Welcome to the April edition of pelinks4u. I’m delighted to be writing this from the sunshine of Tampa, Florida and the 2009 AAHPERD National Convention. Hopefully, many regular pelinks4u readers will also be attending for a week of professional collegiality, renewal, and rejuvenation. For those unable to attend, be sure to check back next month when we plan to share some of the convention highlights.

Our guest editorial this month is from Cathrine Himberg, who teaches at Cal State University, Chico. Dr. Himberg was the creator of the CASPER web site and the originator of the REAL Physical Education Teachers' Pledge. Catherine believes that all teachers should be good role models for their students. For physical educators, she suggests that this means we should participate regularly in physical activity and develop an acceptable level of health related fitness. In her editorial, “Four Reasons Why We Must be Good Role Models,” she explains why physical education teachers must be active and fit.

How to effectively discuss drug abuse among young athletes is challenging. This month, author Isobel Kleinman points out that scare tactics rarely work. In “Drug Abuse in 2009” Isobel argues that it’s unfair to blame young athletes for poor choices when so many of their role models, and sometimes their coaches don’t care about the consequences. However, Isobel believes that we should use examples of famous “fallen” athletes to illustrate not just the embarrassment but also the serious health risks of drug use.

Deborah Cadorette also writes about ways to discourage drug use among students. In “Discouraging Drug Use” Deborah states that it’s essential to provide students with factual information to empower them to make wise decisions. Deborah then reviews a couple of publications that provide guidance on how teachers and coaches can help students to perform to their potential. As those of you who coach already know, it is tough to provide athletes with opportunities for personal development in an environment that is so heavily focused on results. Read her advice.

For many years, the Paralympic movement was almost totally overshadowed by the Olympic Games. Today, support for paralympics competition continues to grow, and in Chicago there are hopes to host a Paralympic Games in 2016. In “The Paralympic Movement” Kathy Brinker writes about ways in which increased coverage of the paralympic movement benefits not just participants but spectators. Among many benefits it helps us all to understand that promoting health and active lifestyles must include consideration of individuals with disabilities.

Regular pelinks4u contributor, Gerry Cernicky, chooses this month to reflect on where physical education is headed in an article entitled, “Take Time To Make a “U” Turn.” He discusses changes occurring in classrooms to increase movement, then writes passionately about ways physical educators can increase “quality” physical education teaching. Regular readers will know that Gerry retired some time ago as a public school physical educator. Clearly, he hasn’t lost his motivation to help the new generation of teachers be strong advocates for our profession.

Similar to Gerry, Kim Nygaard suggests that “Being a Positive Role Model Can Make a Difference.” She points out that today’s children are growing up in a vastly different world than the one many of us experienced. She argues that - perhaps contrary to expectations - among the many changes resulting from new technology is a reduction in our ability to effectively communicate. Instant access to all kinds of information threatens the health of our students because they don’t know what to believe. As teachers, who see children in all sorts of settings, physical educators have daily opportunities to impact their students’ social, emotional, intellectual, and of course physical health.

Finally, Frank Veltri and John Miller complete this month’s edition of pelinks4u with an article entitled, “Case Studies in Sport Marketing: Insight into Case Teaching Methods.” Don’t be misled by the title. Anyone who teaches in the classroom will be interested to learn about the value of using “case studies” as a teaching strategy. The authors describe different approaches, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Clearly, the use of case studies can be an effective way to increase student motivation and ultimately their learning.

Incidentally, if you will be at the AAHPERD national convention, please consider sharing ideas that catch your attention from sessions you attend. They don’t need to be long. But it would be a great service to share with your colleagues who are unable to attend. Email notes, perspectives, and ideas to pelinks@pelinks4u.org. Thanks.

Steve Jefferies, Publisher
pelinks4u