My school provided an opportunity for us to teach underprivileged children from government schools where they could not afford to learn different activities such as- Basketball, Football, Arts, Drama, Dance and many more. Everyone volunteered and chose an activity of their preference, I chose Basketball. I had to plan six sessions to teach those children how to play basketball along with a few other students who were also in charge.
The learning outcomes met by me during were:
L3: Initiate and plan a CAS experience.
First, my group and I had to plan the six sessions. We conducted meetings in our free time and decided how we were going to teach the children to play basketball. In the first meeting, we were able to plan the first three sessions. In that, we decided that we would teach them dribbling and passing. And in the third session, we would teach them how to shoot the ball in the proper position. We also decided that we would work harder with the students who were lacking behind. In the last two sessions, we decided that we would teach them how do lay-ups and then play a passing game. During all the sessions we made them practice again and again till they were confident.
L4: Commitment to and perseverance.
I knew that teaching the children how to play a certain game that they do not know would require dedication and hard work and that I could not give up that easily. I made sure that I was consistent in paying them attention so that they did not lack behind. I also realised that my group and I had to stick to the plan we made in our free time as if we did not then it would lead to chaos and maybe we would not be able to teach them anything. We also made sure that no one had any doubts by answering their questions the best we could, sometimes we also faced difficulties in answering them but we did not give up and tried our best. In the end, we were successful in teaching them how to play basketball and we were able to do so because of our perseverance.
L5: Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively.
To ensure we planned and executed the sessions successfully we had to make sure that we worked together to achieve our goal. Sometimes all of us would not be free at the same time hence we needed good communication skills so that everyone was on the same page. We updated the people who missed the meeting and asked for their opinions and if everyone agreed to the plan then we moved forward to plan the next session. While conducting the sessions if one of us had a problem in explaining or teaching something the others would step in and help. Everyone would remind each other to complete their work constantly and ensure they did it on time. Moreover, we had to manage many children and it would not be possible to handle all the children hence we decided that in every session three people will demonstrate and the others will observe the children and help them learn from their mistakes. Working collaboratively helped us handle the children easily.
L7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
During this activity, my behaviour and actions played a role. We were working with underprivileged children who had a different background than us. Hence it was important for me to be more cautious about my actions so that I did not hurt their feeling or make them feel inferior than me. I made sure I treated them in a friendly and more approachable manner so that they would not feel shy working with me. I also had to make sure my body language was appropriate and more comfortable. We had to make sure that we brought the best out of them by treating them fairly and giving them equal opportunities to excel in the sport and this was an ethical choice to make. By being fair and creating a more friendly environment for them we made them feel confident and it also helped me to be aware of my actions.
By the end of these sessions, I fulfilled these learning outcomes which made my CAS experience better. This activity also helped me recognize that not everyone has the opportunity to learn different sports or arts hence doing this activity made me feel more responsible. In the end, contributing to this cause while learning something was an enriching experience for me.
