St. Patrick's Day!

As you may have noticed by now, I am huge on investing in your students. Building relationships and relating to students is, in my opinion, more important than any content standards you will face.

If the students do not respect or want to learn from you, then what you teach becomes irrelevant.

When students see that you care about them, they will do whatever you ask of them.

Today I decided to dress up a little for St. Patrick's Day (look at pic).
The students loved it and they don't know it, but today I made a pretty big deposit into the Bank of Students.

Someday I will need to make a withdrawal from that bank, but because of a green wig and some green glasses, I should have sufficient funds!

Don't forget that we are here for the students and not a paycheck.

What can you do to help your students today?

Close to Something Special? One Degree?

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE

I ran across this while reading another blog (old high school coach and friend, Roger Freeborn). I thought that this was a great motivating quote to go along with an inspiring image.

This really makes you think. Of course this would make a great poster for an athletic team, but I think it could work just as well in the classroom.

I am going to use this as a classroom opener for classes on Monday. I will put this poster on the board and have the students respond to the following writing prompt in their daily journal:

How does this poster make you feel? What thoughts came to your head after seeing this poster? How can you take this message and use it in your everyday life?

Benefits of this poster:

1. Great motivator.
2. Classroom opener.

3. Incorporation of literacy in the classroom.

4. Incorporation of science in the classroom.

5. Allows students to self-reflect.

6. Helps solve the biggest problem, our attitude.

Teachers to Blame for Poor Student Performance?

I just read an article on our President's stand on education. Below you will find an excerpt from that article:

WASHINGTON - President Obama on Tuesday sharply criticized
the U.S. public school system and outlined a strategy to reward
good teachers and fire bad ones..."Too many supporters of my party have resisted the idea of rewarding excellence in teaching with extra pay, even though it can make a difference in the classroom."

Click on this link to continue reading: http://www.startribune.com/politics/41064092.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUec7PaP3E77K_0c::D3aDhUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

I think I could spend some time talking about all of the pros and cons about this proposed approach to education. I will say that I completely disagree with Obama;s view on teacher pay depending on student performance. There are too many variables. If you want to discuss this, leave a comment or email me and I will respond in more detail.

I recently was listening to Zig Ziglar (audio book) and he was discussing the differences between American and Asian students when it came to academic performance on assessments. To sum it up, American students have continued to decline in performance for some time and Asian students continually improve performance over the years.

The question is why?

Well, as far as I can understand, Obama wants to put the blame on educators. However, Zig Ziglar explained some interesting facts that may tell a more accurate story.

FACTS:

1. Asian students spend approximately 3 hours a day studying outside the classroom. American students spend a little less than 30 minutes a day studying outside the classroom.

2. An Asian high school graduate has spent more time in the classroom than an American college graduate.

Now, don't get me wrong. I do understand that there are poor educators out there. I understand that our educational system is not perfect. Nonetheless, it seems that intelligence, teacher ability, or curriculum design is not our problem. It seems that our problem is in our work habits. We are not getting out smarted, we are getting out worked! We need to change the work habits of our students if we wish to change the results we have been getting.

"The definition of insanity can be summed up as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

- Albert Einstein

The Verdict Is In: IT WORKS!

Today I was feeling...well, lets just say I had some stomach pain during school. The pain was great and I could hardly stand for more than a few minutes at a time. I knew it was going to be one of those days where I was going to struggle to make it.

What did I do?

Honestly, I didn't do much at all. I let the students take over the class. Yes, I was there to give some key directions and to make sure they did not go crazy, but for the most part, the students directed class themselves.

As the students entered the gym, I told them I was feeling sick and that they could just get started with class while I took a seat on the sideline. Amongst the random shots of stomach aches & pain, I found myself very much satisfied. As I watched the students take responsibility I was in amazement.

They knew what to do and they didn't need me (at least for that day) to hold their hand and walk them through my expectations of behavior, effort, etc.

I sat and watched the students complete their warm up, finish stretching, split up into teams, review game rules, and play in an organized and well-behaved fashion. Yes, I would blow the whistle here and there to help move some things along, but I played a very insignificant role today.

The best part about this is that these students did not only rise to my expectations, but they exceeded what I would have ever expected from them. They even ended class without me. They gathered themselves together, voted on who they thought gave the best EFFORT in class and congratulated them (explained in earlier posts) on their own.

So... what is the trick? Did I somehow drug these students into this behavior? Did I threaten them with punishment if they didn't behave? Did I offer gifts or awards if they acted this way? Did I? Did? Did?

The answer is simple. I started the year with high expectations for the students. I made it clear as to how I expected them to do certain tasks and how I expected them to behave. I took all of those expectations and organized it into a very detailed classroom structure. I then stayed consistent from day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month. I gave praises for actions that students had the ability to control (effort, attitude, etc) and addressed misbehavior at the moment it occurred.

The verdict is in: IT WORKS!

Swearing in The Classroom

Simply put, I believe swearing is not okay in the school setting. This goes for educators and students. Some have asked if swearing is different in the PE setting due to the intense nature of certain competitions that may cause slip-ups of language.

I think it all goes back to the idea that we should be preparing students to be successful as they leave the classroom. For example, in most employment settings, it is not okay to drop the 'F' bomb if you get upset. I think that an intense competition in PE would be a great time to work on self control.

We can all ultimately control what we do, In fact, that is about all we will ever be able to control. Lets start having the students work on it now.

No swearing, No exceptions!

FitnessGram: a Great Assessment Tool

About three months ago, I started using a program called FitnessGram. It is the only health-related fitness assessment program to use criterion-referenced standards, called Healthy Fitness Zones, to determine students' fitness levels based on what is optimal for good health.

Since I have started using this, student performance of fitness testing has increased dramatically. Their effort and eagerness to track physical activity has skyrocketed and parent involvement in the students life has also increased. Not to mention, this program also allows for computer literacy (very important in today's society) to be introduced into the physical education setting.

As for now, I can safely say that this program has changed the whole perception of PE for my students and their families, the school district, and myself.

I highly recommended that you look into working this program into your curriculum.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THIS LINK: http://www.fitnessgram.net/overview/

FitnessGram was developed by The Cooper Institute in an effort to provide physical educators with a tool that would facilitate communicating fitness testing results to students and to parents. The assessment measures three components of health-related physical fitness that have been identified as important to overall health and function:

- aerobic capacity;
- body composition; and
- muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility.

FitnessGram helps you achieve your goals by applying easy-to-use technology to
conduct fair and accurate fitness assessments and easily record the results,
set individualized goals for students, give students responsibility for managing and recording their own activities, create detailed reports of progress and results for students, parents, and administrators help students and parents understand the value of physical activity.

ActivityGram, which is a supplemental program to FitnessGram, is a behaviorally based physical activity assessment tool. ActivityGram provides information about the number of daily steps taken each day (measured by pedometers), the number of minutes exercised, the type and intensity of exercise, and tools for goal setting and tracking.

FitnessGram/ActivityGram enables you to promote awareness about the importance of physical activity and fitness, assess the fitness and activity levels of children in grades K-12, and help them develop patterns of lifelong, health-promoting physical activity. (The program is also appropriate for use with young adults up to age 30.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THIS LINK: http://www.fitnessgram.net/overview/

Daily Classroom Opener (In the Gym)

Due to time constraints, physical education grant requirements, and an attempt to control behavioral issues through consistency, each class begins in a similar fashion. The class must begin with students entering the gym and putting on a pedometer before they begin jogging, in the same direction, around the outside of the gym. After they all students have put on a pedometer, I add some variation to their jogging warm-up.

Each student must listen for my whistle and respond accordingly. Two whistles signify a change in direction, three whistles signifies that each student must stop where they are and do a strength building exercise of my choice before they continue running, and four whistles signifies that they have 10 seconds to line up in their specific stretching lines.

The stretching lines are extremely detailed in terms of where students line up. Using natural landmarks on the gym floor, students are expected to line up in a specific spot. Students are not assigned a set spot on the floor, so students must communicate with each other in order to have everyone lined up before the ten seconds is up.

It would be difficult to explain the these landmarks without drawing a map, but it consists of four line leaders who set the lines at one baseline of the gym. The rows (4 students in each row) build off of the line leaders. Each column and row are exactly equal in distance apart. The greatest part about this is that there is no piece of tape or paper saying, "line up here." Students were taught where and how they should line up the first week of class and they have memorized these spots since.

One last note, if there is an odd number of students for that day (due to an absence) the very last row must line up symmetrically. How they decide to line up symmetrically is up to them, but if they know that if I were to cut the back row in half, each side would be equal to each other. Obviously, this row would not match with the other columns, but as long as it is symmetric, it is approved. NOTE: This is just another way to incorporate math or art into the PE content.

If the students fail to line up correctly before the allowed time, they must do a strength training exercise of my choice before they start jogging around the gym again. If the students line up correctly before the allowed time, we move on to the stretching portion of the class.

The student that was recognized the day before for exceptional behavior is responsible for choosing another student to help him or her lead stretching. However, before stretching can begin, that same student responsible for leading stretching is also responsible for telling the class an interesting fact, which was researched the night before, related to health/PE.

When the students are finished stretching, the variation of different lessons can now take place.

When I have explained this practice in the past, people have questioned whether or not this was to strict for my students. They told me that is sounded like a boot camp. However, once I showed these doubters this practice in action, they were believers.

The students love it. They think of it as a challenge and they try to set a time record for lining up each day. As of today, the record stands at 6 seconds. Now, that is impressive.

In just a 10 second period, students work on communication (both verbal and nonverbal), discipline, reaction time, other content areas, and behavior. This isn't bad for something that I have seen classes take several minutes to do (line up for stretching).

"Make use of time, do not let advantaged slip"

- William Shakespeare

Recognition for Behavior & Effort (not for performance) Continued...

After my last post on student recognition I received numerous emails asking for more detail on exactly how I do it. Before I explain how I do it, in more depth, I would like to point out that through my recognition routine, I am able to incorporate other content areas (math & music) in addition to paying attention to life skills and behavior.

At the completion of each class, I recognize one or more students for their ability to follow behavioral expectations or for doing something above and beyond what I expected in terms of effort or participation (never performance). The student(s) I choose stand in front of the class at the end of the day and I explain why I chose those student(s). I then have a clapping, jumping, and stomping routine that all of the other student(s) do with me to congratulate the recognized student(s). It goes a little something like this:

Teacher: “two claps, ready…”
Students: claps twice (in unison)

Teacher: “three claps, 1 stomp, ready…”
Students: claps three times and then stomps once (in unison)

The possibilities are endless when it comes to the combinations that can be done with clapping, stomping, and jumping. The students must listen to the rhythm of the routine in order to stay in unison. This is a great way to incorporate music into the class. Sometimes I will incorporate some mathematics into this routine in order to integrate another content area into PE. An example would be as follows:

Teacher: “13 minus 6 claps, ready…”
Students: claps seven times (in unison and with very little time for calculations)

Teacher: “7 times 3, minus 10 claps, ready…”
Students: claps eleven times (in unison and with very little time for calculations)

In addition to being recognized that day, those student(s) who were chosen are responsible for leading stretching the very next day and for presenting an interesting fact (related to health/PE) before leading the class in stretching.

Whenever I recognize a student who may be uncomfortable with being in front of the class, I will make sure to pick at least one other person to be recognized in addition to this student. This cuts down on the one student being singled out. I also keep a roster of all the students in my class with me each day. When I recognize a student, I put a check mark by their name. By keeping track of what students have earned that honor, it allows me to be aware of the students who may be getting lost in the mix. This does not mean that one student can’t earn this honor 2, 3, or 4 times before another student earns the honor once. What it means is that I can see which students have not been recognized or have not been recognized in a while and make sure to watch them to see if I can find anything positive worth recognizing.

Recognition for Behavior & Effort (not for performance)

For every class I teach, I recognize one or more students for their ability to follow behavioral expectations or for doing something above and beyond what I expected in terms of effort or participation. The student(s) I choose stand in front of the class at the end of the day and I explain why I chose those student(s). I then have a clapping, jumping, and stomping routine that all of the other student(s) do with me to congratulate the recognized student(s).

In addition to being recognized that day, those student(s) who were chosen are responsible for leading stretching the very next day and for presenting an interesting fact (related to health/PE) before leading the class in stretching.

I would like to make one suggestion for those of you who may use this method in your classes. Whenever I recognize a student who may be uncomfortable with being in front of the class, I will make sure to pick at least one other person to be recognized in addition to this student. This cuts down on the one student being singled out.

I also keep a roster of all the students in my class with me each day. When I recognize a student, I put a check mark by their name. By keeping track of what students have earned that honor, it allows me to be aware of the students who may be getting lost in the mix. This doesn’t mean that one student can’t earn this honor 2, 3, or 4 times before another student earns the honor once. What it means is that I can see which students have not been recognized or have not been recognized in a while and make sure to watch them to see if I can find anything positive worth recognizing.

"Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition. "

- Abraham Lincoln

Why Did I Choose Education?

Many people have asked me why I decided to become a teacher

The answer is simple.

My life has been overwhelmed with adversity. I was born to two teenage parents who were not financially or intellectually ready for a child. Neither parent finished high school and I was only six years old when my parents separated for good. Until this past year, I could count the number of times I have seen my father on one hand.

To make an extremely long and emotional story short, my mother and her boyfriend experimented with drugs when I was young, I spent time in a foster home, and I called the nearest campground home for a significant period of my life. My mother died unexpectedly in her sleep at the young age of 38 two years ago, drug free and redeemed from the poor decisions she made earlier in her life. She was a great mother and did what she could with what she had. Still, for the majority of my life I have faced enormous obstacles that have stood in my path to success.

The reason I write about these hard times is because it is apparent to me that I could not have become what I am today without help. Throughout my life, God has strategically placed various people in my life, including teachers that offered much needed support. Whether it was helping me before or after school, offering sound advice, employing me from their own pocket, or giving me a place to sleep, I could always count on those teachers to be the one constant in my life.
In addition for the love I have found in watching someone become successful, I believe that I would be doing the world a great disservice if I did not enter the teaching profession and return the favor that those teachers have given me.
One last note.

Coaching is a huge part of my life. I received my first coaching position when I was 17 and I have never looked back. My specialty is in football, but I have spent a lot of time on the basketball court as well. However, my coaching philosophy and expectations of athletes can be applied across any sport. I am big on attitude, leadership, and motivation, both in the classroom and on the field/court.

I would encourage all educators to be involved with students outside of the classroom. Now, it doesn’t have to be coaching. Whether it is through being a club advisor, a coach, or other influential figure, educators must invest in their students, especially in the areas that interest the students most. The students will apply themselves more when they know that they are cared about and accepted.

Consistency and Organization in the Classroom

Consistency and organization are two of my biggest focuses in the classroom, especially in the first few weeks of a new class and when a new activity is introduced.

I find that if you want a certain behavior, you cannot simple expect the students to know what that is. You have to teach them exactly what you want and then you need to be consistent in your expectations. If you constantly flip back and forth on what you expect, the students will never know how to behave. As a result, the students will revert to their own way of behaving, which is rarely the same behavior that a teacher would desire.

"Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way"

- 1 Corinthians 14:40

Should we be concerned with attitude in the classroom?

In addition to curriculum and instructional ideas in the physical/health education field, this blog also focuses on the importance and the development of a winning attitude. Whether it is in sports, in the classroom, at your job, or at home, the difference between success and mediocrity can be found in your attitude.

However, today's average educational curriculum devotes less than 1% of its focus on developing the winning attitude. Ironically, the majority of the problems found in the classroom, both behavioral and academic, can be solved with a positive change in the attitude.

"It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you."

- Zig Ziglar