Reflections on our first day from a returning grad
student and a new grad student!
The
Following is an email received from former Project Coach Grad Student Thomas
Messinger after he came back to help with the first day of programming for the
2012-2013 school year.
It was great to see the kids again, and the program feels like
it's going to be very strong this year again- i was especially impressed with
how organized it felt. I just wanted to point out one little moment to you,
that I shared during the debrief with the Gerena kids, but might be worth
making a note of at a Monday session or something. I actually wish I had it on
video.
Charlie had been using the word "variation" very often
while explaining the games to his group, which were third graders. Not surprisingly,
they didn't know the word. He asked at the beginning "who knows what a
variation is?" and no one answered. He explained that it was a change in
the game, and then explained the change. He used the word "variation"
every time he was, in fact, putting in a variation throughout the whole
session. Whether intentional or not, it seemed like a point of emphasis for the
day was to teach the third graders this relatively sophisticated word. We
always talk about using language that is appropriate for the age group, and I
got a feeling like this was going way over their heads the entire time, despite
his repeated usage. During the debrief, he asked the question again "who
can tell me what variation means?" and, as I had expected, not a single
kid raised their hand. Sensing this, Charlie made a fantastic analogy to really
bring it home for the kids. He followed up with this dialauge (not direct
quotation, but paraphrasing):
Charlie: "what happens in a video game when you beat a
level?"
Kids: "You move on to the next level!"
Charlie "Does the game stay the same or does it
change?"
Kids: "It's different, it gets harder!"
Charlie: "That's a variation! When you do really well at a
game, we have to change it so it stays fun"
And the kids really responded to it- they all got what a
variation was. It was a phenomenal job by Charlie to recognize the analogy, and
put it in at a great time. It really showed a lot of growth on his part as a
coach. I don't know if many of the kids will retain that knowledge, but as two
of them were walking out they were talking about a "variation" in
their favorite video game and how the two levels were different. Pretty cool
moment
Below,
one of our new Red Shirts (Grad student Kelly Coder) also reflects on the
first day of the 2012-13 season.
This
past Wednesday, September 19, the newly established Project Coach family was
put to its first test of the year as our coaches began work with three local
Springfield Elementary Schools. Following an extremely productive three day
training camp the previous weekend; our group of blue shirts (high school
students from the Springfield area), some new, some returning, applied their
teaching and coaching skills to groups of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Gerena,
Lincoln and Brightwood Elementary Schools. Their work began in the classroom as
assistance with homework and literacy lessons were lead with enthusiasm and
attentiveness. Many of the local teachers expressed joy and excitement
about what the Project Coach program provides. The feeling of excitement only
increased as the coaches led their groups of elementary school kids to the
soccer fields for team and skill building activities. Each and every leader, coach,
and child was highly involved throughout the rest of the evening while our
combination of soccer techniques, fun, laughter, and character building took
place. I know I speak for every member of the PC team when I say it was truly a
bright and successful first day of the 2012-2013 year!
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