Becoming a Teacher

The reason why I choose to become a teacher was not a very simple one. I thought there were other jobs that I would love to do where I wouldn't have to deal with over zealous, hyperactive, or intensely unmotivated students. I could do something with business or with math where I could sit in an office for hours work all day and make a ton of money. Then I thought to myself that sounds nothing like me at all. I am one of those people who have to constantly be moving around and am one of the most active people on the face of the earth.

I thought to myself I know for a fact that I want to be a coach, whether it be at the high school level or at the college level. The best way I could get to that goal and still be an active person is through an education degree. The next step was finding the right subject for me to go into, well as long as I am staying an active person what better way to be an active educator than through a physical education class. I am so happy to be learning how to make students fascinated about physical education and excited to be teaching a subject where not only the kids can be active but I can be active as well.

Obesity

One of the biggest problems that we have in the United States of America is the problem of obesity. Two thirds of the United States of America is either obese or overweight. There are many reasons why there is obesity in the United States and they include the environment that we live, the amount of fast food that we eat, and the genetics of our parents. One way that we can better ourselves in our life eating habits is to follow the food pyramid.

Making sure you hit all the food groups when eating all of your breakfast, lunch, and dinner is very important. Eating fruits & vegetables, grains, meats, and dairy's is very important to make sure you get all the nutrients to contain a well balanced diet. Making sure you also get the right amount exercise everyday is very important. Getting sixty minutes of play a day is the recommended amount of exercise that every person should get in a days work.

Physical Activity

Physical activity is the answer. There are times when I am completely burned out mentally and just have nothing left to give to an assignment or to study and the way that I am best able to clear my head is through physical activity. During a stressful day and there is no more left in the tank as a student or as a worker and you need some way to get rid of some unwanted stress the best way that I could think of to get rid of that stress is to just go outside and run around.

Some of the ways that I go and get rid of stress is I go to the gym and I like to shoot around a little bit. If there are some guys at the gym then we will have ourselves a little pick up game. Playing basketball at the open gym times is one of my favorite things to do during the winter time, especially since there is almost nothing to do outside with the blistering cold. If are one of those people who appreciate a good snowball fight though then maybe you are a person who can appreciate a little cold and get a little exercise that way.

IAAPHERD

I went to a conference about IAAPHERD a couple of weeks ago and there were some very interesting things going on at the conference. There were a number of little games going on throughout the day and there were a huge amount of Physical Educators there. It was really quite amazing to see all of the people there wanting to learn more about the Physical Education lifestyle and it was a really amazing workshop to be able to go to. There were all types of new games being sold and there were all types of equipment and physical education clothes. There was just so much to do around the entire workshop.

The part of the conference that I went to were the dance sessions that were in some of the ballrooms. They were all very interesting to watch and they were very helpful as a new and upcoming teacher. This was a very interesting place to go to and I am very glad that I decided to make the trip to see what IAAPHERD was all about. It was cool to see all of the different types of games that can be played and the number of people that were present at this convention really made me take a different perspective on my profession. There are an abundant number of people in just the state of Illinois who take educating young minds about the ways of Physical Education that it makes me believe that there is still hope that we can change the ways of this country and make life a healthier and safer place to live.

Mat Ball

Mat Ball was one of my favorite physical education games to play in high school. It was a school favorite and we normally played on the last day of the week or on a special occasion. We did not actually have a Mat Ball unit at my school so when we played it was rare and there was a very good amount of cooperation by all of the students in the class. The game is a mixture of kickball and baseball. It is a very active game and not many people are stationary while playing.

The rules of the game are very simple as long as they are explained correctly and with certain points emphasized. The rules that come from baseball are you must run the bases in order from right to left or counter-clockwise, which ever is better understood by your students, if you catch the ball in the air then the person who kicked the ball is automatically out, and you can move base to base whenever you like as long as you believe you will not get out. The main kickball rule that crosses over in the game of Mat Ball is if a runner is not on a base and is hit with the ball that runner is then called out. The differences from the regular rules are not that much of a stretch but they are quite difficult to remember at first, but once you get used to the rules it is easy to adapt. The rules are as follows: there are no foul balls; every ball kicked is a fair ball, if the batter does not kick a fly ball that is caught then that person automatically gets to advance to first base, and there are five bases including home plate; which are normally in the four corners of the gym, and the final complex rule of Mat Ball is that you can run from base to base however you please, you can stay on a base for how many batters you want and as many people can be on a base as long as they want. If the teacher chooses they can make a certain height on the back wall be a home run, as long as the ball is kicked in the air and is higher than the marked spot.

The pros of the game is that all class members can participate in the game if they apply themselves. There is a lot of cardio when running the bases and there is critical thinking happening during the game because of the strategy that goes into playing the complex game. The game is also a good team builder and makes the students work as a group for a common goal. Some of the cons of the game include standing in line waiting to kick and having those handful of students who do not want to play just because they are having a bad day or whatever reason they have for not participating. Those handful of students can cause problems with the kids who are very competitive and want to win at all costs, even if it means hurting the feelings of a classmate. There are also the kids who throw the ball to hard at their classmates when the runner is trying to go from base to base, but with good classroom management you can take care of all those cons. In the end, the game was a school favorite where I come from and I am sure if you can get the rules down for your students it can be a favorite for your students as well.

B.E.E.F. Simple Shooting Technique

Learning the proper technique to shoot a basketball is a simple process, but takes quite a bit of practice to master. The simplest way to teach someone how to properly shoot a basketball, and the way that I was first taught is to remember B.E.E.F. If you can remember the four simple words that go along with the acronym B.E.E.F. you can become a master at shooting a basketball just like the professionals on television. The four words which coincide with the acronym B.E.E.F are Balance, Eyes, Elbow, and Follow-Through.

Let’s take this step by step. Balance is the first word and probably the most important part of shooting a basketball. Having good balance while shooting a basketball is critical because if you are off balance too much to the left or to the right then your shot will not go directly towards your target. The second step of B.E.E.F. is your eyes; having a good aiming point on the basket is very important. Personally, I aim for the back part of the rim or more commonly known as the “back iron”. Being concentrated and having good eye contact on your target is critical in the process of becoming a good shooter. The next part of the basketball shooting process B.E.E.F. is your elbow. In this step of the process the third step will get some help from the second step. In order to make the basketball go into a cylindrical hoop, which is ten feet off of the ground, you have to have the right arc and trajectory. Having your elbow above your eyes when you finish your process is a good finishing point for your shooting arm, and will help you put the ball in the right trajectory. The final step of the shooting process known as B.E.E.F. is follow-through. After you have balance, you have your eyes on the target, and you have finished with your elbow above your eyes, the follow through of your shooting hand helps with the proper rotation of the ball. The follow-through will help make the rotation of the basketball, and this is helpful because if your shot is long or short the rotation could help the ball bounce into the hoop.