The most effective teachers know that the school day does not end with the sound of the final period's bell. Being actively involved in after school activities, whether it be coaching softball, running the debate club, or overseeing the student government, can make a teacher's school experience more meaningful. As a leader of extracurricular activities, teachers may develop better relationships with students, teach them in ways not possible in a classroom setting, encourage school spirit, and overall enhance students' learning experiences in a positive school environment.
What after school activities do you wish to lead?
Will you coach a team or sponsor a student club? What do you anticipate will be the challenges and rewards of doing so?
As a Spanish Concentration, I woud obviously want to be the moderator of Spanish Club. But there are so many other things I could coach/moderate/supervise. I've always wanted to run a school yearbook, school newspaper, a photography club, or a cooking club. Actually in high school there were two groups that I really found interesting, the first was General Student Organization (G.S.O.), which is similar to student government except that it was broken up by grade and they did not plan events or run the school as much as enact the plans created by the administration. The second club took high school students and they volunteered teaching religions to nearby parishes who were in need of catechists. Going to two schools that are so deeply rooted in religion and service, I feel that I would be great at running these clubs/activities.
ReplyDeleteRunning so many organizations has multiple rewards. Firstly, I have the ability to interact with so many students outside of my classroom. Honestly, not all students are great in class, but everyone has some gift or talent that they can share with others in a club or activity, and by seeing this I would be able to learn more about my students and learn about how to better understand them and teach them better. There is the obvious problem of running so many activities, I would need to make sure that I get all of my classwork done before I took on even more work.
Even though I may not be the most athletically gifted person out there, my sports include bowling, dance, swimming, and ice skating (and they were all for fun not sport), I think that non-athletic clubs are so important in schools that we need teachers who love the clubs they run and that the students realize even though it is one of their teachers running their club, it isn't completely the same person. In class, the teacher is the teacher, where my job is to educate you and grade you based on what you were able to comprehend. In a sport or activity there are no real grades except what the student receives out of the activity.