Nicole Tucker PE

Obesity and how Physical Education can help it

17% of youth in America are considered obese. Factors that contribute to this are nutrition, lack of physical activity, and a general lack of caring about ones physical state. As a physical educator,one of my main priorities is to help kids enjoy physical activity and help them learn life long skills that will enable them to keep fit. Along with the core curriculum (basketball, softball, soccer, and football) I plan to incorporate activities such as weight lifting, exergaming, running, orienteering, tennis, LAX, and Frisbee. These activities will reach a wide variety of students and help all kids find an enjoyment in physical activity. I believe that all children can be physically active through an activity they enjoy, and I want to help them find that activity. By helping kids find an activity they enjoy obesity rates will decrease.

Hoop in Physical Education

Hula Hooping is a great physical activity that can keep kids entertained for a long period of time. I recently learned how to hula hoop, and am eager to create a hoop dance unit for my curriculum. Hoop dance can improve balance, coordination, rhythm, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular endurance. There are so many different things that can be done with a hula hoop, lessons can be customed to fit the needs of students. In example, if one student wants to increase upper body muscular endurance, have him or her work on hooping around the arms and shoulders. If a student wants to work on lower body muscular endurance have him or her hoop around the knees or lay on their back with a leg in the air and hoop around his or her leg.

Past PE Teachers

In elementary school I had a female physical education teacher who was a fairly good teacher. She has a lot of exercises to teach basic motor skills, but she made them seem like exercises~ not games. PE for me as a child involved a lot of moving, but not a lot of fun. I think that it is important to infuse creativity and fun into PE lessons so that kids get a good impression of physical activity and want to keep doing it. In middle and high school we played games, but did very little skill and tactical development. We jumped right into game play with little preparation. Middle and high school levels of PE should be focused on specific skill development and tactical aspects of the game. If my teachers would have taught us specific skills, and some tactical drills game play would have been much more fun, and much more beneficial.

My Influences In Physical Education

My high school didn’t have a quality physical education program, we had gym class. Grades 9-12 was a roll out the balls and play form of physical education with no attention being given to tactics, technique, or skill. I did not enjoy PE when I was in high school because I didn’t feel prepared to play in games so early. I developed a dislike for Ultimate Frisbee in high school because our PE teachers didn’t spend time on the skills, they assumed that everyone was good at throwing Frisbees. Once I got to college and learned the proper way to throw and catch a Frisbee, I fell in love with Ultimate. I want my students to experience success in the activities that I teach so that they like the activities and therefore like to be physically active. Setting up students for success at a young age sets them up to be physically active for life. My teachers did not set up their classes for success and a lot of kids lost an interest in physical activity. With a variety of activities, and proper teaching techniques my PE experience could have been a lot better. I hope that I can make a positive impact on the program I join so that no more kids are discouraged from physical education.

Why did I choose Physical Education?

The most common question that college students are asked is “What is your major?”. I love answering that I am a physical education major. I am a P.E. major because I want to help all kids realize that they can be physically educated, and therefore physically fit. So many kids are discouraged from PE because they aren’t good at basketball or soccer, but with new PE kids can learn other activities that they can succeed at and therefore enjoy. Dance, self defense, orienteering, exergaming, and many other non-traditional activities can keep kids active for the rest of their lives. I want to impact the non-athletic kids and help them find an activity that they love and can use to stay healthy for the rest of their lives.

Nutrition

With Halloween and Thanksgiving right around the corner, we need to start watching what our children are eating. As Physical Education teachers it is important to encourage healthy eating and make sure that we don’t give out candy to them. Some ideas for healthy eating can be found on http://startcooking.com/blog/275/9-Healthy-Halloween-Treats. Healthy eating is an important key to getting the best results out of the body. Children need to learn the proper foods to eat starting at the elementary level so that as they get older they are able to make good choices and maintain a healthy lifestyle. There are ten foods that canadianliving.com say are the most important foods for kids. These ten Superfoods are:

*Whole grain bread~ provide fuel for kids without increasing blood sugar levels.

*Blueberries~ Give kids antioxidants which neutralize harmful byproducts which can lead to many diseases, they also provide sweetness for kids without refined sugar.

*Yogurt~ An excellent source of calcium and protein. Also helps the immune system.

*Sweet Potatoes~Have disease fighting elements, and are loaded with carotene, vitamin E, vitamin B6, potassium, and iron.

*Natural Nut Butters~ Not loaded with sugars and fatty acids.

*Beans~ Have a lot of fiber and iron. Include chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, and lentils.

*Broccoli~ Filled with vitamin C! Introduce it at an early age so that kids are used to eating it, try not to add dressing or cheese.

*Omega-3 eggs~ Can improve skin, allergies, moods, and most importantly mood in children. Children with ADD show signs of omega 3 deficiency.

*Avacodos~ Offer the good kind of fat for children (60% of a child’s brain is made up of fat)

*Organic Chicken~ Harmful additives are not found in organic chicken, gives kids good protein.