Sunday, September 25, 2011

Dodgeball or no dodgeball?

      One of the most controversial topics among physical education teachers is the question if dodgeball should be allowed in PE classes. I've listened and participated in many heated debates with this topic and both sides hold many strong points.
      When I was in high school and even middle school we played the very traditional way of dodgeball, the class splits up into two teams, if your hit then your out, and out means sitting along the wall. Although I did enjoy the game, I highly agree with the hall of shame and others who say it leaves students out and they aren't getting as much physical fitness as they could if they played another game.
      It will soon be my turn as a physical educator to make this decision whether to allow these games such as dodgeball to be taught and played in my classroom. If someone asked me right now for my answer I would say yes, to allow dodgeball to be played. BUT it certainly wouldn't be the traditional way of dodgeball that I was taught along with many others. If I was to teach "dodgeball" in my classroom I would modify it so if you got out, you had to do twenty jumping jacks, or go receive balls for your players, anything to keep them active while being out. Another thing that I know I personally didn't enjoy during dodgeball was the balls that we used, which were kickball's. In my classroom every ball would be the foam small balls, that no matter how hard you throw it, it wont hurt their classmates. I would also make an additional rule that if the ball hits the ground, you are allowed one bounce and if you catch it one of your teammates who are out can come back in, this way it keeps the game upbeat and gets good interaction between students, and less time to be out of the game as well. Another solution would be to simply give the students a choice of what they wanted to do, if you didn't want to play dodgeball, offer to go in the weight room (if you have access) or even go out on the track and run or walk. This way students wont feel pressured to play if they don't want and leaves them options.
      Some people who oppose the use of dodgeball in the classroom say that it is dangerous and doesn't serve any purpose to the students. Not only does dodgeball teach good leadership and teamwork, it also has great motor development skills like catching, throwing, hand eye coordination. Dodgeball also makes you very aware of your surroundings which is not only something that will help them in games or in a physical aspect, but sometime they can carry in many different aspects intheir life. No matter what game you play in class, there will always be a risk of danger, it isn't fair to take away this one game while leaving others as an option. It is our jobs as teachers to minimize these risks and to make sure our students have the best possible experience in any game or lesson we are presenting.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Assignment Number One Summary ch.1-3

                                                                     http://www.ncppa.org/
          In middle school I had a physical education teacher who taught with the "throw the balls out and let them play" mentality. This type of teaching angered me because it didn't teach us kids about any fundamental or basic learning skills to better our health and activity level. As I get closer to becoming a PE teacher myself, I feel that it is my responsibility that I ensure a positive, fun, and affective learning style and develop fundamental skills at a early age. These skills not only will benefit the child at their current age level, but will also stay with them throughout their life and they can use those skills to pass down to their children and others as well. Our job as physical educators is to help all children make adaptive changes towards their motor control and movements. These things can be done through appropriate activities for their age and current skill level and also will benefit the child’s affective and cognitive development. The motor domain deals with movement (locomotion, manipulation, and stability) and health-related fitness. The cognitive domain deals with progressive change in the ability to think, reason, and act to a new movement setting. affective domain is the ability to act, interact, and react effectively and appropriately with others and self in movement situation. Each student is different and these concepts may vary for every child. There is no blueprint on how to each every single child, but it is important that we take the time to assess each child in their skill development and to take note of how that child learns and then to enforce each aspect to each child in a classroom setting and to teach the kids how to use their motor skills correctly and efficiently. Fundamental skills are extremely important to succeed in a lifetime of good health.
The National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity's mission is to unite the strengths of all private and public industry's to inspire and empower all Americans to lead more physically active lifestyles.