This year I attended the National AAHPERD convention as a presenter where I shared my conviction that grading is a powerful teaching tool and one we should use! You see, I do not see grading just as a way to access students. I see it as a way to help students set realistic goals. Without teachers, students would measure themselves by an impossible standard – the class “stars.” If there were not such a huge gap in skills, this would not be a problem, but it is. What accentuates it is what Jon Poole wrote about in his last editorial. Our cultural emphasis on sports creates sharp performance differences between students.

Most students come to class facing a proliferation of classmates who, because of years playing organized sports, are specialists in their activities. This creates enormous performance pressure. The regular Dick and Jane, for lack of experience, struggle to keep up. It is safe to image that when students dread trying things physical, one of the reasons is that they think they cannot measure up. This kind of fears makes participation a courageous thing to do. Remember, success or failure is obvious in gym, but the psychological problem is not. Its impact can break down students and a class. I say attack the problem rather than avoid team sports. I would start by recognizing that everyone dislikes feeling incompetent and go from there.

Unfortunately, left to their own devices, students set goals for themselves based on what they see. If that happens to be a super athlete, they set a goal to be as good as the “star.” Making such a grade has a limited chance of success. But… if we teach kids to appreciate more than the star, or the scorer, or the guy who comes up with the ball whenever he wants, we can help prevent destructive psychological forces from breaking down motivation.

Set goals that students can achieve in the time allotted. Let them know what they are. This will encourage students to try harder because the standards are within their reach. It will also help them appreciate their accomplishments and allow them to stop measuring themselves against an impossible dream. Then students can even start having fun.

During my presentation, I shared how Complete Physical Education Plans for Grades 7-12 includes goals (skills rubrics) that guide students to an achievable A. I shared how realistic goals enhance class functioning. Teachers can use what is in the book or devise progressive goals of their own. With them, teachers can and should recognize student accomplishment, enthusiastically reinforce progress and help foster entire class appreciation for everyone’s effort and accomplishment. I guarantee if your choose this route, the improved emotional atmosphere in class will lead to a good Phys Ed – and yes - even a good team sport experience

Isobel Kleinman
Secondary Section Editor

It is a horrible thing when people lose their life in the pursuit of a better body. Please, as this season begins, remind your kids that the use of body enhancers – natural or not – have side effects that we are not all aware of yet. Still, we do know that some, i.e., creatine and the last killer of a national sports star, have dangerous dehydrating effects. This is nothing to overlook. Dehydration has caused several shocking deaths in otherwise healthy people.

Title XI

Did you know that, as reported in the NEA, Title IX did not just give girls opportunities in sports. It gave them opportunities in academic areas that they lagged in as well. In thirty years, women have gone from taking 9% of the spaces in medical school to 43%. And, where they took up only 8% of the spaces in law school in ’72-’73, they now take up 46%.

Asthma

The incidence of asthma has increased - 97% for women, 29% for men (New York Times magazine section, 3/9/03) Exercise is not off limits, not even jogging and soccer. What is essential is that participants warm-up their lung passages so that they remain wide open. “Adequate warm-ups and cool downs (and medication in some cases) enable women to participate in these aerobic sports without breathing problems.”

Using Technology in Physical Education can be found here

Topics in March Include:

Clearing out temporary files

Putting FileMaker Pro Files (Record Book/Fitness) on the web

Grants - grants - and more grants

Recipients of Bonnie's Fitware Grant Program

Tips for Using Food Challenge Task Cards

Video feedback

How to extend battery life

What is a router?

Creating a Self-Quiz in Excel

Design Tips - when to use underlining and italics

Spring Online Tech Courses - last time to sign up

Suggested Web Sites

I doubt if Philadelphia ever had so many people roaming its streets in warm-ups and sneakers as it did during the AAHPERD National Convention. Seeing all those folks in “uniform” brought smiles. There were so many physical educators there to grow professionally, to network, to learn from each other and to touch bases with old friends – that it was uplifting.

Everyone going to a National must have an agenda. There are at least twelve things going on at a time, which forces choices. Sometimes making them is difficult. Often several interesting sessions are scheduled at once.

If you wanted to spend time at the Exhibitors Booths, you best arrive well before Friday at 3:00 so you get there before the exhibitors break down their booths. It would be time well spent. What better place is there be to see and feel the equipment you will be ordering? How else can you judge its quality? The same is true of books. How can you choose the ones that fit your needs without examining them all? Buying on site often means a convention discount and being there means you will frequently walk away with some free stuff or even a prize. This year, I tasted new drinks from Coke, got a lanyard, and took home both a free book on handball (the wall kind) and a free stepometer. Vendors are eager to put you on their mailing list so you can automatically receive their updated catalogues.

The convention hosts loads of “how to” sessions. They are great place to see different teaching styles and find new approaches, new dances, new warm-ups, new concepts to integrate and new gizmos to use in class. As for the latest research, there is plenty of that too. This year, in a session called the “Flexible Brain” Dr. Hirsch showed dramatic evidence of what it means to “use it or lose it” and just how activity and brain development go hand in hand. It will be interesting to see how his current research is extrapolated in years to come.

Conventions are not all work and no fun. Many sessions were not only a learning experience. They were fun to watch or fun to participate in. And then there is night. This year the convention hosted dancers of all ages from all over the country and put on a gala dance performance. There were plenty of social hours, cocktail parties, receptions, dinners and awards ceremonies every night too. Anyone who could slip away to the museum got to see the fabulous Degas exhibit. Too bad the dance section didn’t hold its meeting in front of Degas’ beautiful dancers in oil and pastels. It would have been so appropriate.

All I missed was the evening of Square Dance that the Eastern District used to hold on Friday nights. Now that would have been a hoot. Maybe next year in New Orleans.