deliver my learning to the children. Therefore, confidence played as my strength.
LO 2:Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process:
On the first day, I was clueless about my role and team. Since, I find it difficult to socialise, I was hoping my team members would only be my friends. But, we had students from Grade 7 to Grade 12, all with different opinions about what needs to be done. Surprisingly, we all came up with an agenda within the first fifteen minutes and the session went smoothly. It seemed that the children also had the same fear. They were very shy and only looking at their feet and responding to my questions with a nod. It was difficult for me to make them open up. Eventually, as they started playing, the face’s filled with smiles and they became more curious to learn more. It made me learn to socialise more and come out my comfort zone. Also, it made me realise the importance of learning and resources that I am exposed to. Another problem faced was the language barrier between me and the children. They only communicated in Gujarati which I am not fluent in. With a little help from others and through hand actions, I tried communicating with them in a way which was understandable.
LO 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience:
We were given an option to choose our preferred activity and plan accordingly. In the very first session, we had no planning which causes a bit of chaos, a few arguments and wasting time. So, from the next session onwards, we were ready beforehand with the agenda, all roles were assigned and things worked out smoothly. So, it is important to organised and plan to make the event a success. Also, I had to give in a commitment about volunteering for 6 consecutive Saturdays, which I was a little dicey about. So, it helped me become more responsible and mature towards my actions.
LO 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences:
We had made a commitment to volunteer for 6 Saturdays, which meant compromising our free time. Regardless of that, I was up for the challenge and it turned out to be even more productive than I imagined.
LO 5:Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively:
We had a huge team, with different mindsets. We kept our age differences aside and worked collaboratively. I improved my communication skills by coordinating and instructing the team. We kept each other motivated through cheering and playing frisbee ourselves. Working in a team, helped divide our work and decreased the load off our shoulders. It even helped to keep our spirit high as we constantly reminded each other about the good cause we were a part of.
LO7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
The kids were influenced by us and followed our actions. So our choice or words and actions were to be friendly in a way that the children could attain most out of it.
Overall, I felt privileged to be a part of something good. It helped me grow in different ways and made me come out of my comfort zone.
My pictures:
