Community service was an event organized by the school where children from government SMC schools came to learn different activities, skills, and sports, which included Dance, Art and Craft, Football, Frisbee, Gymnastics, Science Project, and ICT. Community service has given us students the opportunity to get out of our comfort zone and teach students our skills that we have trained and practiced to excel by creating an efficient plan and executing it in the period of 3 consecutive weekends starting from 5th August to 20th August.

Personally, I love services like community service, as it gives me the chance to do something kind and better for the community. I chose to teach gymnastics to the children in the program. Well, initially gymnastics wasn’t on the list, but I requested my teacher to consider it by promising and gaining the trust that I will be able to create an effective agenda and teach the children alone. And I also convinced a friend to join and assist me in the program.

I have been learning gymnastics since grade 5, as I had a lot of interest in learning and performing stunts, and I also developed the capacity and capability to do so. I advanced and excelled in rolls, jumps, stands, flips, and floor routines. I learned gymnastics in school itself in the Holistics Development Program: Personal Sports.

Normally, the school had given a plan to execute in each activity and sport for us students to execute. But in gymnastics I was incharge to creating a plan. I had prepared the plan for the first weekend and depending on the performance of children, I would then decide whether to step up or down based on the level of difficulty. For the first weekend, I planned to teach from the basics which included the rolls such as front, backward, front straddle, backward straddle, front pike, backward pike, etc. I had to consider the level of difficulty of the elements and the safety of the children as I was informed that most of the children attending this program were very young around the age of 7. So I started up with running warm up, full body stretch, and then continued with the rolls. The program took place in our school’s gymnasio. A challenge I faced during the program was managing the decorum of the class as there were a lot of children and some were not so disciplined. And we were only two people, hence me and my friend had to strictly talk them into not doing anything that is not allowed or may hurt them.

Learning Outcome 1 → Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

I have been improving and advancing in gymnastics since grade 5, and I have practiced the elements rolls, jumps, flips, etc thousands of times which was my strength. Hence I chose to teach gymnastics in the program and pass my skills ahead to the children.

During the first session, the program was a lot challenging and chaotic as the children were not in discipline, they would start playing when we’re not looking around, and some would even misbehave. And I was lenient in the beginning of the program as I myself didn’t expect and prepare for this decorum of the class. But I worked on this and developed an area for growth as a student teacher to be strict and maintain the decorum of the class. We did this by setting ground rules, essential agreements, and even consequences for misbehavior.

Learning Outcome 3 → Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

For all activities and sports, the school had already planned the agenda and the plan was provided to the student volunteers in the program which everyone had to follow. And leaders were chosen from each category to make sure the plan is being followed properly. But this wasn’t the case in my sports, in gymnastics as I was the only person in this category in the beginning, I was responsible to initiate and plan my agenda for what to teach and the methods of teaching. By this I was able to initiate and plan my CAS experience of community service. I planned the first weekend to teach the basics which were rolls, and then continuing to a higher level of difficulty including dive rolls, cartwheels, round off, etc. And the last weekend for the highest level of difficulty for the children included the flips such as front solo, front handspring and back handspring. While teaching them, I would first myself demonstrate the element many times so that they get a better understanding of the technique and execution.

Learning Outcome 4 → Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

I was committed to teach the children as much as possible in the given time period of 3 weekends. After the first classes, I divided the children into two groups based on their skills and capabilities, and gave each of them a task or element to practice with different levels of difficulty. My friend taught the younger children who were learning the basics and I was teaching older kids who had the capability to perform flips. I was able to teach the older children rolls, cartwheel, round off, front handspring, back handspring and front solto by the end of the program.

Learning Outcome 6 → Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

I wanted to do this program because I wanted to contribute towards the UN SDG “Good Health and Well-being” as gymnastics teaches you to maintain and balance your body strength, flexibility, and health, and it teaches you to be disciplined.

On the other hand, these children came from underprivileged backgrounds and schools where they didn’t get the resources and such education as ours including sports and other related activities. Hence, contributing to a better change and a brighter future is an opportunity I am always looking forward to, and this brought the desire in me to help and teach them something new that they can learn and enjoy.