Preparing for the New School Year

The title of this article is one that could be deceiving until you understand what I mean, and how it should be food for thought. Preparation (for the new school year) should have started many years ago in the college years by acquiring pride in physical education, and the planning it took to become a teacher. As I regress, having retired in 2003, I can look back over many successful years and why they were successful. What made them so extraordinary?

 

 

I believe in the theory of prime movers, and what that means is an act or thought has to start, and all else follows because of that action. My action was attending a qualified school with a program of excellence with exemplary professors. Their guidance made success possible. The strength of their physical education program was all the instructors who taught the principles of successful teaching, and who helped prepare me for all types of scenarios. A vital part of that process was the love of teaching and wanting to make a difference.

Even during the very first year of teaching, preparations were in place and I had the confidence to make successful teaching happen. Through the years it became evident, that to be successful, there needed to be rules to follow, to find new ways to make PE class enjoyable to students, and to know that innovations were needed to keep PE as a vital asset to the school.

My first order of business was to join associations, then grow professionally by going to conventions, conferences, in-services, and taking post-grad credits to keep abreast of all new trends. An important need is to share with others. There are two groups on Facebook, called PE1 and PE Central, with hundreds of teachers sharing ideas and comments. These websites developed when the pe-digest of the mid-1990’s came to an abrupt end. Unfortunately, there’s a horde of PE teachers across the country who have no clue about the new P.E., small sided games, technology, exergaming, or ways to combat obesity. P.E. needs to take its rightful place in education, so instead of just talking about this, how about sharing results and success stories?

Stephan Jefferies stated it eloquently in his editorial, “Physical Education: Nothing Lasts Forever.” What has brought PE to this state of disruption? Yes, there are budget cuts and the state of the economy. But, the disruption goes deeper – in what PE teachers offer to the school, students, parents, school board and community. Did (we) do our job?

There are amazing teachers who have trailblazed PE with new trends and dedication. An important (missing?) piece of the puzzle is public relations. Have we sold our programs enough? Volunteered in the community? Used many facets of technology? Kept the students involved in activities that are “for a lifetime.” Do we think about those students who aren’t interested in fitness, health, or nutrition? Maybe these are the students who ended up on school boards, and have deplorable memories of P.E.

There are a host of why and why not’s, and blame to go around, but they don’t provide solutions; It is what we do for our students, and the motivation to go to school each day with enthusiasm, innovation, and imagination, and to choose activities for students that will be forever etched in their minds well beyond their school years.

Here are some ideas that make program preparation worthwhile for both teacher and student:

• Summer is a time to retool and find out what worked, what didn’t, and why it did/didn’t work in the classes.
• Take some courses for interest in the PE field.
• Find out what makes the students “tick,” or what their interests are outside of school.
• Volunteer for things.
• Speak to the PTA.
• Technology – Apps? Assessment? Heart rate monitors? Exergaming? Electronic devices? Obesity?
• Visualization – Relax before each class day and “see” all the activities, what safety measures should be taken, and the flow of the activities. Make a plan if things don’t go right.
• Involve students & teachers in everything. For example, here were some of my ideas:
  • Tele-Olympics – skill test with students around the world.
  • San Antonio Relays – skill tests with other schools.
  • Read & Run Marathon – read 26 books, run 26 miles.
  • Travel Buddy – sharing with other schools.
  • New Zealand Collaboration – share tests and interaction with another country
  • Teach teachers how to use the Smart Board.
  • Invite the Principal and parents into your classes.
  • Annual Gym Show – good public relations
  • Junior Olympics – good public relations
  • School Board – take students to a meeting and display PE.
  • Fitness calendar – use one throughout the school year and summer.
  • It is imperative to win over the support of the teachers and administration.

One of the most important details when preparing for each school year is fostering and making a safe environment for each student. They must feel comfortable and know you care about them, and a person they can trust.

Each day, find a way to learn something new. Such as, learn to use the newest app and how it could be used for your classes. Integrating technology with core subjects may not be easy, but it’s great for PR when the Principal sees that something special is happening in PE, and it’s more than expected. We must wear many hats and demonstrate versatility. It is important to demonstrate that the old P.E. is not going on in our classes. Even now, many administrators and school board members think that what we teach isn’t important.

Preparations go far beyond games and activities which aren’t conducive to good teaching practices, or that meet standards. Each year there are teachers and PE programs eliminated. A question that should be asked is, “Are we our own worst enemy?” Did the “throw-out the ballers” have an impact on economical decisions? Through complacency?

Preparing for a new school year should be an exciting time and one that is filled with new ideas. With these thoughts in mind, what steps are conducive to getting the new year started out successfully in regard to the technological end of things? There are new apps and devices out all the time, and the best way to start is to find web sites and programs that are easy to learn, and then to try them out.

Depending on the school curriculum, and how many days a week we meet with the students, we must have ways to keep students active every day. There is a problem if we only meet once a week for 40 minutes or so, so there should be a “carry over” from the regular PE class. Apple apps are highlighted, but Andriod apps are comparable:

• Apps Gone Free – Is a daily reminder of all free apps, and includes health, fitness, technology and productivity. Get it at the Itunes store.
• iMovie – A great way to monitor your student’s actions and skills. Comes with a tutorial, and easy to use controls and functions. Add photos or videos which are stored on a timeline to share with others. Cost is 4.99, and well worth the price from the Apple apps and Itunes.
• Capture – Takes videos and it’s sent to You Tube for sharing with others. Get the app from Apple and Itunes and App store.
• Fooducate– A nutrition app and health aid for making proper food choices.
• Cardiograph – Students can take their heartbeat by placing their index finger over the camera lens. Results can be saved in the history folder.
• May My Run, iSmoothRun, Strava, Pedometer, gps pedometer – Log walking, running and biking results

Here are some other apps that are useful and interesting in all aspects of teaching:

• QRReader, Norton Snap, RedLaser – are scanners for the ubiquitous black and white squares seen in magazines, posters, and stores. These may be used for a scavenger hunt in class, or for personal interest.
• Weather Channel – Teachers may use this to check the weather forecast, and then prepare for outside activities safely.
• Convert Units – Change to the metric system for integration activities.
• Fitness Point – A personal workout plan.
• Sky Drive – Save everything in a personal account, including photos, videos and documents.
• Drop Box – Save documents and important information.
• Genius Scan, Tiny Scan – A built in scanner to save receipts and documents.
• iPrint&Scan – App for sending to your printer from Apple devices.
• http://thepegeek.com/
• http://www.pecentral.org/apps/index.html