Lauren here. This was our second to last week teaching. It is time to start thinking about what we want to leave as our legacy. In hockey, our coach constantly talked to the senior class about legacy. He was always asking, what is the message you want to leave? What do you want to be remembered as? It is during this time when things are beginning to wrap up that I am wondering what I want my legacy to be. I know what I have taught, I know what I have accomplished, but now is the time to think about what I want to leave behind. Thinking about it now, the obvious answer to me is this: I want to leave behind an atmosphere of energy, curiosity, and fearlessness. I want to leave behind a message of energy and enthusiasm so that when I leave, the students will continue to be active. Curiosity so that when I leave them with knowledge about the Olympics, they are curious enough to be checking out the website and following the results. I want to leave a message for the girls to be fearless. I want them to know that being athletic and confident is absolutely ok.
It is impossible to teach sports in a classroom, the best way is through experience. This is why I have been taking the students to a soccer field almost every day to show them different ways to be active. I have taught them handball, kickball, and baseball. Have you ever tried explaining the game of baseball? It is so much harder than it seems! Luckily, they catch on quick and before I knew it, the poor mop handle I had commandeered as a bat was bent and broken.
I am certainly going to miss the fun times. We have had some good ones. At one point, Jordy was running the bases, when I believe the first baseman tripped him. I turn around and Jordy is doing multiple summersaults through the dirt. Everyone started laughing to the point of tears and we let Jordy go to second because he would have made it there anyway. Jenna was a hitting powerhouse! She was hitting ball so hard and I am so proud of her for coming out of her shell these past few weeks. She would sit on the side and watch but now she is always a willing participant.
This week I wanted to focus on global sports and perhaps expose the students to some sport they knew little about. I prepared a slideshow with pictures of major sports from all over the world. When we got to lacrosse, field hockey, crew, fencing, and ice hockey, I had to explain what they were and where in the world they were popular. I made sure to include photos of girls playing volleyball, field hockey, lacrosse and others so that the girls in class would be able to see the athletic women of the world.
I was in the process of asking the students what activity they wanted to play on Wednesday when they informed me they did not have class. It was sports day and when I inquired what this meant, I was told it like a giant field day involving about 20 schools. I was fortunate enough to be able to tag along and watch the students participate! The events were 100, 200, 400, and 800-meter sprints, along with potato sack races, bottle-filling races, needle threading, and long jump. They received medals in several events including sprints, needle threading, sack races, and bottle filling! The atmosphere of the stadium was electric. Entire schools showed up and anyone who was not participating demonstrated school spirit to the maximum. Students brought drums and were beating them all day, while some brought homemade noisemakers and others wore bandanas. It was amazing to see the athletes this event brought out. Both boys and girls were competing to win and it was really awesome to be a part of it.
It was a really exciting experience to see the support that came of out Sports Day. Even though not everyone was able to participate, they were always supportive of the students that were competing.
So now with one week left, I want to make sure that my legacy is in place. I suppose I have to ask, and you should think about it anyway. What’s yours?
