First EDU 355 Field Experience!

Today was my first day of my EDU 355 field experience. I was assigned to work with the students at Cortland Christian Academy. The field experience that I will be having will be a little different than my peers that are going to different schools. The Cortland Christian Academy is a very small private school with about 115 students total in grades pre-k through 12^th grade. The graduating class this year only has 11 students! Because it is such a small school, the school does not have certified physical education teachers. The teacher that I observed today was actually an English and accounting teacher. She had very minimal knowledge on physical education because it was not her main area of focus as a teacher.

The first day of the field experience is dedicated to observing the classes and getting to see what the children are like. We got to check out the equipment that would be available to us to use in the future when we teach. For the first period that we were at St. Mary’s, we observed a class that was a mix between kindergarteners and first graders. As a warm-up, the teacher played “Simon says” with the students. Then she had the students play “red rover” for about 15 minutes. Once the students were tagged, they were out for the rest of the activity and were just sitting down. After this, the class of 18 was divided into 2 groups. They did a relay race of dribbling a basketball down to the other side of the gym and then back. There was A LOT of standing around and very minimal activity because only 2 students were moving at once. At the end of the class for the last couple of minutes, the teacher had the students run laps around the gym to “tire them out”.

The second period that we observed was a class of about 20 students that were 2^nd and 3^rd graders combined. The teacher did a “Simon says” warm up again. She then had the students play dodge ball for the next 25 minutes. To end the class, the teacher again had the students run laps around the gym for the last 2-3 minutes.

Starting next week, my partner and I will take over completely. We will be in charge of teaching for the rest of our time at the Cortland Christian Academy. The staff at the school seemed absolutely thrilled to have us working with them. I am really looking forward to bring a little more structure to the classes I will be working with. I know that I have learned a lot of innovative and fun things to do with young children and I am super excited to share these activities with the children. While most of my peers who are also in EDU 355 will do more observing and less teaching, I am excited to take more charge. The teacher told my partner and I that the classes are ours now. I am definitely looking forward to getting started next week and showing the students at the school what PE is really about!

First SCOPE Media Video

Today in class we watched the first SCOPE media production. The video really came out awesome and I was excited to see that everyone’s hard work paid off. Trent did an awesome job directing and producing the video and he really deserves a lot of credit for all the hours that he put in. I think that the rest of the video crew and me did a good job formulating our ideas on the concepts in the chapter. It was important to make the skits funny while informational at the same time so that we could keep the attention of our viewers.  After all, no one really wants to watch a boring video where the actors and actresses just list off the facts of the chapter.

It became rather apparent today that there was a huge discrepancy in the number of hours different people spent on the video. The audio crew obviously did not have as much work to do but they will now be in charge of filming the next video. I think that Trent spent a great deal of time on the video, maybe even too much time. In the future, it will be important to divide up the work a little more maybe. So instead of myself and the rest of the video group spending about 4 hours each on the project and Trent spending 10 hours, the work will be divided up a little better.

Working together in groups is always a learning process and must take patience. Now that we have the first video under our belt, we will know how to be more effective next time!

American Identity? Melting Pot...or Tossed Salad?

image from foodnetwork.com

I have been continuing with reading Chapter 3 in our textbook on the diversity of students. One section of the chapter that caught my eye in particular was the section on the metaphors concerning the U.S identity. Cultural, racial, and ethnic differences are one of the most uncomfortable things for many people to talk about. Tension arises when people of different backgrounds talk about these subjects with one another. The United States is a very culturally diverse society, yet the topic of a multicultural society is not one that is really spoken of amongst the different races.

Back when there was a huge influx of immigrants in the early 1900’s, the United States became known as a “Melting Pot”. This name came from the fact that all the different cultures just “melted” together into one culture which was the American culture. This “melting pot” was a reality for most immigrants who were assimilated into the American way of life. Thus “melting metaphor” really entails the immigrants forgetting where they came from and their old culture so that they can be fully immersed in the American culture.

Another metaphor was that the United States was a “tossed salad” rather than a “melting pot”. Thus “tossed salad” consisted of many different vegetables tossed together. Rather than all melting together into one big “American” culture, the “tossed salad” metaphor advocates that that immigrants maintained parts of their culture. The differences amongst the different cultures should be embraced and it is not right to make immigrants forget their native language and way of life.

Meeting the Needs of our Diverse Students

Chapter 3 of our textbook goes into detail about teaching to fit the needs of diverse studetns. According to the textbook, by the year 2030 about half the students in school will be from non-European ethnic grouos, Some of the biggest minority ethnic groups include hispanics, black (non-hispanics), and a small percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders. A very surprising number to me was the fact that 20% of all school age children speak a language other than English at home. The schools that I attended growing up were not very ethnically diverse at all and I think that is why the statistic surprised me. As a future physical educator I know that it will be important to reach out to all of my students, including the ethnically diverse students. Some of my students may not be fluent in English and thus I know I will need to find a way to communicate them so they understand directions and feel comfortable in class.

The textbook went into describing some statistics to explain how schools have a long way to go before it can be proven that the needs of the diverse students are being met. For example, statistics continue to show that Hispanic, Native American, and African American students continue to score lower on standardized tests. The number of minority students who do not graduate from high school is also higher. Yet despite these statistics, many people believe that the public schooling opportunities for all U.S children are equal. So this thus leads us to question why the high school drop-out rate is higher for minorities? While it may not be the schools to blame, many people believe that the schools have the power to make adjustments and make sure each and every child reaches their full potential.

Sugar...as toxic as tobacco and alcohol?

I just read the article posted by Professor Yang entitled “Sugar Should Be Regulated As Toxin, Researchers Say” which was published on LiveScience.com. The article immediately caught my attention when I saw it on twitter because I myself have health issues which require me to closely watch the sugars I intake. I do not think that a lot of people realize just how bad sugars are for the body. Sugars that are naturally found in places like fruit are of course not found to be harmful to the body because they also contain fiber and do not contained added sugar. Yet sugars that are man-made like table sugar and high fructose corn syrup are metabolized in a much different way than natural sugars. Obesity is such an enormous problem in our country these days and I think that people definitely need to start monitoring the sugars they intake more closely. According to the article, correlations have been found linking the excess intake of processed sugars to many health issues including liver failure, diabetes, and heart disease. Some researchers feel so adamantly about encouraging people to reduce sugar intake that they are proposing putting a tax on foods containing “added” sugar. I think that it is also important for school cafeterias to take a closer look that the foods containing added sugar. One quote from the article that was particularly strong in my opinion was  “added sugar — or, more specifically, sucrose, an even mix of glucose and fructose found in high-fructose corn syrup and in table sugar made from sugar cane and sugar beets — has been as detrimental to society as alcohol and tobacco”. This can be proven in the amount of deaths that are occurring because of heart disease and diabetes. I think that people need to start taking a closer look into the nutrition facts on what they are eating. Consuming less sugar and high-fructose corn syrup will make a huge impact on people becoming healthier individuals.

My Favorite Workout: Step Aerobics!

Step Aerobics has always been one of my favorite workouts to do. At home I am a member of Gold’s Gym and love to take the classes there on weeknights when they have them. I was a dancer from the age of 3 until I was in high school and thus I would say that I have a pretty good sense of rhythm. I love the step aerobics workout because music is incorporated as well as a great cardiovascular workout. It is really quite enjoyable and can be a lot more fun than just running mile after mile on the treadmill. I always feel satisfied after a step aerobics workout and know i got in my physical activity for the day.

The step aerobics instructor at the gym I go to has gotten to know me more since I always attend her classes when I am home. Last time I saw her over winter break she suggested that I take the course to become certified in teaching step aerobics! I loved her idea and when I go home this summer I definitely plan on getting my certification to teach.

For Lab D back when I was in EDU 255 I taught step aerobics. My class was full of boys except for myself and one other girl and these boys did not seem thrilled at all to be doing a lesson on step aerobics. Step aerobics has fooled many people into thinking that it is only for girls. Well by the end of the 20 minute class I think I had changed the opinion of every single boy in the class. They were all tired and sweating and shocked that they could get such a good workout in 20 minutes. Imagine if they took a whole 60 minute class!

I think that it is very important that people realize how many great health benefits that come along with step aerobics. One is always working at an upbeat tempo and burning tons of calories. I came across a website FITDAY that really explains the cardiovascular benefits of doing step aerobics. I cannot wait to do step aerobics in my physical education class and know that I will be able to back myself up with evidence to support why step aerobics is such a great way to get physical activity and to have children reach the MVPA goals each day.

My Favorite PE iPhone Apps

I have to admit that switching over from my blackberry to an iPhone at the beginning of January was a very smart phone. The millions of Apps that are available are absolutely incredible. I recently searched for some physical education apps.

One of the first apps I downloaded was called “Play” and was free. It was a pretty neat app and included warm-ups, stretches, games, as well as cool downs. What made the app even more reliable and authentic was the fact that it incorporated NASPE standards into the various activities. I found that the “Play” app was definitely more geared torwards elementary physical education and almost all of the activities would not be appropriate for middle school or high school. As a future physical educator, I know that I will always be looking for new and innovative ways to improve my teaching and this app really had some fun little activities.

Another app that I recently purchased for $0.99 is called “Fitness Tests”. This is an awesome app for physical educators because allows one to reference over 30 physical tests. The tests range from cardio and aerobic tests to flexibility tests. The app gives information as to how to structure the test and administer it. It also gives norm results. Some of the tests included in the app include the mile run, the 300meter shuttle run test, leg press and bench press, timed sit-ups and push-ups, the vertical jump test, and an agility test just to name a few. In the future I know it will be extremely convenient to have access to all of these tests in one convenient location on my iPhone. 

Another app that I also purchased was iMuscle. This is a really neat app that allows you to select an individual muscle on the human body. Once a muscle is selected, the app will give you exercises to strengthen the individual muscle.

I came across this website http://pe4lifeblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/ipadiphoneipod-touch-apps-for-use-in.html. This is actually someone’s blog who has compiled a list of some of the best physical education apps. It’s really neat and I would definitely recommend checking it out!