A Guide To The Importance of Physical Education Programs

Physical activity offers a broad range of benefits, including the prevention of obesity, improved self confidence, and an overall sense of well-being. Physical education programs within the school setting can set the stage for how children view physical fitness, activity levels, and future health. Physical education programs also include general health and safety information in addition to providing opportunities for students to learn how to cooperate with one another in a team setting.

A Lifetime of Health The school setting provides a structured atmosphere in which to incorporate physical health activities and ideally develop healthy habits for life. Studies indicate that promotion of a healthy lifestyle taught in physical education classes can influence long-term health benefits such as reduced rates of obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Perhaps just as importantly, physical education programs can teach students that physical activity can be fun. With a broad range of games and activities, children are exposed to forms of exercise that don't simply involve running around a track. Games and other activities incorporate teamwork, strategy, skill-building exercises, and fun.

Nutritional Information Physical education classes are ideal for introducing basic nutritional concepts to children. Poor eating habits are common among many children and adolescents; however, a solid foundation in healthy eating choices can help lay the groundwork for improved food choices. Children who eat regular, healthy meals consisting of a wide range of food choices concentrate better in school and are less disruptive. Healthy eating also decreases the chances of children developing serious health problems early in life and reduces obesity rates among youth and into adulthood.

Life Skills Physical education also provides an opportunity for children to develop critical life skills, such as problem solving, strategy, and working together. Many team sports require participants to work together to achieve a goal. Children also learn the basics of good sportsmanship and that there is much more to sports and physical activities than simply winning or losing. Sports require training, mental and physical preparation, and help build self-confidence.

Mental Health Regular physical activity has shown to have many psychological and mental benefits in addition to the physical ones. For example, regular exercise can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety and promote an overall sense of well-being. The increased blood flow during exercise transports oxygen to all parts of the body, including the brain, which can help improve memory and reasoning skills. Conversely, a lack of oxygen, which can result from not enough deep breathing, can lead to disorientation, confusion, fatigue, and memory and concentration difficulties.

Human Factors in Education

         In education today there are multiple personalities and qualities of effective leaders.  Due to these personality types many times there are communication problems that occur. These personality types or human relationship factors are presented in many forms and can range from a positive attitude to a negative one.  When in the workplace one must understand the factors that teachers have and factors that the administration has.  Teachers need to have productivity, loyalty, and reliability in order to gain support, resources and opportunity from the administration (Bergeron, T. 1987).  How teachers demonstrate these strengths is directly related to how they relate in the work place. Because of the need for educational reform in today’s schools, there is a demand “for a broader conception of school leadership, one that shifts from a single person, role-oriented view to a view of leadership as an organizational property shared among administrators, teachers, and perhaps others” (Smylie & Hart as cited in Murphy, 2005).   This paper will examine 9 different human factors that can lead to a breakdown or a support of communication.  These factors are:  dependability, integrity, works well with others, fair, hardworking, positive attitude, appearance, acceptance of others, and socialization.  We will also examine how these relation ship factors affect the Douglas County School District in Colorado.  We will also review an educational meeting and how these factors played a roll in the meeting process.

                                    What are these factors?

             Dependability is represented in the work place as being consistently at work and on time, follows instructions, responds to teachers’ ideas and groups’ suggestions for direction and solicits feedback to improve performance. When an employee or employer shows these abilities it can have a positive impact in the work place. Likewise if these qualities are not met then it can lead to distrust.  In order to have the ability of dependability the employee needs to be able to understand the teachers’ and the students’ and be open to suggestions Integrity may be one of the most valuable aspects in the work place.  The employee that has this ability prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently and develops realistic action plans. They can demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness and monitors own work to ensure quality. The employee is honest and informs all members of the team with the same information. They are able to maintain confidentiality, remain open to others’ ideas and exhibits willingness to try new things. The knowledge they need to posses these skills is what is important to tell the team members and how to balance work and play.

            Employees need to be able to work well with others.  If there is always tension in the workplace then it will affect work production.  In order to work well with others one needs to speak clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations, demonstrates group presentation skills and conducts meetings effectively. They adapt to changes in the work environment, manage competing demands and are able to deal with frequent change, delays or unexpected events.

            Fairness is another area of interest.  Fairness is not necessarily making things evenly distributed, but reflects more on the ability to give each team what that teammate needs.  A teacher who shows fairness treats teachers equally, assesses and handles students fairly.  In order to be fair and professional the teacher needs to know the standards, policies and procedures at the state, local and national level.

            Employers are looking for hardworking employees and employees look for hard working employers.  In a school setting it is especially important to teachers that the administration expects no less of them then they themselves would do.  When teachers and administrators are hard workers they consistently give their energy, efforts, thoughts, and expertise to help the school be successful.

            The human factor that has the highest impact is ones attitude.  A positive attitude can motivate and make the work place a great place to be.  The teacher who has a positive attitude has the ability to see the positive side of a situation and work towards an anticipated outcome. When the teacher uses negativity to manipulate or complain, many times the lowers the productivity of those around them. 

            Although many schools don’t want to admit it appearance is a definite factor in developing a relationship in the school.  Appearance starts as a simple reaction to another person, a first impression.  Making sure you are clean and well groomed has a large impact on a school setting.  After the first impression comes the professional impression.  If a teacher wants to be treated as a professional then their appearance should be professional as well.

            The eighth human factor that affects schools is the acceptance of others.  In today’s schools teachers and administrators deal with different personality types and cultures.  Whether in a meeting, discussion or collaboration teachers must have a general respect and acceptance of the other educators.  When acceptance and respect leave a school then the atmosphere in the school becomes very tense and unable to provide the basic need of safety and security. 

            Lastly socialization plays a large roll in the atmosphere of a school.  Educators need to be able to socialize with one another to create a sense of comradely within the school.  When teachers feel at ease to discuss their goals and personal life then that feeling of friendship carries over to providing support to one another in the school.

                        How do these factors affect the Douglas County School District?

            These factors all play a vital role in the school system and have an effect in the Douglas County school district.  In the Douglas county school district all employees are required to dress and act professionally which fits into the human factor of appearance.  Douglas county also self professes itself as a school district that not only is professional but is also a family.  It is that family feeling that takes into account the other eight factors previously mentioned.  Teachers need to have the basic feeling of safety and security in order to create a safe and secure classroom for their students.  By being surrounded by professionals that have integrity, dependability, fairness, and a positive attitude and are hardworking, they can maximize their potential to have a great classroom atmosphere. 

                        What is the roll of human factors in making board decisions?

            During two recent board meetings hot topic items were discussed that demonstrated the importance of knowing how human relation issues affect the outcome of a decision.  On May 5th, 2009 the Douglas county school board had its monthly meeting and on the agenda was the issues of decreased transportation to rural areas.  This was a very controversial subject due to the heightened feelings of budget cuts threw out the district.  A recent bond issue did not pass in the November election limiting the amount of money that Douglas County has.  The failure of the bond issue caused havoc in the district with cut backs, lay offs, and putting the district into millions of dollars of dept.  To combat some of the expenses Douglas County re-routed their bus routes, cut many routes off and stated charging the rental of buses to go from 3 dollars per student to 9 dollars per student.  The issue brought forth many parents that were located in the southern sections of the county.  These areas are mainly rural and have a difficult time getting their children to school.  At the meeting there were several parents and they were given the opportunity to speak on the behalf of their area.  It was interesting to see how the parents interacted with the board.  The first parent was Cindy Applegate.  She was dressed very professionally and introduced herself with the title of professor.  By telling the board she was a professor it gave the board a deeper respect just based on appearance. The board was very professional and listened to Ms. Applegate and her concerns.  The next parent to was Cindy Parker.  Cindy did not have a title and although she was dressed nicely it wasn’t a professional outfit.  The board was less receptive to Cindy and her concerns.  Cindy’s attitude was not as positive and left a negative feeling in the room.  The next speaker was a local principal and the bard changed the direction of the meeting by thanking the principal for his years working within the school district and said they would address the transportation issue later.  The feeling in the room was one of general let down and distrust.  The parents no longer felt that their voices were heard and understood that the discussion was over.  It shows that with the human factors of trust taken away the parents realized that they would not get the answers or results they anticipated from the meeting.  This is a very good example of when the positive attributes of human relations start a meeting in a positive direction until those attributes start to take on negative feelings and the meeting followed the negative reactions.

            At another meeting taking place on March third there three parents present that all had different agendas for the board to hear.  The first parent talked about the need for better aquatics in the school district.  Se was very passionate about her belief in the increased need to maintain and improve the counties swimming pools.  She presented herself in a way that was very warm and excepting.  The board explained the finance troubles the district is under and promised to re-visit the issue.  The second parent was concerned with security and parking at the local high schools.  This was a very emotional topic since Colorado was coming up on the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shootings.  The board explained that every precaution is taken into account when dealing with student safety and those specific instances would be looked into.  The final parent to speak commented on educational policies.  Although the board was direct and professional it was defiantly felt that they were in charge.  I do not think the parents at this meeting felt as if they had any voice in their concerns.  When dealing with human factors it is vital that participants feel a balance between their actions and those of the leadership.  I am not sure the balance was gained hear.  When there is a misbalance it productivity decreases and the issues did not get resolved. 

                                                Conclusion

            The job force is indicated with different cultures, personalities, and beliefs.  Education is not immune to these variations.  How then with all the differences do we find a way to work for a greater goal?  The answer is discovering what factors with allow the school to have positive growth and which factors will have a negative impact. 

Teachers need to have a basic feeling of safety and security and this comes from a balance in what the employer gives and what the employee contributes.  By addressing simple human relationship factors such as acceptance, socialization, integrity and dependability the school can build a strong foundation on which students can grow.

                                                            References

Martinez, M. C. (2004).  Teachers Working Together for School Success.  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press.

Murphy, Joseph (2005).  Connecting Teacher Leadership and School Improvement.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

I thought I knew what it felt like to be bullied

I thought I was in a safe environment. A group on facebook where people from around the world gathered to exchange information and tips on a range of topics. I understood it to be a forum where I could ask questions and people would offer solutions and support without judgement.

When a subject I was interested in was posted, I joined the conversation. Being in a different time zone, most of the others were sleeping then, so I didn't check the forum again until the next day.

A lot happened on the other side of the globe during the night, and I woke to find I was the subject of abuse and condemnation. As I read the responses, I was shocked that such an innocent question had triggered angry and targeted outbursts by a few of the women.

I'd like to say that it didn't affect me. As an adult I should have been able to brush it off, but how could I when the insults had followed me to my community page on facebook too!

I felt embarrassed, hurt and physically ill. Being new to the group, I was sure my reputation was in tatters before it was even established.

Stunned, miserable and completely deflated, my entire agenda for the day had gone out the window. I struggled to get a handle on my emotions and understand what had happened. I didn't think I'd said anything that should have triggered such a public attack! 

My first reaction was to leave the group, but there was a part of me that felt that wasn’t the answer.

I felt like a victim as the reality of my first cyberbullying experience started to sink in. Then it occurred to me that these women must have been victims too.

Drawing on the work I do with school children, I thought about the bullies whose hearts I help to soften by teaching them how to be kind.

I thought about the way most people respond to bullies with anger and hatred. There's usually no consideration or empathy for the hardships a bully has endured. Few are able to imagine what someone's may have been through to become so bitter and angry that they want to belittle others.

When I applied this to these women, I felt a softening and wondered what they had been through to respond that way.

The whole experience got me thinking about other victims of bullying. Many children and adult endure much worse than I had, relentlessly tormented every day.

In days gone by, it was bullying in the schoolyard that kids could shut the door on when they went home. What makes it worse now is that bullying is now longer confined and it's claiming lives!

Modern bullying is in your face! The advent of the internet and mobile phones means bullies are everywhere. With you in your pocket, your home and your bedroom... there's just no escape!

Too many children have become statistics. Often unsupported because they're uncomfortable talking about it. Sometimes they're ashamed or feel that they'll disappoint their parents if they tell. My own son begged me not to tell the teachers about a time when he was being bullied because he feared it would get worse!

It makes me feel sick knowing this is a reality for so many kids and their families. How do they cope, go to school and where's the joy in their life if that's what they've got to deal with every day?

When I looked up the latest statistics on cyberbullying, I was horrified to find that McAfee reported an increase.

"Despite significant efforts to discourage cyberbullying and its negative effects, the number of occurrences continues to grow with 87% of youth having witnessed cyberbullying.

Of those who responded they were cyberbullied, 72% responded it was due to appearance while 26% answered due to race or religion and 22% stated their sexuality was the driving factor.

Of those who witnessed cyberbullying, 53% responded the victims became defensive or angry, while 47% said the victims deleted their social media accounts, underscoring its significant emotional impact.

While the study reveals cyberbullying continues to represent a serious problem for youth, the 2014 survey found 24% of youth would not know what to do if they were harassed or bullied online."

My own experience and the horrifying data makes me fear for the future and how many more innocent lives will be damaged or destroyed! It makes me more determined than ever to do my part in changing the way kids interact. It's gone on long enough and I don't know how we expect things to change if we don't change the way we approach the issue. www.soscoupons.com 

We're not going to stop bullying overnight, we need an ongoing, long term plan.

As past approaches seem to be falling short, we have to change the way we tackle bullying. I'm convinced that we have to confront it with its psychological opposite - kindness. It's far more effective to teach children the positive behaviour that will help them understand what it means to be a good friend.

In-school character education and kindness programs address bullying in a positive way. They also equip students with the social and emotional skills they'll need all their lives. 

Kids are suffering and sometimes being pushed to breaking point! It makes me sad and angry to think we really haven't come very far in this war against bullying, even after investing so much time and money. It's time to stop talking about bullying and start teaching kindness!

Watching my daughter transform with Candor!

My daughter has been studying in Candor International for two years and we have seen her change, from being a withdrawn girl to a more confident one. It makes me so happy as a father as she wasn’t always so confident and struggled with major issues from the time she turned eight.  She was always a quiet and shy child but was good in studies and though she took long to make friends, when she did she cherished her friends and was so generous with them.  We were living in Chennai then and she was studying in a pretty famous school. Her primary years in school seemed okay, but once she went to middle school she started to change. She became withdrawn and sullen. She stopped eating and there were days when she refused to go to school. We tried talking to her and cajoling her to tell us what had happened, but she just kept silent.

The school organised a picnic in October and that day my daughter threw her first real tantrum. She refused to go and started bawling. This time we refused to let up.  We pestered and pestered her till she broke down and told us that one of her classmates was bullying her. This girl would go on pulling her hair, hiding her books, hitting her hard on her back and making fun of her along with the other classmates. We went to school the next day and spoke to the teacher who actually tried to dismiss it as all part of growing up. We went straight to the principal who thankfully took the matter more seriously. The bullying stopped but the damage had been done. Our sweet and shy daughter just became withdrawn.

When we moved to Bangalore two years back, we put her in Candor International. It was a new school but we liked the look of it. I shared my daughter’s experience with a teacher recently and was so surprised to hear that a few weeks later Candor International organised a special assembly that dealt with bullying. As parents, we were so happy that the school was taking this matter so seriously. They keep having sessions on different topics and we’ve seen our daughter transform back into the shy but effervescent little girl she is. Candor is a proactive school that really wants children to shine. We are happy our daughter is in such a good school.

The War on Teachers

The stats leave no doubt. There is huge dissatisfaction among teachers. The turnover rate is very high. We need to answer the obvious question, why don’t principals and administrators take better care of their teachers? 

The most recent MetLife Survey revealed: “Teacher Dissatisfaction At An All-Time High.” The NEA Today website continues: “Teacher job satisfaction has plummeted to its lowest level in 25 years, from 62 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2012 –- a total of 23 points…More than one-half of teachers report feeling under great stress several days per week, as opposed to one-third in 1985.”

Forbes.com reported: “High Teacher Turnover Rates are a Big Problem for America’s Public Schools….46% of all new teachers in the United States leave the profession within five years…Teachers cite lack of planning time, workload, and lack of influence over school policy among other reasons for their decision to leave…”

Edutopia sums up the situation this way: “Every year, U.S. schools hire more than 200,000 new teachers for that first day of class. By the time summer rolls around, at least 22,000 have quit.” 

Interestingly, less than 20% of teachers cite salary as their primary complaint. About 70% say the big problem is workplace conditions.

This Edutopia story, written by a failed teacher, concludes: “Many of these reasons are just euphemisms for one of the profession's hardest realities: Teaching can exact a considerable emotional toll. I don't know of any other professionals who have to break up fistfights, as I did…. New teachers, however naive and idealistic, often know before they enter the profession that the salaries are paltry, the class sizes large, and the supplies scant. What they don't know is how little support from parents, school administrators, and colleagues they can expect once the door is closed and the textbooks are opened.”

Let’s consider all this bad news from the point of view of the teacher. You might be only 27 or 28 years old. You’ve dreamed about being a teacher for as long as you can remember. You wanted to make a difference in the world. You thought you could help your kids to build a better life. But now you feel you have to walk away from all that. it’s been a horrible experience and you’re pretty sure you can never go back. Just as bad, you borrowed a lot of money and you still have a huge debt to pay. Dreams and money, all gone.

Now let’s consider this situation from the point of view of the Education Establishment. By losing all these burned-out teachers, they have room for a whole new set of starry-eyed rookies who’ll need classrooms, books, and lots of instruction. Thousands of professors will earn a good living making sure these newcomers have the credentials to be sent into the trenches. What if the public schools filled up with experienced, long-time teachers? That could be the end of the gravy train. Point is, the people at the top don’t have a lot of incentive to protect their teachers. Maybe that’s part of the reason they don’t.

Let’s face it, the common denominator in all K-12 education is that teachers are pushed around or left to fend for themselves. The paradigm story is where a teacher has trouble with students, the teacher goes to the principal for help, and the principal grandly declares: you’re a professional, it’s your classroom, take care of it.

There are many separate assaults: constant interruptions; loudspeakers making announcements; students drifting in and out; many unnecessary meetings and so-called professional development (PD); and a general tolerance of disorder and violence. Teachers can’t feel safe. They can’t do much teaching.

It almost seems as if the school system is cunningly designed to make sure only the toughest, most desperate people can survive. Sensitive, highly intelligent teachers would probably be the first to crack. There really does seem to be a war against teachers. Does it have to be this way?

Suppose, first of all, that schools of education prepared teachers at a higher level. (According to Rita Kramer’s book “Ed School Follies,” the training is actually very sketchy.) Then suppose that principals aggressively supported their teachers, and made clear to students that there will be no disrespect shown. Suppose the administrators got a bonus when teachers survived past a third or fourth year. Suppose that was a clearly announced social contract between the school and the community: children are expected to behave, or they will be punished appropriately.

Unfortunately, many teachers think they’re being pushed around by parents, the community, or commentators like me. The teachers seem to identify with the Education Establishment. Isn’t this an example of the Stockholm Syndrome? Teachers actually think they are in the trenches with the Education Establishment. No, teachers are alone in the trenches. I think there are three sets of victims in K-12 education: students, parents, and teachers. The situation can’t be improved until teachers have a clearer view of their reality. They are cannon fodder; they are expendables.

Finally, we’re forced to consider the idea that the indifference to teachers is part of a war on education generally. It’s part of the whole deliberate dumbing-down of America that Charlotte Iserbyt described in her book by that name. 

Undercutting teachers and rendering them ineffective will obviously produce the miserable results that the Education Establishment, in Iserbyt's view, deliberately seeks.

To put that over another way, the last thing the Education Establishment would want is a stable corps of highly professional, experienced teachers. So, by hook and by crook, our education commissars give future teachers inadequate training, and then set them loose in a blackboard jungle. Cold, very cold.

You will know that our Education Establishment is serious about improving education when they start to be fiercely protective of their teachers.

The one thing that has to be done in schools is called teaching. Administrators ought to be reassigned to teaching or security. Perhaps then their priorities will change.

Popular And Demanding Career Choices For Success In 2014

The question - Which college degree program to choose after passing out higher secondary school is very critical for every student. One should pay special care and attention while looking for a higher degree course program to make one's career prospects bright.

In general, before getting into any higher degree course students have almost no-idea about the job prospects of the degree program that they have chosen. So, it is very important to understand the job and career scope of the degree programs for higher education before getting into the course.

Here in this article, some of the best and popular career options and their future scope in job fields are discussed to help students deciding their dream career.

• Training and Education - This career option is related to all the professions in teaching and educating people. This career group includes teaching in schools, colleges and other training programs such as corporate training programs.
• Tourism and Hospitality Industry - Tourism sector is being popular at very fast rate. Those who loves travelling; tourism is best career path for them. Hotel management and tourism management jobs are quite popular and good paying in this category.
• Media and Communication - Online media sector is also popular these days. If you have good communication skills, you can be a good anchor, journalist, and author/writer in TV and Media industry.
• Construction and Architecture - This field focuses on construction and designing various types of structures such as for buildings, roads, bridges etc. Architect, electrician, interior designer, painter etc. are some of the popular jobs in this category.
• Business Management and supervision - In this career group, job that are related to managing a business organization are included. Some of the popular and well-paying managing jobs are related to business management, human resource managing, sales and marketing etc. These days' online MBA courses are much popular and demanding in this career scope.
• Government Services - If you are willing to work for mankind and your nation honestly, government sector is for you. Various military services, civil services, police services and administration services for state and central government come under this category.
• Information and communication technology - In this category, various jobs related to digital technologies such as software, hardware, networking and computing are included. If you have interest in computer technologies, then IT sector has good scope for your career.
• Engineering and Science - This career perspective deals with working for science and technology projects. Development and research are two important fields of this career.

Health Services - This includes medical science including development and research in health science improvement. Doctor, chemist and pharmacist are good career scope in this category.

How to Improve Writing Fluency

With the inclusion of essays on high-stakes tests such as the SAT® and ACT®, as well as many state standards tests and high-school exit exams, the need to improve writing fluency has recently surfaced as a desired goal. Which approaches to writing fluency work best?

1. Teach students to read a variety of writing prompts. Expose students to different content area and writing domain prompts. For example, using social science, literature, and science content with informational, expository, analytical, and persuasive domains. Teach students to read the writing prompt twice—the first time for understanding and the second time to circle the subject and highlight key words.

2. Give students ample practice in turning writing prompts into effective essay topic sentences. “Thesis Turn-Arounds” can be a productive “opener” to any lesson in any subject area. For example, if the prompt reads “Analyze the causes of the Civil War,” students could begin their theses with “Many causes contributed to the Civil War.”

3. Give students practice in developing quick pre-writes to organize a multi-paragraph writing response. Teach a variety of graphic organizers and review how each is appropriate to different writing prompts.

4. Give students practice in writing introductory paragraphs after pre-writing. Give students practice in writing just one timed body paragraph to address one aspect of the essay after pre-writing.

5. Provide immediate individual feedback to students with brief writers conferences.

6. Use the overhead projector to use critique real student samples. Write along with students and have them critique your writing samples.

7. Teach how to pace various allotted essay times. For example, the SAT® essay is only 25 minutes. Most state tests allot 60 minutes. Brainstorm and allocate times before a full essay writing fluency for the following: analysis of the writing prompt, pre-write, draft, revisions, editing.

8. If a brief reading passage is part of the background for the writing task, teach students to annotate the passage with margin notes as they read.