Final Thoughts...

Throughout this semester I have completed assignments that took me way out of my comfort zone. However, the challenge of completing these assignments has showed me that with a little hard work and a short time line I can get things done, and done well! I am very excited that this class presented some very useful information both in my professional and personal life. This is a rarity for the classes that I have taken at Montclair!

The biggest thing that I have learned this semester is the fact that the jobs that my students will have in the future do not exist yet. Not only do these jobs not exist yet, but all of the information needed for these jobs is not available yet. Keeping this in mind, when I have the opportunity to rewrite the physical education curriculum, whether in my current district or another one, I have to write it for 10 years down the road, not for now. Teaching my students how to take care of their bodies and their minds, as well as teaching them how to effectively work with groups will be the main focus of the physical education and health curriculum. I have learned that the most important thing is not just if the students can perform a particular task, but if they know the process of completing a particular task.

With the information that I have learned this semester I am hoping to become a physical education/health supervisor. My main focus will be to create a memorable experience for the students. The physical education environment is different from a traditional classroom environment where the students get to express themselves through a variety of movements and group and individual activities. Teaching children to become self-motivated, hard workers, and to learn how to set individual and group goals is something that I can do by creating the ideal physical education and health curriculum. I have many ideas that I would like to see become reality, however, I hope to share my ideas with my colleagues whether I am in an administrative position or not.

Orange Middle School

Due to the fact that Orange Middle School has failed to meet NCLB benchmarks six years in a row, Orange Middle School has taken many positive initiatives to make the school a positive environment for the students. Some of the great things OMS has done include creating learning teams, having weekly team meetings, having parties for students when they make it through a term, inviting students to speak at meetings, and have a high police and security presences in the schools and on the streets after school.

With the developmental growth that adolescents go through, the above activities will address many of their developmental needs. For instance, adolescents need to become socially useful and need to know "what's in it for them". By participating in weekly meetings, students will have a part in what is taking place in their teams and will find out what changes will affect them and what they will receive from these changes.

Two suggestions that I would give would be to create an after school intramural program and to get the students of OMS to volunteer at a local business. The after school intramural program will allow students to expend excess energy and will keep the amount of students off the streets after school. Physical activity has a positive correlation to higher academic scores, which could help the students perform better on the state tests. This program could be conducted in a few ways. One idea is that everyday after school there are a variety of activities going on including, but not limited to, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, indoor or outdoor soccer, fitness training, etc. The second idea is that every few weeks change that activity that is held. For example, for two weeks do basketball, another two weeks play volleyball, etc. and keep rotating the activities around.

The second suggestion, having students volunteer at a local business, will allow the students to apply their learning to real life experiences, which will show students that what they are learning in school has use! Volunteering at a local business will teach the students responsibility, they can be with non-parent adults, and hopefully when the students are of working age, they will be able to get paid jobs in the businesses they volunteer at.

It is important to show students, whether in districts with families with a low SES or a high SES, that what they are learning in school can be applied to other areas. It will make more sense to students to want to put the time into studying if they know "what's in it for them" whether now or a few years down the road.