Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Conundrum...
There are certain books that I cover in my class that I usually really enjoy teaching and really sink my teeth into. I end up taking an inter-disciplinary approach but do it all in my classroom (because I have a hard time getting other teachers to work with me in any specific timeline), so I end up having the kids do research and having guest speakers come in and really delve into topics that I feel are important for the students. These topics that I do this with are important topics that can, unfortunately, have a major impact on the students’ lives. This year I have a conundrum. A topic that I normally go into with my students in great detail, and I feel is extremely valuable to them, unfortunately hits a little too close to home for me this year because of a trauma I experienced recently in my personal life. I am torn between doing what I think is most beneficial for the students and bagging the assignment and greatly minimizing the depth that I would go into the topic in an attempt at self-preservation. The professional me and personal me are at odds…
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
NJCCCS Health and Physical Education
New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards for
Health and Physical Education
The New Jersey Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards is an educational reaction to critical public health issues. Poor health behaviors established in the school years, persisting into adulthood, lead to serious health problems for the entire nation. Numerous studies link a sedentary lifestyle to health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity. To ensure overall wellness, complex multidisciplinary interventions are needed.
The Standards for Health and Physical Education is designed to identify what students should know and be able to do as a result of instruction in school. The standards strive to provide the following essential elements of quality health and physical education programs: promotion of each student’s optimum physical, emotional, and social development; providing experiences that support a variety of physical activity areas; integration of health issues and problems that impact the quality of life; incorporation of technology for research and use of reliable sources of health information; and student-centered interactive learning with a focus on discussion, modeling, research, and skill practice.
The NJCCCS for Health and Physical Education is divided into five content standards and one integrated skills standard. The five standards include the following: wellness, drugs and medicine, human relationships and sexuality, motor skill development, and fitness. The integrated skills standard seeks to foster health behaviors through decision-making, communication, and active participation and is to be incorporated into each of the other Health and Physical Education Standards. A recent revision has led to the addition of strands such as character and leadership development, health advocacy, and health services and careers.
Strengths:
· Grounded in research (A Call to Action 2001, Healthy People 2010)
· Organization into strands makes it easy to develop objectives for planning
· Technology is integrated into several strands
· Addresses a multitude of areas of well-being: physical, emotional, psychological, and social
· Encourages student-centered active learning
· Stresses the direct link between being physically active and achieving academic success
· Helps students understand the link between physical activity and good health
· Addresses the need to have children to embrace lifetime physical activities
· Focuses on individual progress and performance monitoring
· Includes personal goal setting and character development
· Provides students with medically accurate information about abstinence and contraception
· Addresses a myriad of health topics
Weaknesses:
· Over 70% of CPI’s are in the bottom half of Bloom’s Taxonomy
· Weak in encouraging critical thinking skills
· Standards are written in “content” standard form instead of “performance” standard form; this leaves teachers wondering “how good is good enough?”
· Some CPI’s, such as “act as a leader and a follower,” are subjective and difficult to measure
· High demands on teacher to cover extensive health CPI’s in state mandated 2.5 hours per week of health, safety and physical education
· The CPI’s overlap and repeat within grade levels instead of building upon them
· No suggestions for meeting needs of students with physical disabilities in physical education strands
· Absolutely no recommendations for how to address needs of a diverse populationà i.e. learning disabled, foreign born, ELL, etc.
· No evidence of multicultural or inclusive activities
· No website references or lesson ideas to assist with planning
· Does not mandate that students not be taken from PE for other activities
· Does not require the student-teacher ratio to be equal to other academic areas
· Nutrition is taught by PE teacher or elementary teacher; in best case, only required to take one semester of nutrition in college
· Does not specify which model of healthy eating should be used
· Does not specify minimum amount of time that students should spend in moderate to vigorous activity
· Need to address sexual behaviors and contraceptives earlier; they are addressed after many teens have already started becoming sexually active
· Nothing specific concerning cafeteria, etc.
· Does not encourage community involvement
Curriculum Development/Connections to Readings
· Supports the principle that an effective education program contributes to a child’s academic learning
· Promotes taking responsibility for one’s own health in relation to stress, eating, exposure to disease, and prevention of injury
· Integrates a full range of health issues that impact quality of life
· The overview addresses the idea of changing school policy to support the standards, but there is no recommendation on how to ensure that the standards are being supported through policy-i.e. playground and cafeteria
· Character development
· Tries to counter “hidden” curriculum by bringing it into the actual curriculumà i.e. bullying
· Pushes for abstinence—morality
Improvements:
· Should mandate having a nutritionist on staff in each district to fully address the nutritional educational needs of the student population
· Should include suggestions for an interdisciplinary approach
· Should mandate community outreach
· Should include more multicultural topics and be inclusive of students with disabilities and other special needs
· Mandate some sort of support program that kids can go to safely (pos. anonymously or confidentially) to seek help/advice/discussion for many of the difficult topics brought up in class that they have to deal with that they might not feel comfortable discussing in class
· Schools, staff, and teachers should model fitness as well as nutritional and healthy habits
Resources:
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. (2002). Status of Physical Education in the USA: Shape of
the Nation Report, 2001. Oxon Hill, MD: AAHPERD Publications.
Agency of Agriculture- Food and Markets, Vermont Department of Education and Vermont Department of Health. (2005). Vermont
Nutrition and Fitness Policy Guidelines. Vermont: Agency of Agriculture- Food and Markets, Vermont Department of
Education and Vermont Department of Health.
Burger, M., Cardinal, B. & Cardinal, M. (2005). Lifetime Fitness for Health Course Assessment: Implications for Curriculum
Improvement. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance, 76(8), 48-52.
Chen, A., & Ennis, C. (2004). Goals, Interests, and Learning in Physical Education. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(6), 329-
338.
Denny, G., & Young, M. (2006). An Evaluation of an Abstinence-only Sex Education Curriculum: An 18-month Follow-up. Journal of
School Health, 76(8), 414-425.
Gabbard, C. (2000). Physical Education: Should It Be in the Core Curriculum? Principal, 79(3), 29-31.
Green, G., Reese, S. (2006). Childhood Obesity: A Growing Phenomenon for Physical Educators. Education, 127(1), 121-124.
Macdonald, Doune and Lisa Hunter. (2005). Lessons Learned…About Curriculum: Five Years on and a Half a World Away. Journal
of Teaching in Physical Education, 24, 111-126.
Pateman, B. (2003). Linking National Subject Area Standards with Priority Health-Risk Issues in PK-12
Curricula and Teacher Education Programs. Washington, DC: AACTE Publications. (ED 474201)
South Dakota Department of Education. (2005). Model Wellness Policy. Pierre, South Dakota: Child and Adult Nutrition Services-
South Dakota Department of Education.
Weasmer, J. & Woods, A. (2006). More Than ‘An Apple a Day’: New Mandates for School Wellness. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 42(4),
166-169.
By: Corine Czepiel, Doreen Elborj & Jamie Zidle
Health and Physical Education
The New Jersey Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards is an educational reaction to critical public health issues. Poor health behaviors established in the school years, persisting into adulthood, lead to serious health problems for the entire nation. Numerous studies link a sedentary lifestyle to health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity. To ensure overall wellness, complex multidisciplinary interventions are needed.
The Standards for Health and Physical Education is designed to identify what students should know and be able to do as a result of instruction in school. The standards strive to provide the following essential elements of quality health and physical education programs: promotion of each student’s optimum physical, emotional, and social development; providing experiences that support a variety of physical activity areas; integration of health issues and problems that impact the quality of life; incorporation of technology for research and use of reliable sources of health information; and student-centered interactive learning with a focus on discussion, modeling, research, and skill practice.
The NJCCCS for Health and Physical Education is divided into five content standards and one integrated skills standard. The five standards include the following: wellness, drugs and medicine, human relationships and sexuality, motor skill development, and fitness. The integrated skills standard seeks to foster health behaviors through decision-making, communication, and active participation and is to be incorporated into each of the other Health and Physical Education Standards. A recent revision has led to the addition of strands such as character and leadership development, health advocacy, and health services and careers.
Strengths:
· Grounded in research (A Call to Action 2001, Healthy People 2010)
· Organization into strands makes it easy to develop objectives for planning
· Technology is integrated into several strands
· Addresses a multitude of areas of well-being: physical, emotional, psychological, and social
· Encourages student-centered active learning
· Stresses the direct link between being physically active and achieving academic success
· Helps students understand the link between physical activity and good health
· Addresses the need to have children to embrace lifetime physical activities
· Focuses on individual progress and performance monitoring
· Includes personal goal setting and character development
· Provides students with medically accurate information about abstinence and contraception
· Addresses a myriad of health topics
Weaknesses:
· Over 70% of CPI’s are in the bottom half of Bloom’s Taxonomy
· Weak in encouraging critical thinking skills
· Standards are written in “content” standard form instead of “performance” standard form; this leaves teachers wondering “how good is good enough?”
· Some CPI’s, such as “act as a leader and a follower,” are subjective and difficult to measure
· High demands on teacher to cover extensive health CPI’s in state mandated 2.5 hours per week of health, safety and physical education
· The CPI’s overlap and repeat within grade levels instead of building upon them
· No suggestions for meeting needs of students with physical disabilities in physical education strands
· Absolutely no recommendations for how to address needs of a diverse populationà i.e. learning disabled, foreign born, ELL, etc.
· No evidence of multicultural or inclusive activities
· No website references or lesson ideas to assist with planning
· Does not mandate that students not be taken from PE for other activities
· Does not require the student-teacher ratio to be equal to other academic areas
· Nutrition is taught by PE teacher or elementary teacher; in best case, only required to take one semester of nutrition in college
· Does not specify which model of healthy eating should be used
· Does not specify minimum amount of time that students should spend in moderate to vigorous activity
· Need to address sexual behaviors and contraceptives earlier; they are addressed after many teens have already started becoming sexually active
· Nothing specific concerning cafeteria, etc.
· Does not encourage community involvement
Curriculum Development/Connections to Readings
· Supports the principle that an effective education program contributes to a child’s academic learning
· Promotes taking responsibility for one’s own health in relation to stress, eating, exposure to disease, and prevention of injury
· Integrates a full range of health issues that impact quality of life
· The overview addresses the idea of changing school policy to support the standards, but there is no recommendation on how to ensure that the standards are being supported through policy-i.e. playground and cafeteria
· Character development
· Tries to counter “hidden” curriculum by bringing it into the actual curriculumà i.e. bullying
· Pushes for abstinence—morality
Improvements:
· Should mandate having a nutritionist on staff in each district to fully address the nutritional educational needs of the student population
· Should include suggestions for an interdisciplinary approach
· Should mandate community outreach
· Should include more multicultural topics and be inclusive of students with disabilities and other special needs
· Mandate some sort of support program that kids can go to safely (pos. anonymously or confidentially) to seek help/advice/discussion for many of the difficult topics brought up in class that they have to deal with that they might not feel comfortable discussing in class
· Schools, staff, and teachers should model fitness as well as nutritional and healthy habits
Resources:
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. (2002). Status of Physical Education in the USA: Shape of
the Nation Report, 2001. Oxon Hill, MD: AAHPERD Publications.
Agency of Agriculture- Food and Markets, Vermont Department of Education and Vermont Department of Health. (2005). Vermont
Nutrition and Fitness Policy Guidelines. Vermont: Agency of Agriculture- Food and Markets, Vermont Department of
Education and Vermont Department of Health.
Burger, M., Cardinal, B. & Cardinal, M. (2005). Lifetime Fitness for Health Course Assessment: Implications for Curriculum
Improvement. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance, 76(8), 48-52.
Chen, A., & Ennis, C. (2004). Goals, Interests, and Learning in Physical Education. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(6), 329-
338.
Denny, G., & Young, M. (2006). An Evaluation of an Abstinence-only Sex Education Curriculum: An 18-month Follow-up. Journal of
School Health, 76(8), 414-425.
Gabbard, C. (2000). Physical Education: Should It Be in the Core Curriculum? Principal, 79(3), 29-31.
Green, G., Reese, S. (2006). Childhood Obesity: A Growing Phenomenon for Physical Educators. Education, 127(1), 121-124.
Macdonald, Doune and Lisa Hunter. (2005). Lessons Learned…About Curriculum: Five Years on and a Half a World Away. Journal
of Teaching in Physical Education, 24, 111-126.
Pateman, B. (2003). Linking National Subject Area Standards with Priority Health-Risk Issues in PK-12
Curricula and Teacher Education Programs. Washington, DC: AACTE Publications. (ED 474201)
South Dakota Department of Education. (2005). Model Wellness Policy. Pierre, South Dakota: Child and Adult Nutrition Services-
South Dakota Department of Education.
Weasmer, J. & Woods, A. (2006). More Than ‘An Apple a Day’: New Mandates for School Wellness. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 42(4),
166-169.
By: Corine Czepiel, Doreen Elborj & Jamie Zidle
Friday, October 12, 2007
Unbelievable!!!
There are so many things that go on in my district that just leaves me completely bewildered! I wanted to share this one because I figured that although this is a curriculum class, we are all going for Educational Leadership and if you haven’t already had Supervision, you will soon.
Anyhow, my department got a new department head and a new part-time English teacher on Monday. I assumed that our new leader would call a meeting to introduce herself as well as the new teacher to the rest of the department. However, that is not what happened. Not only was there no meeting, she kind of just stayed in her office and didn’t bother familiarize herself with the building nor visit any of our classrooms (Ya know, just to say hi). Then I heard that she called out “Traffic” on Wednesday. Yep, on her third day of work as a leader (someone who should be setting a good example) to our department, she had the audacity to actually call in and say there was too much traffic and she was going home. (Maybe I’ll call in bad-hair day on Monday.) To make this scene even more ludicrous, she greeted her classes on her first day by telling them to write silently for the period and she would discuss it the next day. Then on her “traffic” day, her lesson plan consisted of “Read The Crucible;” that’s it! Perhaps I should give her more time before making decisions on her ability to be a leader (never mind a teacher), but I can’t help it! Everything she has done thus far goes against what I believe as well as what I have been learning in class! It makes me wonder what the administration was thinking of when they hired her! Unbelievable!
Anyhow, my department got a new department head and a new part-time English teacher on Monday. I assumed that our new leader would call a meeting to introduce herself as well as the new teacher to the rest of the department. However, that is not what happened. Not only was there no meeting, she kind of just stayed in her office and didn’t bother familiarize herself with the building nor visit any of our classrooms (Ya know, just to say hi). Then I heard that she called out “Traffic” on Wednesday. Yep, on her third day of work as a leader (someone who should be setting a good example) to our department, she had the audacity to actually call in and say there was too much traffic and she was going home. (Maybe I’ll call in bad-hair day on Monday.) To make this scene even more ludicrous, she greeted her classes on her first day by telling them to write silently for the period and she would discuss it the next day. Then on her “traffic” day, her lesson plan consisted of “Read The Crucible;” that’s it! Perhaps I should give her more time before making decisions on her ability to be a leader (never mind a teacher), but I can’t help it! Everything she has done thus far goes against what I believe as well as what I have been learning in class! It makes me wonder what the administration was thinking of when they hired her! Unbelievable!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
somewhat focused rant...
As I pulled into the parking lot of my gym this morning, I noticed that they had posted a sign stating that they were looking to hire parking attendants. This struck me as odd. I thought to myself, "Why would a gym need valets?" I figured I had misinterpreted the sign. So I went in, and the gentleman at the desk confirmed that they were indeed hiring valets. Am I missing something? We have the motivation and energy to get our butts to the gym and workout for an hour or so, but we can't walk from our cars. There is something wrong with that picture!
It made me think about the curriculum that I am critiquing for class...PE and Health. These teachers really have an up hill battle to get kids today to understand what a healthy lifestyle is and to embrace that lifestyle. Look at the situation...Health conscious people going to workout but still too lazy to walk a couple hundred feet to get into the building. How do the teachers fight all the negative examples? Does this example qualify as unintended curriculum that the students are exposed to?
It made me think about the curriculum that I am critiquing for class...PE and Health. These teachers really have an up hill battle to get kids today to understand what a healthy lifestyle is and to embrace that lifestyle. Look at the situation...Health conscious people going to workout but still too lazy to walk a couple hundred feet to get into the building. How do the teachers fight all the negative examples? Does this example qualify as unintended curriculum that the students are exposed to?
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