I chose to do my blog on students who have suffered childhood trauma and the effects it has on their development. I chose this topic because it’s a very important subject to be knowledgeable on as an educator. While in Beloit, I was able to see a large population of students who have been impacted by childhood trauma. One of the biggest things you can do as a teacher to help a student who has suffered from trauma is provide a safe learning environment.  An example of the effect of childhood trauma is that “children may not recognize familiar adults as being associated with safety.” (Alison B, Fries, and Pollak, 2017).

As an educator, I feel in order for learning to occur my students must feel safe and comfortable around me. I understand this may be difficult for a student who has been a victim of abuse, but letting students know you are there to help them is the first step in building their trust. As we discussed inside of our class there are many different strategies you can employ as a teacher to make a student feel more comfortable inside of your classroom. The first step is making sure your entire class understands what your classroom expectations are.

Next, it’s important to think out your seating arrangement. This often is a great way to accommodate the needs of different students. For example, a student who has suffered from domestic abuse may not feel comfortable sitting next to a louder student. To better acclimate the student you could ask if there is someone they would feel most comfortable sitting next to, or you can pair them next to a more reserved student.

As an educator, I believe it’s very important to keep an open frame of mind in regards to why a student may exibt a certain type of behavior. I feel it’s important to connect with your students and attempt to find out why they behave a certain way before jumping to conclusions. I firmly believe that as a teacher, it’s your job to accommodate to all learners.

According to recent studies, “child abuse has a significant negative effect on cognitive performance” (Mert, Kelleci, Yildiz, Mizrak, and Kugu, 2016, pg.150). As a teacher, it is our responsibility to supply struggling students with resources that will provide them with an opportunity to catch up with their learning peers. There are many ways we can accomplish this. One way is to supply students with your office hours, planning periods, or times before and after school that you are available to offer additional assistance. By giving students an opportunity to seek extra help, it provides a resource when help from home or tutoring is not an option. As we discussed in class, many students who do struggle don’t have the resources outside of school to get help if they get stuck. Not having support when you are confused can have a huge impact on motivation. Being available to students gives them an opportunity to take control of their education and increases their odds of academic success. Also, by having my door open, I hope it will allow students to trust me as an adult resource.

Next, I feel it’s important as a teacher to find the root cause of a student’s behavior rather than just focusing on effective forms of discipline. In order to stop a behavior you must first determine what is causing it. Constantly reprimanding a student doesn’t fix the problem it’s just a temporary Band-Aid solution. There are many factors that influence a behavior, “psychological abuse has been linked to low self-esteem; hostility and higher aggression; anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, and dissociation, and shame, and anger.” (Alecis kennedy, 2009, pg. 77).  Lots of times teachers take students misbehavior too personally which causes them to have a negative association with that student. It’s important to keep in mind that in most cases you are not the real source of the student’s problems.

During my time at Beloit, I noticed this trend among students who came from abusive homes. One student would constantly kick his classroom aide throughout the day because of the anger issues he had. As a teacher, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to ignore that kind of misbehavior but it was crucial for the child’s development. If the teacher were to discipline the child every time he kicked, there would be no way for that child to have an opportunity to learn because they would constantly be in trouble. So instead, the teacher had to ignore the behavior and try to understand what was causing the child to act out. By understanding the child’s home environment, the teacher was able to figure out trigger points. Strangely, certain things such as praising the child would set him off.

As seen in the reading, “emotional abuse inflicted by parents may relate to hostility in the victims specifically because victims develop a sense that other people do no value them or are unlikely to be kind” (Alex kennedy, 2009, pg. 77). By the teacher discovering the child was emotionally abused at home, he was able to understand that when he would praise the child he felt as if he was being lied to. This would then trigger the child to verbally or physically attack his teacher. These experiences along with this assignment has allowed me to understand the importance of finding the reason behind a student’s classroom behavior.

 

 

Work Cited

 

Kennedy, M. A. (2009). Child Abuse. In D. Carr (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development (Vol. 1, pp. 75-79). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from http://libproxy.uww.edu:2633/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=h2o&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3273000031&asid=8e6ca777c7c9195bd6456d8d11effbab

References

Mert, D. G., Kelleci, M., Yildiz, E., Mizrak, A., & Kugu, N. (2016). Childhood trauma and general cognitive ability: Roles of minimization/denial and gender. Psychiatry Research, 243147-151. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.02.025

 

http://libproxy.uww.edu:2059/ehost/command/detail?sid=113fda7c-3126-41c9-849e-4839908b6b95%40sessionmgr4006&vid=11&hid=4206

References

Wismer Fries, A. B., & Pollak, S. D. (2017). The role of learning in social development: Illustrations from neglected children. Developmental Science, 20(2), n/a. doi:10.1111/desc.12431

http://libproxy.uww.edu:2074/ehost/command/detail?vid=9&sid=9a860d87-d411-4c74-9735-8cfa2fa5d47d%40sessionmgr120

Check out this clip!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZIf_4Eg7_Y

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good effective teaching is when you are able to engage all students and teach to all ability levels. Personally, my definition of what it means to be a good teacher hasn’t changed but I have been able to learn new characteristics that goes into being a successful teacher. Some of these characteristics are looking at a child as a whole instead of making an assumption based off behavior.

I also learned how discipline plays a big role inside the classroom. This directly relates to standard four: “teachers know how to manage a classroom”. This class definitely showed me the importance of classroom management. Prior to this class, I didn’t understand how strong of a connection there is between classroom management and student achievement. Now, I understand having good classroom management is one of the most important tools you can possess as a teacher.

However, my favorite standard I have learned in this class is standard three: “teachers understand students learn differently”(ISTE). Although I already knew people learn in many different ways, this class taught me how to teach to all learners. For example, learning about the zone of proximal development by Vygotsky allowed me to understand how to assess my student’s achievement level. I can then use that knowledge to structure my lessons in a way that the content is not too easy or overly challenging.

The most significant thing I learned this semester is the importance of having a good balance between student and teacher centered approach. I found this information to be helpful because it directly connects with student motivation and participation. Both of these concepts are things physical educators struggle the most with inside their classroom. I hope to use this knowledge by giving my students some voice in my curriculum. In return, I expect more students to willingly, participate inside of class.

Finally, this class has taught me the importance of creating a strong, meaningful, digital identity. Our world is now centered on the web, so it was very beneficial for me to learn how to build an online portfolio. Part of getting a job in today’s society is based off how you present yourself online. I was able to understand the importance of building up a professional profile on the web so when I do apply for a job they can clearly see my passion for teaching. I will continue to post important papers and content onto my blog page because I know it will benefit me down the road. I am very thankful for the lessons and experience I have had through the foundation block courses and hope to continue learning the skills to be the best teacher I can be.

 

https://psysc613.wikispaces.com/Core+Ideas+of+Development

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Yqr4PByOY

https://www.iste.org/standards/standards/for-students

Question 1-

Motivation is one of the biggest influences over a child’s education. Finding what motivates your students is one of the most challenging yet important skills to have as a teacher. One of the first things you can do to impact a student’s motivation is providing a positive learning environment. As we discussed on Thursday, a positive learning environment is one of the biggest contributors to student success. If a student is in a poor learning environment they will most likely feel uncomfortable participating and asking questions in class. As a result, if a student is unable to learn and feel comfortable in your classroom, their motivation to do work and engage will greatly decrease.

In order to ensure this doesn’t happen inside of my classroom, I will be sure to have clear behavior and academic expectations listed in my classroom. Even more importantly, I will be sure to review and strictly enforce my expectations with the class.

Another factor I have learned about in my foundation block class is the importance of a community. Environmental background, including where students are raised and how their community perceives education can contribute to student success and failure. In professor, Elliot’s class, we learned how the black community sees education as a form of involuntary assimilation to white culture. Being forced to do anything causes a people to often push away from what they are being compelled to do. Because the black community has these feelings of forced education, they tend to devalue it.

To make things even worse, black students often don’t have access to the same resources as white children. The reading “digital responsibility” explains impact technology resources can have on a child’s education. For example black student’s lack of access to these critical resources increases the achievement gap between these two cultures. Because of this difference, black students are far less likely to possess an equal level of motivation to complete their school work. Without access to this advanced technology, they are treated almost as second class citizens who aren’t afforded the same resources as every other child. In addition to their lack of motivation, they are surrounded by other people who were also improperly educated. These previous generations pass had a bad experience in school so they pass down their belief that school is just a waste of time.

As a teacher, I feel like it’s part of my job to prove to students why education is important. On the first day of every year, I plan on making a presentation to my students that proves to them the importance of physical education. I hope I will inspire them to see not only value in physical education but also their education experience as a whole.

Question 2-

STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Unit Title: _Module 5 backwards design_______________________________________                                                                        Established Goals: Creating a unit where my students will understand how to create a workout routine and acquire the ability to demonstrate the proper forms of each exercise. I also plan on having my student’s create a meal plan which will allow them to know what goes into a healthy diet and how your diet relates to exercise. Hopefully, by the end of this lesson my students will know what it takes to be healthy and active for a lifetime.
Understandings: Students will understand that… ·       The ability to be active and healthy for a lifetime. ·       What does a good workout routine look like? ·       How to work well with a team.	Essential Questions: ·       What is considered an active lifestyle? ·       What is considered a healthy lifestyle? ·       Why is important to learn about what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle?
Students will know: ·       How to properly create a workout plan. ·       How big of a difference living a healthy lifestyle has on your mood. ·        Knowledge of how to preform basic exercises. ·        Last they will learn how to work with a variety of other people to complete different tasks.	Students will be able to: ·       Understand how much physical activity they should have in a day in order to maintain an active lifestyle. ·       Understand what a proper healthy diet consists of and what calorie intake they should aim for each day. ·        Last they will learn what a healthy lifestyle should consist of in regards to alcohol and drug use.

 

STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks: Create a workout routine with a partner along with a food plan. Your plan has to be specific, based on whether or not you are trying to: ü  bulk up and gain weight along with muscle mass, ü  tone your muscles but not gain weight, ü  or, determine  how to lose weight in a healthy manner and get back into shape.	Other Evidence: You must be able to demonstrate the proper techniques of each exercise you chose for your workout regimen. You must also only allow yourself three cheat meals where you can choose to eat out or make something special Last, your food plan should stay within the weekly budget assigned.
Key Criteria: The ability to construct a workout plan then properly demonstrate how to preform each exercise. You also have to make yourself a meal plan so you can learn how to map out your food for the week. This causes it to be easier to stick to a healthy diet. Also by putting a reasonable budget in place and only allowing them three cheat/eat out meals, it will give students the knowledge they need for when they leave high school and become in charge of their own meals. Healthy food also tends to be a lot more expensive so discovering cheap, healthy options now will help them find ways to stay on a budget while eating healthy.

 

STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN

Summary of Learning Activities:   I plan on spending the first half of the week of class going over safety procedures in the locker room. During this time, I will demonstrate how different machines work and explain different exercises you can do with them, along with showing the proper technique for each. Then I will spend the second half of the next week showing different free weight exercises as well as how to do super sets and demonstrate what muscle groups are easiest to focus on together when designing a workout. Then for the next week, I will spend the first few days explaining how to create a workout routine and demonstrate what a warm ups should consist of and so on. I will also get into what types of reps you should do and what kind of exercises are good for building muscle mass vs what’s good for getting toned or losing weight. Last, I will spend the remainder of the week going over what a proper diet consists of. This means I will discuss how different types of food impact your body differently and what meals will give you the results you are looking for. I feel it’s really important to be thorough during these first few weeks because students need to understand how go about getting in shape in a safe, healthy manner. Next, I will give my students a week to come up with a workout routine for themselves and their partner. Then, I will have them spend the next week making a food plan to go along with their workout routine. The last week of the unit will be spent with the students demonstrating the exercise routine they created and I will grade them on proper form. After that, I will have them sit down and explain why they chose those exercises and what type of results they were hoping to get. Then I will have them tell me why they chose the foods they selected and explain how their food choices connect to their workout routine.

Throughout my future career as an educator I expect to encounter diversity on a daily basis. Our schools are growing more and more diverse and as a result it’s important to understand how to make an impact on all types of students. It is very important to have a plan for how to connect with students from different cultures because they may have completely different experiences, customs and personal history.  For example, if you have a student from a different country, they could have grown up learning completely different cultural norms and values than your typical American student. One thing the book points out that you can do to connect with these students is to show interest in their background, whatever it may be. A way you could do this is by assigning content that relates to their culture. This could be done by having them write about their culture or what it’s like to be an immigrant in America. As a physical education teacher, one thing I could do is have a student teach the class their favorite game they used to play in their former country.  I could also ask them to share thought about their favorite sport, and ask if their cultural background had any influence on why they like that sport so much. Finding a way to connect your curriculum to a student’s culture is a great motivator for students to do the work because it’s something they are passionate about. As a teacher, leading by example by being open to new cultures and ideas is extremely important because you will influence other students to do the same.

Another important thing to do as a teacher is to avoid making assumptions. In the podcast Batman that we listened to for pluralistic, it demonstrates just how big of an impact expectations can have. The podcast explains how expectations have a tremendous impact on that person’s ability. For example, if we expect someone to be smart because they are Asian, they are likely to believe they actually are smarter and live up to that expectation.

Expectations also can have negative effects as well. For instance, if you assume a student is stupid because they are Hispanic that student is more likely to believe they really do lack intelligence, which would result in them living up to the negative expectation. Therefore, as an educator one of my main objectives is to be open to all cultures. One way to accomplish this might be that on the first day of school, I could have each student tell me something they are good at that makes them smart. By doing that, I will know that each one of my students are smart in some way and I will be sure to treat them as such. In conclusion, as a teacher I will be sure to keep an open mind to all cultures and do my best to focus on the unique benefits each has to offer.

Today I am going to answer a few important questions about different perspectives of learning, the limitations and importance of these, and my own personal belief. First I will go over the differences between behaviorist and cognitive perspectives of learning. “The behaviorist perspective of learning focuses on the new behaviors themselves that are learned” (pg. 312). These are things like controlling your classroom so you can create the best possible learning environment for your students. So in this philosophy we learned a lot about how to motivate students to behave appropriately and do their work. Whereas “cognitive perspective discusses more about the knowledge and strategies are learned, then changes in knowledge and strategies make changes in behavior possible” (pg. 312). We are taught the different levels of cognitive development and how to teach at these different stages. Even more importantly we learned about how students actually process information and what their memory capacity is and how we can get our students to effectively retain the most amount of information possible. Both of these concepts are very important to apply to your class room instruction because it allows us as teachers to create the best possible learning environment in our classroom. It also allows for us to understand different laws of learning. This understanding will give us knowledge on how our students’ brains work and develop, which allows for us to structure our teaching in a way that our students will be able to retain the most possible amount of information during our lesson. For cognitive learning some of the limitations we have as teachers is that you have to teach in a way that coincides with the level of cognitive development you class falls under. An even harder aspect is appealing to all students. This is really hard because all students develop at different times. This means that some of your students may not be developmentally ready to retain some of the material you are teaching them. As a result teachers must carefully think through how they present their material. As for behavioral development, we have some of the same issues as cognitive development but some new challenges as well. For example, in order to create the best learning environment possible for your class you may have to kick students out of the room or have them sit away from the rest of the class. The challenge with this is you need to find a balance where that student isn’t taking away the ability for students around him to learn while at the same time your punishment shouldn’t be taking away from their ability to learn. After looking at the table on page 468 I felt the rolls of the teacher and student were very good. However, I disagree with the idea that peers have no role in behavioral and cognitive development. I disagree with this because I feel like peers have a huge roll in both of these. For behavioral, I feel that if students watch their peers behave in the correct manner they are much more likely to copy their behavior so they can conform. In addition, cognitive learning from peers is one of the most effective tools a student can have. Through all your years in school you are going to have the same classmates basically until college so it’s crucial that students learn how to use one another as a resource to gain new information. Kids seem to learn the best from kids and I know for a fact the best way for someone to learn is by teaching someone else. When I become a teacher I know I will apply these different strategies in my classroom in the hope of creating the best learning environment possible.

Eddie Petrak

 

 

There are many different ways people develop and construct knowledge. Different kids go through different developmental changes at different times so as a result it’s our jobs as teachers to appeal to all students. Piaget does a great job of outlining these different stages of development. Piaget figured out that students develop cognitively as they grow just like how they grow psychically. So he created four stages of development. The first stage is from the years 0-2 and during this stage he said children develop sensorimotor skills. This means during this age gap children gather information about the world trough sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. The next stage is the preoperational stage which happens between the ages 2-7. During this stage children start to engage in pretend play and they start to understand symbols. Next we have the concrete operational stage, this occurs between the ages of 7-11. During this stage kids begin to understand mathematics and form the ability to understand sizes and portions “water in glass experiment”. Last from the ages 12 and up children enter the formal operational stage. During this stage kids are able to reason about different concepts and moral reasoning is believed to be developed during this stage. However I feel that one of the biggest impacts on a student’s learning is the classroom environment. Luckily this is something we can control as teachers. However it can be a challenging to find what forms of discipline your students respond best. As they go through different stages of development teachers must also adapt and use different types of reinforces. One of the most effective ways to influence all aged student’s behavior according to (Alper and Heward 1997, p. 277; Alber and Heward, 2000) “the systematic application of praise and attention may be the most powerful motivational and classroom management tool available to teachers”. By carefully selecting when to give attention and praise to students we influence them to behave properly. By being selective once praise is given it has an even stronger impact on your students. This concept is the same way inflation works with currency. If you just constantly print out and give people hundred dollar bills eventually it won’t be worth anything. This is because if everyone has hundreds of dollars available to them it won’t carry the same value it once had. So as a teacher you have to be extremely selective when you give out both negative and positive reinforcement so it will have significance when you use it. Although teacher reinforcement can be very effective in your classroom you must find other meaningful reinforces in order to further impact students behavior. This is where the response cost theory comes into play. As described by Walker, Shea, and Bauer (2004) “For certain infractions of the rules, people must lose some reinforcer-money, time, privileges”. Teacher reinforcement is great but if a student is behaving badly you need to have fair and meaningful punishments prepared to combat this behavior. The best way to find meaningful punishments is to observe what your students enjoy to do in their free time. However there are some cautions you should be aware of before you give out a punishment however. Students must be fully aware of the classroom rules and the repercussions of breaking one of these rules. Another important thing we must understand as teachers is that just giving out a punishment ineffective. This is because “It tells students what to stop doing (often they knew that already), but it does not teach them what to do instead (Kazdin, 2008). This is a crucial aspect in changing a student’s behavior because it teaches them what they can do to avoid getting in trouble again. Hopefully by reading this post you will be able to grasp a better knowledge on how to effectively impact your student’s behavior inside your classroom. If you are able to use some of the methods listed above you should be able to maintain the best possible learning environment for your class.

 

All information was taken out of our Educational Psychology book citation is below.

Anita Woolfolk, Alber, Heward, Walker, Shea, Bauer, and Kazdin. (2014). Educational Psychology 12 Edition.

There are many different ways people develop and construct knowledge. Different kids go through different developmental changes at different times so as a result it’s our jobs as teachers to appeal to all students. One of the biggest impacts on a student’s learning is the classroom environment. Luckily this is something we can control as teachers. However it can be a challenging to find what forms of discipline your students respond best. As they go through different stages of development teachers must also adapt and use different types of reinforces. One of the most effective ways to influence all aged student’s behavior according to (Alper and Heward 1997, p. 277; Alber and Heward, 2000) “the systematic application of praise and attention may be the most powerful motivational and classroom management tool available to teachers”. By carefully selecting when to give attention and praise to students we influence them to behave properly. By being selective once praise is given it has an even stronger impact on your students. This concept is the same way inflation works with currency. If you just constantly print out and give people hundred dollar bills eventually it won’t be worth anything. This is because if everyone has hundreds of dollars available to them it won’t carry the same value it once had. So as a teacher you have to be extremely selective when you give out both negative and positive reinforcement so it will have significance when you use it. Although teacher reinforcement can be very effective in your classroom you must find other meaningful reinforces in order to further impact students behavior. This is where the response cost theory comes into play. As described by Walker, Shea, and Bauer (2004) “For certain infractions of the rules, people must lose some reinforcer-money, time, privileges”. Teacher reinforcement is great but if a student is behaving badly you need to have fair and meaningful punishments prepared to combat this behavior. The best way to find meaningful punishments is to observe what your students enjoy to do in their free time. However there are some cautions you should be aware of before you give out a punishment however. Students must be fully aware of the classroom rules and the repercussions of breaking one of these rules. Another important thing we must understand as teachers is that just giving out a punishment ineffective. This is because “It tells students what to stop doing (often they knew that already), but it does not teach them what to do instead (Kazdin, 2008). This is a crucial aspect in changing a student’s behavior because it teaches them what they can do to avoid getting in trouble again. Hopefully by reading this post you will be able to grasp a better knowledge on how to effectively impact your student’s behavior inside your classroom. If you are able to use some of the methods listed above you should be able to maintain the best possible learning environment for your class.

All information was taken out of our Educational Psychology book citation is below.
Anita Woolfolk, Alber, Heward, Walker, Shea, Bauer, and Kazdin. (2014). Educational Psychology 12 Edition.

Research is a huge component of our education system and it’s only going to get bigger. In order to be a successful educator you need to be up to date with the constant changes happening in our world today. It seems like every other day there is a new discovery or study that completely changes our perspective. Now with the internet, the amount of resources available to us are limitless and all at our fingertips. This boundless information creates a unique challenge for educators. As a teacher you must be very careful when selecting an article to share with your class. The adeptness to know if an article is not only relevant but accurate, makes the ability to have strong information literacy an essential skill. To have strong information literacy you must first be able to recognize that databases and sources are reliable. Next you must find an article that is not only up to date with current events but is also compatible to your student’s level of knowledge in your selected subject matter. Lastly, you’re obligated to find something that is contemplative and interesting.  Materials that will capture your student’s attention and make them reflect on the content you are trying to teach. As a future educator, I must possess very strong information literacy skills. As a teacher, I will have to discover relevant articles to share in the classroom, and also instruct students on how become informationally literate so they can perform their own research. The need to be informationally literate will only continue to expand and as an educator I must always remain current and aquire new sources of research.

Like any other student, I am not a fan of doing homework.  However, I do find it beneficial and important.  As a teacher, you need to assign a reasonable workload.   Quantity does not always equate to better student achievement.   “Assigning more homework does not lead to better homework performance when teachers do not consider other homework characteristics, specifically the purpose for each homework task (Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001)”.  However, if the workload is practicable, homework is a great way for students to develop important time management skills. “Latter, Xu (2010) found a positive relationship between students’ grade level, organized environment, and homework time management”.  Although time management is an important skill for students to learn, it’s not the main reason why we are required to do homework. Assigning homework is not only a way for students to practice what they’ve learned, but also a way for students to “practice of concepts already discussed and preparation for upcoming material (Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001)”. This is a very important tool for teachers.  It provides students with background knowledge and lets them jump right into the lesson. Homework also brings students to class with questions and a readiness to participate in discussion.  Finally, you cannot argue with the notion that “homework appears to have positive effects on student performance at all levels of achievement (Keith ; 1982, p. 251)”. Although I regret to admit, homework is an essential component to a quality education.   I must conclude that Mrs. Brandy Young is hampering her student’s educational growth by not assigning homework.

Works Cited

Valle, Antonio, et al. “Academic Goals, Student Homework Engagement, And Academic Achievement In Elementary School.” Frontiers In Psychology (2016): 1-10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.

 

Works Cited

Rosário, Pedro, et al. “Does Homework Design Matter? The Role Of Homework’s Purpose In Student Mathematics Achievement.” Contemporary Educational Psychology 43.(2015): 10-24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.

 

Works Cited

Maltese, Adam V., Robert H. Tai, and Fan Xitao. “When Is Homework Worth The Time? Evaluating The Association Between Homework And Achievement In High School Science And Math.” High School Journal 96.1 (2012): 52-72. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.

 

Works Cited

Natriello, Gary, and Edward L. McDill. “Performance Standards, Student Effort On Homework, And Academic Achievement.” Sociology Of Education 59.1 (1986): 18-31. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2017.

My name is Eddie Petrak,

I am from Burr Ridge Illinois located about 20-30 minutes south of the Chicago and I am sophomore here at whitewater majoring in physical education. Growing up I honestly hated going to school mostly because it was hard for me. However the one class I really excelled at was physical education. As a student I noticed that the students who excelled in other subjects were often more likely to substitute an extracurricular activity for gym class. And for the few who did go to class were less likely to participate. Unfortunately the lack of participation was a common trend among all students. Lucky for me I had a great health teacher named Mr. Bondi who I met through our schools bass fishing club. We both shared an interest in fishing and soon were able to connect on a personal level. Mr. Bondi helped me see the value physical education and explained the many issues that are going on in the field. The best part of physical education is that it allows you to have a truly unique impact on your students’ lives. Unlike math and since where the majority of the information you learn will never be used again. Physical education allows for teachers to impact a person’s health for the rest of their lives. By having Mr. Bondi be a part of my life he helped me understand what it meant to be a good teacher. A good teacher is someone who can connect their content to their students and current issues that effects their lives and explain why their content is valuable to learn. Our textbook backed my claim by giving research that showed students are far more successful when their teacher is able to connect with them. The ability to understanding students likes and dislikes then tailoring their lesion to incorporate their student’s interests is what separated the good and bad teachers. I also read an article by Yona Leyser called the impact of training in mainstreaming techniques. In this article she explained just how big of an impact a teacher’s attitude has on their students. She explained how students merrier your behavior and often reflect the same amount of enthusiasm that you give. Clips one and two on D2L defend this claim and further shows that passion makes the teacher. The two clips are complete opposites in clip one we saw a passionate teacher which lead to a passionate audience. However in the second clip the teacher is simply presenting the information and doesn’t show to the audience the information is valuable to him so they in return have the same attitude. During my years in physical education I have mostly experienced teachers like the second clip. Because of the lack of passion towards physical education I think is one of the primary reasons our nation is so obese. I hope to be like the teacher in clip one so I can actually make an impact in students’ lives.

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