Day of (the Start of Sound) Judgement

I expected that today, March 25, will be the Day of Judgment. It will be the day when everything we have learned in our teaching class will be applied – not to mention, tested. It will be the day when we fully assume the roles of a teacher –  all the fun and challenging parts of it.

I was nervous about our fieldwork until one of the participants in our wellness class greeted me “hi!” and asked if I was an intern as I was walking near CTS-AA. While we were talking, I have noticed that he was confident and enthusiastic.  From there, I have learned that building rapport builds the rigid gap of teachers and learners. Also, it is important in ensuring maximum participation.

We started the wellness class by trying to unleash our energetic sides.  To be able to engage your learners, teachers must successfully get their attention by saying in a subtle way that the activities will be fun. However, the right balance must be achieved. One should also remember to say the rationale (in their context) behind doing the activity to establish that the activity is relevant and meaningful for them.

Warm-up was done through games (boat is sinking and ball relay). I have learned that we should really consider our patients’ strengths and weaknesses in order to effectively implement our teaching plan. The ball relay part should have been more appropriate for their condition (hemiplegia) if the instructions were to pass the ball in the side they’re comfortable with.

The exercise proper somehow matched their abilities. Also, we used old music that made the activity more “relatable” for them. We also had a little bit of stretching and breathing exercises for the cool-down.

After the activity, I have learned that following a rigid plan is not enough; one should also include in the plan how the activity will be enjoyable or relatable for the clients.

Giving effective feedback is important. I have realized that one should be firm and assertive in correcting the patient. This was the hard part for me because I felt unsure about how far could the participants go in terms of performing the activity without frustration. Also, it is important to build rapport with them first. Telling them the correct way of doing things without saying it in a friendly but firm way may sound very imposing. Establishing your role as a teacher at the start is important so that giving corrective feedback would not be awkward.

All-in-all, our fieldwork helped me test the waters. It helped me gauge my ability as a teacher –in employing strategies and innovating new strategies when the first plan didn’t work, in being firm and being fun, and lastly, in persistently pushing them to be their best but also knowing when to stop.

The learning that I have attained today will be helpful in dealing with patients, who can be less cooperative, in the future. I have to say that there is a lot to improve in me. It would take a lot of practice and experience to be as effective and brilliant as I dream to be. 

With all the things that I have learned, today is indeed Day of Judgment – Day (of the Start of Sound) Judgment.