H5 – Honor student potential for roles in the greater society. To me, this standard means supporting students in having activity filled lives represented through involvement in extracurricular activities. I recently went to a girls’ soccer practice at my school. Soccer is a wonderful team sport that requires and builds good communication skills, cooperation, and camaraderie amongst the players. Participation in any school sports team is a great way to enlarge the community in which one lives.
Soccer also requires lots of physical exercise to play. One of our books for this quarter is Brain Rules, by John Medina. There is a whole chapter dedicated to explaining the benefits of exercising. Medina (2008), suggest that students that are active, will also benefit in the classroom (p 28). Our modern day world allows us to lead very sedentary lives. The typical school day also requires that students spend a large portion of their days sitting at desk. This, combined with poor diet, can lead to obesity and other health problems that are increasing in frequency. It was great to see the students engaged in good positive physical exercise. During this practice, the girls on this team did several running activities, played 3 v 1, 4 v 2, and also did drills to improve their trapping skills. The team sweatshirts had also just arrived and snacks were provided for the players. The sweatshirts created a great sense of unity and pride for the girls and coaches. I will encourage all students I teach to become involved in extracurricular activities as the opportunities arise. I might also become involved in coaching someday.
Medina, J. (2008). Brain rules. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.
Developing Competency in Teaching 