Getting Students Motivated

I feel that one of the greatest challenges of being a PE teacher will be motivating the students to participate. Especially those in junior high. Although this will not be a problem for many of the students, it will be quite a challenge for others. Some students could care less about physical activitiy and the health benefits that result. So how can we as teachers motivate them to care even a little bit? I know firsthand how hard this is as I conduct all of the games for my church's youth group, teen retreats, and summer camps. There is always those handful of students who never want to do anything. They don't want to change clothes, sweat, or move and it can be really frustrating, especially when you see how much potential they have. I guess the best thing is to be patient with them and give them tasks that are challenging to them but not too hard, and will cause them to feel pressured or embarrassed. This will be an issue that PE teachers will always face and have to deal with.

This Semester is Flying

Wow! I cannot believe that this semester is already almost over. There are only two more weeks of classes and then finals! It seems to me that we just got back from summer break. But here we are it's almost December and Christmas is just around the corner. This is one of my favorite times of the year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, everyone seems so much happier in how they act and treat others. But people can also get caught up in the spending and buying presents for everyone that they lose the true joy of the season. Don't get me wrong, I love presents, and I think giving gifts to others is something that is important, but when you totally focus on that aspect of Christmas, and neglect family and friends, you've taken it too far. So let's remember to enjoy this time of the year and celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Greatest Job in the World

What job could be better than being a PE teacher. Someone asks you what you do at work and you get to say,"I play games with kids all day!" I just can't think of any career better than that. Yeah it's not going to be all fun and games, but it will still be a great job. There will be a lot of work out of class time like creating lesson plans, developing ways to assess students, etc. Even though we will be playing with children all day, we have to remember that we are still educators, and our students need to be learning. This is important to justify that PE class is necessary and is beneficial for students. They can learn so many things that is only possible through this field. And hopefully they will remember what they've learned and use it the rest of their lives. Not only will we help students live healthier, fuller lives, but we will be accomplishing this while having fun!

SRU's Disc Golf Course

I think that putting the disc golf course on campus was a great idea. It must be relatively inexpensive to build, since all that was really required were the pins, chained baskets to throw the disc at. It is a good option for those who live on campus and are looking for something to do. Playing disc golf is also a good thing because it gets people outside and moving, rather than sitting in their dorms and watching TV and surfing the web. But not too many people know that this course even exists. The only way I knew about it was from my friend who is really into disc golf. He asked me to play with him one, and I enjoyed it. It is not very difficult course, having few obstacles to throw around, so it is good for beginners. And I am by no means good at this game, and I was able to play a decent game. Like I said before it is a good outlet for those who want to get off the couch and move around.