Believe in Change!

PE 2020 Vision: The New Era of Physical Education

For physical educators today, there is a constant struggle to defend their field as a part of a well-rounded educational curriculum. This is in large part due to our own malpractice. Naturally, no matter the field, there are individuals who are in it for the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, these people give the people who are in the field for the right reasons a huge uphill battle to fight. Sadly, my fellow physical educators, we have done this to ourselves. We have allowed physical educators to go far too long without being accountable for their student’s learning. We have not deviated from the “tired six” sport-centered curriculum that plagues many school districts today. We have not tied physical education to a social need that we intend to focus on. We are allowing schools to include physical education as a “special” subject, robbing us of the true meaning of the field which is clearly depicted in its name, education through the physical. Fortunately, there is hope for our field. Through the tireless efforts of committed teachers, higher education faculty, and organizations such as New York State AHPERD, AAHPERD, NASPE, and countless others, we are moving into a new era of physical education. The new era of physical education will bring forth a new level of accountability for student learning. Assessment is the driving force behind teaching, and the tendency to grade upon irrelevant factors such as whether a student changes their clothes will soon be a mere memory of a darker time in this field. Physical education will have valid, reliable, and measurable assessments so that we can earn ourselves a spot among the other academic areas on the New York State School Report Card. We will move from our current emphasis on sports skills to a new, more practical concentration on lifetime activities. We will integrate fitness and health into our lessons so that we can address the obesity epidemic that is plaguing our country. Finally, we will no longer tolerate the idea that physical education is “gym class,” or a “special subject.” We will advocate for our field using research into the benefits of quality physical education and evidence of student learning. Make no mistake about it, everyone; the new era of physical education is coming. The undergraduate physical education students in colleges and universities throughout not just New York, but the whole country, are being trained and inspired to be change agents and bring in the new era of physical education. We would like to thank every single teacher, professor, administrator, volunteer, and members of our state and national organizations who are the change agents in the trenches right now, fighting for physical education because of their unrelenting passion and commitment to delivering quality physical education to all young people today.

Sample Grading Spreadsheet

This is my new sample grading spreadsheet. I believe this is an excellent way to do grades and I will use it in my classroom.

 

InTECHgration

So far, my technology in physical education class has opened my eyes to technology that I didn't know existed. I consider myself a computer and technology-savvy person, but the technology we are learning about in this class is brand new to me. This is really opening the floodgates for me for new, innovative ideas for both instruction and assessment. I used to consider the extent of technology in PE to be heart rate monitors and pedometers, which are both good, but it goes so far beyond that.

The ability to use services such as blogger and google sites as information channels is a valuable resource to keep in contact with students and parents as well as advocate for our program and field.

How to hook up the ExerGame Bike to a PS2 Gaming Console

I created this document to serve as a guide for people who are trying to play PS2 with the ExerGame Bike. It was created using Microsoft Word. Check it out!

 

SWINXS InTECHgration Activity (Fitness)

Why Leaders Don't Learn From Success

Today, I read the article, "Why Leaders Don't Learn From Success" on page 68 of the April 2011 edition of Harvard Business Review. I read this article because it coincides with the Masters program I am enrolled in, Physical Education Leadership. It sparked my interest as someone who hopes to be a leader in the field.

The article explains that leaders don't learn from success because during times of success, we don't ask WHY we are having success. We simply believe it is luck or a "prosperous" time. We only ask ourselves why we are NOT having success during tough times. I think that it's important for leaders to reflect on times of success to determine what they did right that contributed to that success. Sometimes there may be elements of luck involved, but it's important to differentiate between those elements and the ones you controlled that contributed to a time of success. This will allow a leader to continue to implement and utilize the techniques that they implored that resulted in success. Otherwise, leaders may change what they are doing without realizing they are changing something that has been successful.

The overall message is to celebrate success, but also examine it. Chances are, something you did directly contributed to that success. It's imperative that you figure out what you did right so you can continue to do it.

In a physical education sense, take the example of curriculum revision or re-write. If you have a successful revision or re-write, it's important that you examine the whole process you undertook, so you can figure out what contributed to the success. Maybe the people you selected, the processes you used to revise and/or re-write, and the time it took to rewrite were all factors to success. If you do it again a few years down the road completely differently, you may experience failure because of a lack of reflection and examination into the success.

Physical Education InTECHgration Using the SWINXS Active Gaming Console

This is a video of a teaching segment I did using the SWINX active gaming console. I created it with the intention of it being an instant activity or station activity where students will get work on the majority of the components of health and skill related physical fitness. I also integrated mathematics into the lesson to give it an academic aspect. Personal and social responsibility, cooperation, communication, and goal setting are all smaller aspects of this lesson, but still present.

If I could do it again, I would have had visual aids depicting the movement and exercise I want them to do at and between each checkpoint. I also would have been more clear and concise in my instructions.

The SWINXS active gaming console is an excellent technology tool for physical educators. There are a great deal of innovative activities you can do using the SWINXS console. One excellent idea is to have a SWINXS based activity as an instant activity that students can begin once they enter the gymnasium. This will get students meaningful and relevant movement to warm them up and it will be done quickly and efficiently to save time in the overall lesson.

Equipment used: SWINXS console and wristbands, two cones, two large dice.

For only $150.00, the SWINXS console can be a great tool for any physical educator. It is worth the investment and can be used as the backbone for many new and innovative activities.

Check out the lesson below!

How to hook up your PC computer to a projector

I created this informative video in PED 515 Technology in Physical Education. The intention of the video is to give a quick solution to hook up your PC computer to a projector using a VGA cable. The video was edited using Youtube Video Editor.

30 Things About Me

Social Networking

The use of social networking websites as a physical education teacher is an extremely valuable way to network, stay current, and learn new things. The huge and widespread amount of people we are able to connect with makes the opportunity for learning and networking very real. I hope to connect with physical educators and professionals from all over the world so that I can collaborate and work with people from all different backgrounds.

This blog can serve as a valuable tool for channeling information to the community as a physical educator. I can keep the community up to date on what students are doing in PE class, as well as constantly advocate for my program and field.

Physical Activity Pyramid

Blindsight

I watched Blindsight (2 hours), a movie about young men and women from Tibet who are blind that set out on a trek to the summit of a mountain that was directly next to Mount Everest and approximately 23,000 ft high. Each young man and woman had a guide who had vast experience mountain and rock climbing to help them in this journey. The group made it to advanced base camp of Mount Everest, which is at 21,000 ft. They had lost two of the young students just before they made it to advanced base camp due to illnesses associated with the extremely high altitude. The decision was made, at advanced base camp, to turn back and head home and not go on to the summit. The factors in this decision were the fact that they had split up the group, the dangers involved in climbing to the summit, and the fact that some students didn't even want to continue on.

This accomplishment was truly astounding, whether they made it to the summit or not. However, the one gripe I had with the decision making process was that the founder of the school seemed to be slightly infantilizing the students despite the fact that the main theme of the movie (and rightfully so) is that people who are blind are  completely normal people. She seemed to be holding the students back from going on because she believed the students had learned enough from the experience. Frankly, I think that the decision should have been up to the students and the guides. If the guides felt confident that the students could reach the summit safely and the students wanted to continue on, they should have.

Nevertheless, the accomplishment of these young men and women cannot be denied by anyone. This shows the abilities humans possess, whether they have all of their senses or not. It is a truly inspiring story that makes you reflect upon your own life and think about the little things that make your life difficult. It puts things in perspective, for sure.

The Visitor

I watched The Visitor (2 hours) because it sounded like an interesting movie that addressed a lot of issues that surround our social system today. Specifically, the themes of diversity and discrimination run rampant throughout this entire movie.

The Visitor is the story of a lonely college professor (Walter) who returns to a NYC apartment he hasn't lived in for many years to realize that a young couple (Tarek and Zainab) has been staying in the apartment without his knowledge. Walter offered to allow them to stay for the time-being, and he quickly developed a good relationship with Tarek. Tarek taught Walter how to play the drums, and the two enjoyed each other's company, playing in the apartment and on the street. The twist of the movie begins when Tarek is arrested by NYPD officers who accuse him of jumping over the turnstile and not paying for the subway, which was depicted as a drastic case of racial profiling and discrimination. The twist continues when it comes out that Tarek and Zainab are both illegal aliens living in the United States, and Tarek is taken to an illegal immigrant detention center. Walter's relationship builds with Zainab and Tarek's mother (also an illegal immigrant), who has come to check on her son because she hasn't heard from him in a few days. Walter hires a lawyer to try to get Tarek released and his green card process started, but it is to no avail - despite all of their best efforts, Tarek is deported back to his homeland, Syria. Despite building a great relationship in this stressful time, Tarek's mother decides she must leave Walter to rejoin her son in Syria. Walter's life and outlook on life has been forever changed by these three people that literally fell into his lap.

The Visitor is based around the two central theories of diversity and discrimination in post-9/11 America. Specifically, they address the treatment of illegal immigrants who have established lives in America. Walter was a lonely man who had lost the joy in his life and was living robotically, going through the motions of his mundane life that he had lost all passion in. Tarek transferred his passion of playing the drum to Walter, who gave up on piano for this new, exciting instrument. Tarek's detention also opened Walter's eyes to the discriminatory practices that go on day in and day out for people of other races. Walter was transformed into a new person by these three people that entered his life suddenly, and they truly made his life much better by simply being good people. He no longer was just "going through the motions," he developed a passion in his new found instrument and new found friends that gave him a purpose to living. Tarek's deportation outraged Walter and he lost who seemed to be becoming a romantic partner, Tarek's mother, but Walter continued to play the drum, even in the subway area where him and Tarek has planned to.

The Visitor  is an excellent movie that portrays real-world instances of discrimination and racial profiling. It also depicts how lives can be changed for the better by even one person. I highly recommend watching this movie!

2010 Lake George Polar Plunge

On Saturday, November 20, 2010, I attended the 2010 Lake George Polar Plunge about one hour north of my hometown, Troy, NY. I attended this event for five hours. This was a great way to cap off the weekend that began with attending the NYS AHPERD conference at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY.

The main event consisted of people taking a plunge into the extremely cold waters off of Shepard Park Beach to benefit Special Olympics. People willing to "take the plunge" try to get friends and family to sponsor their plunge into the freezing water to raise money for Special Olympics. Many times, notable public figures decide to take the plunge knowing that they will be able to get more people to sponsor them than the average person. This year, Glens Falls Police Captain Will Valenza took the plunge. There are incentives to raising money, including sweatshirts, complimentary stays in a hotel, and even being entered in a drawing for a new television.

The event as a whole is extremely fun for anyone and everyone (except maybe the people taking the plunge after they get out...). There are many activities to take part in and the village itself is a very interesting place.

I was very pleased to see the amount of people who came out on a cold day and vowed to take the plunge into the cold water to raise money for an admirable cause such as Special Olympics. Special Olympics provides excellent opportunities for athletes with disabilities that they may otherwise not have. I think that I would like to vow to take the plunge in one of the next coming years and I will try to get sponsored and raise as much money as I can. Being cold for a few minutes after taking a quick dip in Lake George in November is a small price to pay to benefit such a worthy cause. Overall, the Polar Plunge is a great day out that benefits a good cause, whether you are taking the plunge or not.

The Beginning

Hello everyone,

This is the first blog I've started, and its purpose is to be able to reflect upon my experiences as currently, a senior physical education major at SUNY Cortland, and hopefully continuing to my student teaching experiences and beyond. I will also be reflecting upon my experiences as I volunteer for various Special Olympics events throughout New York this semester.

Thank you very much for reading!