Observation at Arts High School

I witnessed a completely different perspective of the education process during my observation at Arts High School.  I shadowed Mr. Brogdan for the day and was able to view how a teacher coordinates Physical Education classes.  I actually began to understand what a teacher has to go through on a daily basis.  The class is actually split up into three different portions; 10 minutes are dedicated to the time it takes for the students to change clothes (5 before class, 5 after class), 30-35 minutes are dedicated to stretching and warm up activities, and 40 minutes are dedicated to various activities (tennis, basketball, badminton, etc.).  The class begins by taking attendance and ensuring that all students are getting changed into their gym clothes and ready within the first five minutes of the period.  Any student that does not dress up for class has to go to the library, read a chapter from the textbook (“Physical Education and Activities”), define the vocabulary, and answer the four questions at the end of the chapter.  Once all of that is determined, the students have to run five laps around half of the gym floor to get a full passing grade for the day.  This would be followed by a two lap squatted run exercise where the students are graded for their ability to complete the run while being in a squatted position the entire time.  The students would then get five pound dumbbells and do various stretching activities that are also graded; 50% for attempting the stretches, 100% for attaining certain time limits during the stretches (holding a certain position for 1 minute).  In the final section of the class, the students are taught the basics about various sports and are allowed to play the sports that are occurring during the certain cycle (i.e., Cycle 3 is dedicated to Badminton and Basketball).  The students are graded on their participation in the activities. 

Mr. Brogdan was respected by all of the students that attended the classes he had that day.  They understood what they had to do if they did not have clothes to change into.  The students who participated in class were ready on time and knew that they had to start as soon as he gave the signal or they would get a reduction in their grade for the day.  There were the typical one or two students in the class who tried to act tough but never disrespected the instructor.  The one part of the activities that I found interesting came during the various stretching activities that the students participated in.  The students were actually pushing themselves and everyone else to do the best that they could.  You heard comments like, “You could do it” and “It’s only one minute, it’s not as hard as you think.”  I just found this particularly interesting because it showed that Mr. Brogdan was a positive motivator and his students picked up on that behavior.  This shows me that he was creates a democratic environment between the students because he teaches them how to work together and motivate each other to get to a common goal that can be reached by everyone.  In conclusion, I think that this observation showed me that Physical Education class is not just a break from “regular” classes; it actually teaches great lessons that help students participate in our society.