Training Log Archive: barb

Hanging controls... around 25; Dave got the other 36. Also put out ~ 6 control stands. Isabel is in the woods now with 50 9th grade girls getting ready to have them do an epunch course, an easy one (trails) and a hard one (off-trail controls).

This has been a really good experience.

There are three categories of things that I do / want to do / (don't want to do).

1. regular classes
2. intensive immersions
3. creating a Boston area league (this is the "want to do")

#1 is really a mixed experience. I don't have it "down" yet - and I've really gelled well with some groups and not with others. I don't have the ability to easily deal with some of the classroom management issues, and that has really affected one of my four classes this spring, and I'm quite discouraged. Still brainstorming ways to deal with it though. But I'd say it's not necessarily my forte. I do love getting to know the kids though.

There are two Chinese kids in my Thursday class. They don't speak/understand English real well, and don't follow instructions, and don't stay in line and run ahead and it's frustrating. Last night i had this vision of one of them in particular, really seems to be the type of kid who will be a problem, behaviorally, his whole school career, and will be mean to other people and harrass women on the street, and steal, and fight and bully. I don't know that of course but I could easily see that path. And I can contribute to it by not figuring out how to work with him, and ostracizing him, or whatever I do to manage him, making him even more separate and resentful. Then I felt some sort of renewed energy for figuring out this problem, instead of just bailing. I contacted a Chinese woman I know and asked whether her son might be interested in coming to the class and being interpreter. I am also considering talking to the head of the commuinty school program about what to do.

#2 I think I am pretty successful at, and I also enjoy it a lot. It's ideal when the staff I'm working with are super engaged, and same with the kids. Today the girls showed up wearing face paint, and many had sports tights and long socks, and clearly they were *into* the whole experience. They weren't just being dragged along. Waiting in the parking lot, without any supervision, they circled up and started playing some game where some action went around the circle - everyone included. It makes me feel a little sad about the public vs private school thing. My mission statement is about bringing orienteering to all kids in Cambridge, especially kids who don't do well in school or are disadvantaged in some way. But some kids are so much easier.

The NCDS students had been exposed to videos about orienteering the past couple weeks - I emphasized in my list videos that show the joy of running through the woods, like that one where a boy & girl start on the track and the girl runs off into the woods (particularly good for a girls school). I think that's better than some intro explaining the mechanics of the start line and the epunch and route planning. I want to first transmit that joyful running through the woods feeling.

#3 After working with NCDS staff, it feels possible to just send instructions to schools, do a little bit of meeting with administrators and teacher champions, and then we could create a Boston area school league. Time the NEOC & CSU events so the teams could attend, etc.

We could do this for the 2016-2017 school year. Just lay it all out: here's what you need to do; here are the meets you bring your kids to; here is how you prepare.

C • public vs private school thing 4

C • Chinese students 3

with iz

NCDS was amazing. Jeff, Katia, Isabel and Jason were all really really good. Staff and students were engaged, committee - basically we weren't needed after the first session because they took the bit and ran with it. I had a 12-control course throughout all of Edmands Park, plus 2 off-trail controls; one team completed that in 18 minutes. They had not orienteered before. They are cross-country runners.

People.

...

The class at the Cambridge afterschool was hard and discouraging.

C • After school 4

to workshop.

Getting ready for major 2-day orienteering event with NCDS. Thank goodness for Isabel...

Tomorrow:

• 8-9 Setup
  
• 9-9:15 Introduction
  
• 9:15-10 4 groups get trained at 4 stations by J Saeger, I Bryant, K Bertoldi, J Tong
  
• 10-12 4 rotations; every girl visits each station for half an hour. She teaches once and learns at the other 3 stations. Stations include map orienting (maze-O etc), distance estimation (pace counting and discussion of different scales), map symbols + distance/direction star exercise, regular white O course on Ed's new map.
  
• 12-1:30 Lunch, route planning, team prep, safety
  
• 1:30-2 Transition to Edmands Park
  
• 2-3 Score-O at Edmands Park
  
• 3-3:30 Return; prep for next day; questions; reflection
  

Friday:

• before 9: put out ~60 controls, maybe a couple tarps
  
• 9 arrive Boojum
  
• 9-10 map walk
  
• 10-12 team mission; we set up epunch course
  
• 12-1:15 rewards, epunch course, reflection, lunch, relax, reflect
  
• 1:15-1:30 clean up
  
• 1:30-1:45 walk to bus
  
• control pickup
  

I am seeking volunteers to help with a 1-hour introduction to orienteering for most of the public school 5th grade girls in Cambridge, on June 2nd in the morning. Let me know if you can help!

I really need to create time to get Navigation Games some grant money or other income, so I'm not paying for everything myself, and hire a director. Then I can retire from everything and just teach an O class here and there...

C • retire 2

Event: NEOC: Breakheart Reservation
 

Walked around grounds of NCDS and Edmands Park to finalize control and station locations for this week's 2-day orienteering program. Am happy that Isabel Bryant, Katia Bertoldi, Jeff Saeger and Jason Tong will be helping!