WHO CAN DO WHAT YOU DO?

After 4 years of education at Springfield College, The Birthplace of Basketball, I entered into my first year of teaching physical education at the Florence E. Smith School in West Hartford, CT.  At that time, the primary grades had a curriculum built around games, story plays and mimetics.  Hazel Richardson Game Cards had directions for hundreds of kid's games from Run Rabbit Run, Squirrels in Trees, Duck, Duck Goose, Crows and Cranes, Dog Catcher, ad infinitum.  The classroom teacher had to observe the lesson and do a follow up lesson during the week.  The next time her class had gym, she showed me what she had done with the children during the week, and often it was better done than when I did it. Having her children all day, every day, gave her a rapport with them that was impossible for me to simulate in one half hour per week.  I also noticed that when the children gathered after school for their Brownie or Cub Scout meeting, the troop leader often played games with them as part of their meeting.  A favorite was "Steal The Bacon".  Here too, I noticed that the troop leaders ran the games as well as I did, and they did not have a four year degree in physical education. Over time, this bothered me as I did not feel "special" and felt that I really didn't need a four year degree to teach games, even though in college I had Games I, II, and III.  I was ready to move on to the high school and coaching where I would have more status.

About that time, movement education and educational gymnastics arrived on the scene and rescued me. I attended numerous workshops and conferences centered around movement education, and we purchase Whittle Apparatus from England and got heavily involved in Educational Gymnastics.  I had a library of British books on physical education where the focus was not on games, but on teaching children to manage their body and apply those skills to being able to more easily perform athletic activities.  For example, engaging in activities to improve your sense of balance, will enable you to learn to engage in activities such as skiing or skate boarding more easily and safely.  I invested myself in this approach to teaching and realized now that I had a content knowledge that the classroom teacher and troop leaders did not have, and thus could contribute to the "physical education" (with the second word being more important than the first) of my students in meaningful ways.  Apparatus activities dominated much of the program and over time, the students became functionally fit and more athletic than they would have been without this approach to teaching.  In subsequent years, physical education was scheduled twice a week and the classroom teacher no longer had to observe the class and do a follow up lesson.

So what is the intent of this blog?  It is for you to look at your primary school program, and ask yourself the question, "Do you need to be a physical education teacher with a four year college degree, to do what you do with your students?" If you find that you are basically organizing recreational activities and games, playing on the scooters or with the parachute, or refereeing the soccer or basketball games, I would challenge you to make a list of every lesson  you did in a week and ask yourself this question.  "Does someone need a four year degree in physical education to do what I did this week?"  Are you an organizer of "activities" or a teacher of "lessons" that enhance your students physical development?  What is your role as a physical education teacher? Does it go beyond organizing activities?  Food for thought.

Walking Your Child To School.

Remember the days of the neighborhood school?  Remember when all the kids in the neighborhood walked together to school in groups and picked up a new child as they passed neighborhood homes? I wonder how old you have to be to remember this?  I remember my children going off to school at age 5 and walking a mile, alone and unattended, to our neighborhood school.  Our society was different then and we never feared for our child's safety while going to and from school. A changing society, suburban sprawl and unsafe city streets have necessitated school busing programs.  

In my first teaching assignment, the students not only walked to school, but went home for lunch!!  Gone are the good old days.  Now Johnny and Sally get picked up by the school bus at their doorstep or the corner of their street. The school cafeteria provides their lunch (not always the healthiest) and recess is shorter in the name of more classroom time. Physical Education programs are often cut back when school budgets get tight, and all of this contributes to the childhood obesity crisis we are facing.

But never fear when creative parent's are near.  A group of parents who lived in a town that still had neighborhood schools, decided that they wanted their children to walk to school when they were too close for bussing, in preference to individually driving their child to school. Have you ever noticed the large number of cars entering and leaving the school entrances each morning? What a waste of fuel.  

These ingenious parents formed walking groups of parents who escorted groups of students from their neighborhood to the school.  They established walking routes and each assigned parent would walk their route and pick up all the children along the way.  Since there are more kids than parents, any individual parent only got the duty once every two weeks or less.  A bonus for the parents was that they also got some exercise which contributed to their total fitness level.  Stay at home Mom's or parents with flexible work schedules made the return walk after school.  

The down side of all this is that not all schools are within walking distance, and regional schools are situated too far away for students to walk.  However, maybe we should think "out of the box" and have the students dropped off one mile from their school, and have assigned teachers meet them there to walk the remaining distance.  We might even give the teachers that volunteer a small stipend as we do for many extra-curricular activities.  Just a thought, but with the scope of the obesity problem and the low fitness levels or our kids, and the lack of funds for daily physical education, any and all ideas are worth considering.   

Gaetano´s blog: Getting Kids To BeActiveTips…Tips…TipsOne in ...

Gaetano´s blog:


Getting Kids To BeActive
Tips…Tips…Tips
One in ...: Getting Kids To Be Active Tips…Tips…Tips One in   Three children is overweight or obese in the United States! Deterrents to...

Getting Kids To Be Active

Tips…Tips…Tips

One in  Three children is overweight or obese in the United States!

Deterrents to childhood obesity is physical activity, so as parents we need to:

 

·         Set a great example for the whole family by creating a healthy environment at home

·         Keep fruit and veggies on hand for quick snacks and make a plan for daily family activity.

·         Having fun while being active is the key! Find activities that your child enjoys and include friends and family in the action.

·         Turn off the television. Get children moving indoors or out with fun, active games.

Good Luck in your physical education classes this year!

School sports tryouts - be in shape

If you're physically fit and well rested you'll have a better chance of making the team - whether it's football, soccer, cheerleading or any other sport.  Follow these tips to achieve it:

1.  Get at least eight hours sleep the night before

2.   Make sure you've had a high-energy meal before going to practice.

3.  Make sure you take in plenty of fluids so you don't dehydrate.

4.  Work hard but if you're too hot or feeling queasy, tell your coach and take a rest.

5.  Taking a break is not going to hurt your chances as much as puking or passing out on the field will.

Teaching Your Child to Ride a Bike.
As a parent, I spent many hours teaching my 4 children to ride a bike by holding on to the back of the bicycle seat as they pedaled and I delicately balanced them so they would not fall.  Letting go of the seat gradually, they finally mastered their sense of balance and I no longer had to run a marathon with each lesson, and I could finally ride my bike along with them.  Bike riding can be fun at any age.

Then I read an article on how to teach your child to ride a bike effortlessly.  The article said to merely remove the pedals and let the child use their legs to propel the bike as they do on their 3 wheel scooter.  The children get an immediate feel for motion and balance each time they push off from the ground.  I thought it was a terrific idea and one that would have saved me many hours of running while teaching my kids to ride more quickly.

One day last year, I saw a young child riding a bike with no pedals.  The bike was well designed and it was obvious that it had been made expressly for teaching a young child how to ride a bike without support.  The child's parent said he had purchased the bike in a store that sold such bikes and I was amazed that someone had turned a simple idea into a profitable business.  Only in America. The company that made this bike was Strider Bike.  Their web page is www.mystriderbike.com.  If you are about to teach your child to ride a bike, take a look at this site.  Also, You Tube has lots of videos, some very humorous, of children learning to ride their bike in this manner.  This is not a commercial, just a blog, and I have no special interest in this company.  Just trying to prevent adult heart attacks while teaching kids ride their bike. :)

Gaetano´s blog: Safety Education

Gaetano´s blog: Safety Education: I was once invited to do a convention program on safety education for young children.  After coming up blank with a good approach, I asked m...

Gaetano´s blog: Getting Kids to Eat Healthy Tips!

Gaetano´s blog: Getting Kids to Eat Healthy Tips!:    GETTING KIDS TO EAT HEALTHY             TIPS…TIPS…TIPS… ·          Start the day with a healthy breakfast (refuels your b...

Getting Kids to Eat Healthy Tips!

   GETTING KIDS TO EAT HEALTHY

            TIPS…TIPS…TIPS…

·         Start the day with a healthy breakfast (refuels your body and gives you energy for the day)

·         Let kids help plan one meal each week and eat together as often as possible.

·         Eat slowly!  It takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full.

·         Eat more vegetables and fresh fruits

·         Aim for a total of 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables daily

·         Eat more whole grains (oats, brown rice, rye, crackers, whole-wheat pasta),try to eat at least 3 ounces of whole grains every day.

·         Drink plenty of fluids

·          Serve a variety of foods

Visit us at:  www.getkidsmovingnow.com

Safety Education

I was once invited to do a convention program on safety education for young children.  After coming up blank with a good approach, I asked my second graders several questions. "What does it mean to be educated in math?"  They replied you could add, subtract, multiply, divide etc.  I then asked the same question for reading and they had good answers for this questions also.  Then I asked them what it meant to be educated in safety, and they immediately responded with a list of don'ts, i.e., don't throw stones, don't walk in the street, don't go down the slide backwards, etc., until one boy said "Don't climb trees".  The boy sitting next to him immediately said, "Why not.  I do it all the time", to which the first boy responded, "You might fall out of the tree".  "No I won't" was the reply, so I asked him "Why Not"?  The young boy said he would hold on tight, not step on dead branches, climb slowly etc.  The thought immediately came to mind that perhaps safety education wasn't don't do, but rather, learn how to.  Don't swim because you may drown becomes learn how to swim so you don't drown.  The classic one for parents is "Don't run, you might fall".  How about teaching children how to be good runners so they won't fall.  Learning "how to" develops a more physically educated child.  Teach them to ride their bikes, to ice skate, to ski, to swim, to do a variety of sports that will enhance their movement capability and contribute to that built in safety device that all children need in order to enjoy being physically active and stay safe while doing so.   Our motto becomes "learn how to" not "don't do".  Food for thought.

Gaetano´s blog: Thought for the Day - JOBS

Gaetano´s blog: Thought for the Day - JOBS: As we rapidly approach a new school year in the waning days of summer, be thankful that you have a job. Also, be thankful that you have an e...

Our updated web page is now complete and available for viewing.  Take a moment to particularly view our Events and News section.  Also, please be reminded that all books may be purchased on line in our "Order Now" section.  Individuals may use PayPal, and there is a purchase order form to download for schools, libraries and other groups that need one.  Parents are invited to purchase Upside Right and But Not Always as gifts for their children, or as gifts to give to other children for  birthday parties or other special occasions.  All books are shipped immediately.  Why not buy a book or two today as a gift to your child's school library.  I know your librarian will welcome them as they are good reading books for all.  Thanks for looking at our updated web page.

Thought for the Day - JOBS

As we rapidly approach a new school year in the waning days of summer, be thankful that you have a job. Also, be thankful that you have an endless supply of clients, as each year a whole new generation of children will enter kindergarten and the need for teachers to educate them will continue. You have a life long job if you want one. With it comes the responsibility of shaping the future by providing our children with the skills they will need when they enter the work force in the years ahead. Never under estimate the value of a good teacher, and strive to be the best that you can be, as our children's future, and that of our country, is dependent on you. Enjoy the new school year, and more importantly, enjoy your students.

Nadia Meets Bruce Jenner!!

Nadia Meets Bruce Jenner!!

What an unlikely place for two Olympians, Nadia Comaneci and Bruce Jenner, to meet – Louise Duffy School, West Hartford CT.  Nadia and the Romanian team held a practice session at the Duffy School in preparation for their 1976 exhibition at the Hartford Civic Center.  ABC News contacted me and asked for permission to come to Duffy to meet with Nadia for a one on one interview with Bruce Jenner.  It was the only time they could get the two together for an interview, which was to air the following morning.  What a wonderful opportunity to watch history in the making.

Bruce Jenner arrived early for the interview, but the Romanian coaches would not let the interview take place until after their team had finished their practice session. Bruce was the perfect gentleman and ordered pizza which we ate in my office as we discussed the Olympics and much more.  When the time came for the interview, Bruce, with his infectious smile, walked to the center of the gym and performed a standing back handspring much to everyone’s amazement.  It was obviously not “Olympic quality”, but nonetheless, he did not “crash land” either.  So the form was not perfect with his bent knees and bent arms causing his head to come close to the mat.  Since Nadia did not speak English, they had interpreters, but the smiles between them indicated that they were both enjoying the meeting.  The interview aired the following morning, and we at Duffy were left with more fond memories of Nadia’s visit as well as memories of having pizza with Bruce Jenner in my office.  

NADIA AND ME !

NADIA AND ME !

Watching the women’s gymnastics during the Olympics brought back many fond memories of Nadia Comaneci and the night she and the Romanian team practiced in my gym at the Louise Duffy Elementary School in West Hartford CT. They were preparing for an exhibition performance at the Hartford CT Civic Center. Wikipedia has a photo of Nadia practicing her beam routine in the Duffy gym the night before the performance.

Watching a youthful Nadia practice her routines flawlessly with perfect form and grace, left one in awe of her raw talent. Even at that young age, her intensity and concentration were signs of a true champion and were what led her to the “perfect ten” in the 1976 Olympics. It was indeed an exciting evening for the young, aspiring gymnasts from Duffy School who were invited to observe the practice session. I am fortunate to have Nadia’s autograph in my guest book along with several wonderful pictures, and to have observed a “budding star” in action long before she was famous.

Today, I saw Nadia Comaneci being interviewed on TV where she discussed her past experiences as an Olympic gymnast, the changes in the sport today, and the perseverance needed to compete successfully at this level.