SAVE YOUR BRAIN!

How come if you tear your ACL you have to sit out for 6-9 months before it will be back to 80% strength, but if you get a concussion your allowed to reenter the season? Don't you know that there is no way for a brain to repair itself once suffered trauma such as a concussion. Well its common that most adults and even athletes do not know the severity of concussions. Thanks to Save Your Brain, a campaign started by a group of inspiring graduates who want to make aware the seriousness of concussions. Through a serious of humors informative videos they believe that they can get out a meaningful message to young athletes that constantly deal with the threat of being a victim of a concussion. They are really trying to get out there the message that concussions are dangerous even more dangerous than a broken arm or bruised ribs, where theses body parts will heal themselves with time, the brain cannot however with even the slightest bruise memories and knowledge will be lost and not be able to gain back. Visit there website: www.saveyourbraincampagin.com and see what their about. Wristbands much like the breast cancer awareness “I heart boobies” wristband, they have come up with a similar idea to get their cause out there. So save your brain, its you’re the only one you’ve got, so take care of it.

ReReReReplay

The question becomes should we or should we not review the play? Some will state the obvious con of it will only prolong a game or it will change the way the game is played, but reality is there are more pros than cons. The NFL has created a great system to structure the events of instant replays, only being allowed a few chances and being charged a timeout when a call is not overruled. Being allowed to review a play would significantly change the way we look at sports, but in a positive fair way. We relay on the on the human eye to watch events that occur faster than we can turn our heads so wouldn’t it make sense to use the amazing advancing technology that can do the job for us. I do argue that we should keep umpires and referees because reviewing every play would be ridicules and take the fun of chance out of the game. We can however use the technology when the opportunity presents itself, but the question then becomes when is the right opportunity to make that call to review a play. Taking a leaf out of the NFL’s book as a coach/manager you need to know the game and be confident in your ability to see the event occur and know the wrong call was made, instead of just wanting the call to be changed. Being charged a time out is a great way of regulating between good and bad decisions on when to call a instant replay. Whether a hitter is safe or out, a homerun foul or fair, or a touchdown is good can all be rectified by instant replay.

Not seeing doesn't mean it's not there!

link-between-physical-mental-health-adhd/

Yes we want you to be physically active! Yes we want you to be physically educated! Yes we want you to be fit! And yes we want you to look good doing it, but if we look at reality, the people who start to exercise do it because they want to look better. This is not a bad thing, kudos to you for wanting to improve the way you look, but once again if we look at reality most people want results NOW, and the human body just does not work that fast. So the question becomes, why am I doing this I am seeing no results. When the reality is all results are internal, and they are actually quite beneficial. In recent studies just 30 minutes a day several times a week can relieve general anxiety and stress, as well as reduce the effect of depression. “Aerobic exercise increases levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine.” (Ref.) These transmitters allow the body to have emotional stability, mental awareness, as well as calmness and the ability to focus. Stated earlier regular exercise can be used by any age to reduce stress. Life happens and when it does we end up with a chest full of stress, or a headache trying to cope with decisions. When people exercise it stimulates brain activity allowing decisions to be made easier, and stress leaves the body through physical exertion. Another way to look at it is, if we have a student who has a hyperactive disorder and has been sitting in a class all day long being reprimanded for not being able to sit still or focus, stress and anxiety are going to set in with that student making it at this point impossible for them to focus on any kind of learning. If we give this hyperactive student a physically active outlet, our student will be able to literally work off the stress, in a safe constructive way. Thus allowing them to reenter the classroom fresh ready to learn. Studies have also showed that a positive correlation relationship between physical activity and academic performance. This relationship needs to be taken more seriously when discussing the academic performance of any student who has questionable learning disabilities, or any academic issues. So going back to the beginning, even though we do not see external results, we can feel the internal results and that is a great start to life-long physical fitness.


Ref:
http://www.sports-media.org/sportapolisnewsletter19.htm
http://www.tenerife-training.net/Tenerife-News-Cycling-Blog/2008/05/the-voice/the-

Can it be controlled?

Being a constant learner with ADHD myself I understand the difficulties young students go through who have learning disabilities, sometimes who don't understand are the parents of these students. I don't mean that parents do not know there children, but they do not observe what goes on in a classroom or in a setting where their child is forced to focus, behave, resist urges (which they can not control), and learn. To succeed at all of these factors at the same time is a lot more difficult for any student who has a learning disability. Now with the right guidance and study habits anyone with a learning disability can overcome it with time if they work at it, but for others it is just not possible without the help of medication. Being a student who went through a lot of struggles and fights with my parents about taking my medicine, i know am a full believer that it is important to be taken if one wants to succeed in an educational setting. I focus, I am not as easily distracted by what is going outside of the classroom, I am learning what is being taught. Students know when they are doing better because of the dramatic changes that can occur if the right medication is being taken. Back to the beginning, parents do not enforce nor do they sometimes agree with having their children on medication because they are not "themselves" which may very well be the case, but that is most likely due to the fact that their prescription was diagnosed and needs to be adjusted. Students can achieve great things with help and as an educator and someone who has a learning disability and takes medication to help out i feel every student with a disability should have the opportunity to learn just like anyone else and I do believe this can help.

I'm Bored!

“I’m bored! We already did this. We always do the same things!” these are the words out my student’s mouth today during my observation. Normal drills will not cut it anymore students are tired for the same old stand in line and throw its ball at the target method of practice. Students crave stimulation, inside and outside the classroom that includes the gymnasium where students are most actively engaged, where there imaginations can really run wild if allowed. Students also crave structure, so how so how do we combine structure with creative stimulation, thinking outside the box. Now that it’s a clear sign of springtime, why not take students on a nature walk get them outside, show them how nature influences physical activity. Now that its sunny you will find more people outside socializing and engaging in physical activity, the good weather picks spirits up so we should be sharing that with our students. And if what they say is true “we always do the same things!” we can be sure that they will be practicing volleyball serves at some point in there P.E. future, so I think its ok if we take a day out to stimulate the children’s mind in a different way. Unless we change the way we are teaching students they are going to lose the a positive affective attitude towards Physical Education, and with the already low respect that the physical education world gets we can not afford to throw our students interest out the door just because the old way is the easy way. Get out there and use your imagination for once, and create a fun different lesson you might find out you like it.

How to fight that illness on all fronts

Its unavoidable new diseases and illness are striking our society, as well we are seeing an increase in the severity of the injuries our young students, as a student this is time off to play video games, to an educator this is a great chance for a student to fall behind in work and have to repeat grades. This is obviously the last option we want for our students, and as a physical educator myself I stress healthy living habits as well as active life-styles. It is proven that staying in shape as well as participating in regular physically activity will keep an immune system strong. As well as participating in these activities safety is a huge concern because accidents can happen at anytime, that’s why they are called accidents. Addressing the concern of missed time in school after the fact, as a physical educator I advise resting such injury and once ready a slow but steady rehabilitation. Now just because your physically injured does not mean that physical education cannot occur. By watching videos, reading articles, and observing a student can still benefit and gain knowledge. This will strengthen the student’s cognitive domain in being able to process physical activity in a different way allowing them to understand and apply this knowledge to help themselves and others. This can be assessed by a verbal assessment done by an educator, or a written paper. Spirits are normally low when returning to physical activity after a long absence, giving a student a chance to keep up with the skills and activities is a great way to ease them back into the swing of things when it comes to class time. Things happen all the time that are out of our control it is our responsibility to cope with the situation and preserver through quick thinking so an educator does not succumb and lose the flow of a class. Always be prepared for the unexpected.

Our time to shine!

Much like the girls at Gallaudet University every community has its challenges to face. This challenge in particular had to do with a communication barrier, nearly everyone who attends Gallaudet University is deaf or hearing impaired. This like many communities relay on communicating through American Sign Language. This is a language that uses hand movements, body language, and facial expressions to convey their thoughts or feelings to one another. During my years in high school we are required to take a foreign language, i choose to learn American Sign Language, I took 5 years of it and still use it to this day, it is a very useful language especially in a situation like the coach at GU had to face. Coming into a loosing program the coach had to learn a whole new style of coaching to prepare himself for what he was about to endure, with great success he lead his team to a division III tournament. I can relate to this article because of my involvement with the deaf community and have some insight on how hard it can be to communicate regularly, let alone communicate while in a high activity game. This program had improved dramatically and all to do with the cooperation and commitment the coach had put in for his team. With this i hope all up in coming educators can realize that what we need in our communities is dedication and commitment, when we see a problem we fix it with ever resource we have available to us, and not for our own sake but for the benefit of others. This coach was not paid extra for learning Sign Language, he was not reimbursed for the time he spent with his team, he knew that when it came to a good program cooperation and communication is key, he ran with that into a winning season. I hope all of us as educators can learn from this experience and put more effort into their passion of teaching.  

Maxine Greene

For Power or Pleasure

Time and time again we see burnt out athletes by the time they are ages 13-15. Why do we have this constant dropout rate for such promising athletes? Well the answer can stem from many sources; parents, over exposure, life pressures, financial issues, hobby changing, and life experiences. What does this mean for our athlete, this means that at a young age our athlete was exposed to a certain sport which they showed considerable interest, (or no interest at all) parents saw this as an opportunity to get a jump start on their child’s athletic ability. Enrolling their child in as many youth programs as possible, this spells disaster for this athletes future, don’t get me wrong I think starting out children with a sport young is the best idea, but being able to tell the difference between how much the child actually wants to be there verses a parent trying to live through their kids is crucial. Once again I’d hate for this too look like I’m bashing dedicated parents, I want it to be clear that the athlete is my main priority, with this as a physical educator my goal is to instill “Life-Long Fitness and physical activity involvement” and having an athlete burn out before they could reach their prim is one of the saddest things anyone following an athlete can experience. Also when getting into sports we must realize that any sport participation will cause financial issues on any level, and gagging where and how to spend the money is also crucial. Paying 100 dollars a week for your 5 year old to learn to pitch may not be the best financial investment. Rather than later on in life when a child has been able to hone in on the specific sport and the specific position that they enjoy playing spending 100 dollars a week on training would be more proficient. Kids are more often than not pushed to the brink of pleasure to where it just becomes a chore to have to go to softball practice, or play in that basketball game on a Saturday night. Parents and coaches need to recognize the signs of when an athlete is losing interest in a sport that they used to “eat, breath, and live” before it is too late can save a lot of athletes potential. Parents relationships is closely linked to the interest held by the athletes, we want to impress our parents but when the demand becomes too much some parents keep expecting more and more and are blind to the fact that they are being detrimental to their athletes and their performance. Another factor is time, we like to call it Student-Athlete but we all know that when it comes to certain players they are really, Athlete-Students. Just hitting the books to get by and spending all their time on the field or court. As an educator I must realize that yes I want my students to be physically educated and participate in physical activities, but it is just as important as the rest of their subjects and life responsibilities. There must be equality when it comes to sports and studies, with the help of educators, responsible parents, and respectful coaches us as a team could create a new generation of athletes that were born to love sports and continue throughout the rest of their lives! Long live Life-long Physical Fitness!

Something out of your box!

Looking for something new? Something thrilling and exciting? How about something extreme! Test yourself, break your boundaries, and get out there. Everyday people are living exciting lives due to their out of the box activities, by not sticking to the norms people create discoveries and further expand the knowledge we crave for physical activities. Can be as simple as going for a hike in a nearby wooded area or as extreme as jumping out of a plane and sky diving for that rush. I for one like to go fast and in the most abstract ways. Cliff Swinging, Bike riding, Rollerblading, Mountain Climbing, Scuba-Diving, Snowboarding, and surfing! These are just a few examples of how most of physically educated and physically healthy people spend their time, craving the rush that compels them to challenge their boundaries. Yes, we can all go to the weight room and exercise, or go out to the courts and shoot a basketball around, and we will get our physical activity. But doesn't that get boring to any of you? The same activity day in and day out! Everyone needs a little verity in their lives, if not than the lifelong activities we hold dear to us now will slowly become obsolete to us and the enjoyment we gain from participating in such events will dwindle, deterring us away from wanting to pursue our activity. When we integrate an extreme sport into our activities, the spark that lights any physically involved person’s fire will burn ever strong. Most say its like becoming reborn when one of these extreme activities is accomplished. With a little push everyday anyone can become an extreme physical activist, bringing new life to anyone's physical activity repertoire. So don't be scared! Step out of your box and break the norms around you!

Diversity! Yes we want it!

Yes, we want diversity! But in order for us to see it we must experience it. Everyday someone is a the new student at a school, no matter how different they may seem to be they are all feeling the same things, how will these kids treat me? Will I be accepted? Will they respect my differences? Sadly most of the time the answer will be no, students especially at young ages are not sensitive to cultural differences, whether this has to do with parental involvement or just for lack of understanding most students will be picked on for being different. If we look at the profile of a student named Jimmy Tribo we can get an idea of just how different life can become when changing schools.
Jimmy Tribo is a 13-year-old white American boy; his parent’s work very hard for him and his brother to have the “life” that they never had as kids. They instill values and morals for their kids to follow as well as the importance of education; with it they will be able to go far. But to their disappointment things have not gone to plan and Jimmy’s father has been laid off, and they are forced to sell their house and move. Coming from a predominantly white community Jimmy was never exposed to the life of a minority. His new home and school district are in a predominantly African American and Spanish American communities, this is now making Jimmy and his family the minority. On Jimmy’s first day of school he was brought to the office by one of the security guards, who were claiming that Jimmy had been fighting a group of students. In reality Jimmy had been asking a group of students where he could find one of the classrooms, the students had called him a “white boy” and told him to go back to his prep school where he belongs, at this one of the students pushed Jimmy and another had punched him. Jimmy had never been placed in this type of situation before so he fought back. When telling conveying this to the principle he was called a liar many times, where he eventually gave up and just accepted his punishment. From that moment on Jimmy was never the same student again, he stopped trying in school, didn’t go out for sports, and eventually by age 17 dropped out of school.
Jimmy’s whole life was altered, not by this move but by his experience he faced when diversity was non-existent. With the help of all educators we can create a world that promotes equality and understanding across all communities!

I Hope & I Believe!

Hope & Believe

SCOPE: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Stereotypes. Including WRUP!

SCOPE: Broadcast

Should we be segregated?

I have interviewed two people from both a public school and a private school about their take on how it has effected their academic perofrmance and their values of equality for all people. after this i think any educational setting could be right for anyones education.

Kinect! or Not!

My Roommates and I really enjoy using the Xbox Kinect and today i have interviewed my friend on his position about the use of this type of technology for educational & physical activity purposes.

Mainstreamed

One constantly battle being fought by parents and educators is whether or not we should mainstream disabilities students. This is a sensitive issue we face because there is a severity of disabilities so it is hard to classify students as a whole. So I would like to break it down as an individual situation, using myself as an example. Being a student with ADHD I was placed in a special needs class as a youngster, slowly but surely I mainstreamed myself first with math in the 3rd grade and finally with English fully mainstreamed by the 10th grade. Now this process took a lot of time and hard work by not only myself, but mostly by my mother who is a huge advocate for my education and I owe a lot to her for it. But during my processes of mainstreaming myself, I faced several walls. My socialization skills were at a low when I first started moving out of the special needs class, as well as my presence with my peers was known as “a special kid” this can cause many issues for young students, when acceptance is such a crucial part of the school system. Of course most parents are going to say education is the most important part of mainstreaming, but you have to look at the success rates of students who’s social skills were hindered by not being mainstreamed, you will see a low correlation between the two. Students need a good social environment to have good academic success. Now reality is, more goes into mainstreaming than just a social aspect, but it is a huge help when we look at student

Challenge them!

In Education there is a common acceptance to the bell curve when it comes to student performance, most students will fall in the middle of the curve as “average learners” with a small percent on both sides of the curve as “exceptional learners”. What this means is that you are going to have students who will be able to excel in every subject, while on the other hand you are going to have students who struggle with most. When looking at this situation, we must be able to create a curriculum that challenges all students regardless of where they land on the learning curve. Too often we focus on just getting the majority of students to pass, but passing is not our goal, our goal is to create educated youngsters to better our future generations. So when we educate we must CHALLENGE those who must be challenged and HELP those who need help. From personal experience my brother was a student who needed to be challenged, and he was not slowly but surely his motivation for knowledge dropped off because of his lack of academic challenges in our school. This is an issue that needs to be addressed by all educators. We must challenge our students not just pass them through the school systems.

Student Learning Styles

Between Myth and Fact teachers can identify which students are certain kinds of learners when looking at how students process information in the most efficient way for them. This is a crucial part of any students learning experience! So why would we as educators not want to identify and then therefore gear that students learning towards their style of learning? We would or at least we should! It is our responsibility. Personally I know I am a Kinesthetic learner, meaning hands on learning. Getting students up moving through the lesson physically rather than sitting listening to information just go in through one ear and out of the other. This learning style influences my teaching style as well, learning towards a Kinesthetic approach for students I would like all students to be able to problem solve through physical movement. But even myself I have to realize that not all my students are going to be like me, others could be Auditory learners (learning by hearing information) or Visual Learners (Learning by seeing) by combining all of these styles of teaching, I hope to one day create the most effective teaching approach for my students to be successful. As my students grow as learners and learn more about themselves, I myself will grow as an educator learning more about who I am as a Physical Educator.

MY winter Experience

This winter was one of first time i have been placed in the roll of a teacher candidate, i represented SUNY Cortland while observing and assisting in the Clarkstown School District. I spent two weeks there, my first week in the middle school,(Felix Festa Middle School) and my second week was in the high school,(Clarkstown North High School). I actually used to attend the middle school and went to the rival high school.(Clarkstown South High School) While there i witnessed two very different teaching styles and there were pros and cons in both because lets face it, we do not live in a perfect world. No matter what way we look at it there will always be room for improvement, and this should be take as a positive, why would we not want to always better ourselves and stay on top.This experience has really opened my eyes when i express the passion that has grown and is still growing inside of me for my profession.
I believe, that all students have a place in this world, and it is our job as educators to help them find that place.