I believe that a teacher’s role extends beyond teaching a curriculum in the classroom. I believe that it is a teacher’s responsibility to advocate for thinking locally and acting globally, and encouraging the development of global citizens. As a part of my Bachelor’s of Education degree, I must complete a two-year pre-service learning program and a chose Learning Experience for Academic Directions (LEAD). The LEAD program provides new teacher candidates with the opportunity to work with students identified as at-risk by providing student teachers with the chance to acquire a vast spectrum of new skill sets in order to address the challenges facing today’s youth. Through LEAD, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) workshop. TPSR uses physical education as a way of promoting inner-discipline, values, and social responsibility to students. Even though TPSR is powered by physical education, it provides students with the skills and the means of transferring personal and social responsibility to all other aspects of their daily lives. The TPSR is made up of five levels, which are Respecting the Rights and Feelings of Others, Effort and Cooperation, Self-direction, Helping Others and Leadership, and Taking TPSR outside the Gym.
As a future English and General Social Science’s teacher, taking part of a workshop such as the TPSR provided me with an opportunity to learn more about leadership and inner-discipline by allowing me to participate in team building activities. One of the activities I participated in was the Row Boat Challenge in which team members hold each other’s shoulders in a line while one team member directs the line to hop forward by saying “row”. One had to rely upon and trust other members of the team to work together and to communicate with each other effectively in order to win the challenge. The challenge emphasized team communication and team trust. Team communication and trust are only some of the skills I wish to instill in my future students. Without a doubt, working in teams or groups is something that not only will happen in my future classes but also in other classes in school as well and learning the importance of team cooperation is a vital skill. Working well with others in a team or a group is an important skill that can be transferred from the classroom to real life in order to build responsible individuals who know the importance of working well with others for a greater cause.
I shall provide my students with many in-class opportunities to work in different groups in the classroom to provide them with the chance to practice working in teams and realize how working together can benefit all.
For more information on the TPSR model and example activities, please click on the following link (Courtesy of Northern Illinois University, The Physical Activity and Life Skills Group, by J. Jung).