Tell me why?

It's always dangerous when a student ask why? But what do you tell them when they ask why do I need to read and write in physical education class?
Answer: Well first of all, physical education class is about total fitness. Reading and writing makes your brain healthy. It's like lifting weights for your brain. Its a skill just like swinging a bat. The more you read and write the easier it becomes and the better you get at it. Now if you want to get technical, writing and/or typing is a fine motor skill which is focused on in physical education. This is a skill typically taught at a younger age, but mastered as we grow older. And reading is vital. How will we know the rules to a game if we can't read them? What about the history of the game? Statistics? To learn all these things, and many more we must read. Physical education is a mix of all the other subjects a student has throughout the day. So, of course we have to read and write in physical education. Why not?

Ethic of Excellence?

Ethic? What's that? and Ethic of Excellence? Eh?
Ethic of Excellence is a culture, and a good one. A positive spirit that's always striding to be the best it can. Having students and teachers with high performance and moral character. An ethic of excellence is contagious. One teacher has got it and soon it’s infected other teachers and trickled down to the students. The administrators even eventually catch it and then it’s even released into the community. The community is transformed into hard-working, volunteering, change-making individuals. Essentially, the community becomes better because of the educators that have instilled and created this ethic of excellence.

I'm currently enrolled in Content Area Reading at the University of Mount Union. I figured since I already had this blog that I would continue any assignments or add any extra tips on here I have or gain from this class.
My first assignment was to read Ohio Core and respond to it.
So here we go:
How I'm learning and how my parents were taught are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS! The standards were different, technology was practically non existing and they were basically pumped out of school on an assembly line. Today, every things changed. If you don't have a computer, be prepared to make the public library your second home or fail. Kids have cell phones, laptops, kindles, and Ipads. Ok, so you already know all this, but what you may not know is how the requirements are changing. Starting with the class of 2014, every student will be required to take 20 credits, units, or classes (whichever you prefer to call them) before they can grab that diploma. Students are now be required to think differently and at a higher level along with solving real life problems.
Honestly, I couldn't agree more with these changes. My generation knows everything's always changing. And if it's not, than why isn't it?! With the strides in technology will come great strides in education. It's only a matter of time.

Physical Education and Technology

Many teachers today are going the next 'step' and integrating technology in to their physical education classes. This is a quick slide show that gives great examples of how to incorporate technology into your gym class. It talks about everything from ipods to pedometers. Educators are always looking for new activities that entertain students. This day in age, we need to do all that we can to teach kids about obesity and how to prevent it. With the use of new technology, this challenge will be a lot easier to complete. With ipods and Mp3 players becoming more and more accessible, students can now jam out to their favorite tunes and get on track to a healthy lifestyle. All this new technology, if used right, can only help our students become more active.

Fighting in Class?!

I found this awesome video of unarmed combat being taught in gym class. An activity like this would be great for high school level students. Safety is always first, so I would definitely talk with my students first about proper technique and the only appropriate time to use this skill is in this class. I think this would really teach the boys (and girls) the definition of meek. Meek means power and strength, under control. This type of controlled combat would also relive a lot of aggression and perhaps help some students get through the day. Basketball and soccer are great sports to play, but it's nice to change it up over once in a while for kids to get a chance to experience the most they possibly can.

Power OFF

I recently took my technology teacher up on an interesting challenge. The challenge was to power down for an entire day. This meaning, no computer, cell phone, video games, ipod, radio or TV. I wasn’t able to check Facebook or Twitter. I couldn’t Google anything and I couldn’t respond to any text messages or phone calls. To go the extra step, I even omitted all electronics. The only thing I made an exception to was bathroom facilities, lights and cars. (for obvious reasons)
I choose to power down the day after Thanksgiving. Also know as Black Friday. I woke up at 4am not by my alarm but by my mom waking me up. If I would have used the alarm I would have violated the power down day right at the start. I was unable to make coffee and had to settle on coke as a morning pick-me-up. My mom drove use to several stores, in which we battled the crowds to shop. After a few hours, we came home and I went back to bed. Later that day, my family went to pick out a Christmas tree. We went out into the field and cut one down using only a hand-held saw. We spent the rest of the night decorating the Christmas tree together.
The next day, I checked my phone first thing. Had two missed calls, one from a friend and one from my mom. At first, I was confused why I had one from my mom because I was with her most of the day. Turns out she left me a voicemail at 5:46 am because she had lost me for a few seconds in a crowed store and was ready to check out. Half way through the voice mail she remembered I was powering down for a day. I also had eight missed text messages from an array of people. When I really looked at them, I realized actually only one of them was somewhat important. My best friend, who knows I usually have my phone right next to me, sent me three text and the last one seemed a little panicky because I wasn’t responding. On Facebook I had two new friend request and 9 new notifications.
This challenge made me realize that without technology I spend a lot more time with my family. Not just time, but quality time. Instead of texting a friend, I was talking with my family. I also realized that sometimes days like this are needed. It was nice and relaxing to get away from the world for a while. Looking back, some other days it may have been hard to do this and taken a lot of planning, especially if I was at school where I use technology so much. I picked a really good day to do a power down because I didn’t have to plan too much, but I also learned a lot. In the future, when I’m home, I am going to strive too not use technology too much and just spend much needed quality time with the family.

Physical education reaches new heights

Everyday teachers are looking for innovative ways to get kids excited about physical education and give them new, valuable skills. This middle school is doing just that! With the rope challenge course the students are getting a sense of confidence and adrenaline rush as well as learning balance and teamwork. I believe more schools need different activities like this rope course instead of just the regular game of dodge ball in the gym. So often, gym becomes a repetitive class. An activity like this would really change it up and give the kids something to look forward too. If only every school had the funds, space and motivated teachers to offer such inventive ways for kids to stay active and excited.