Arts High school

When I went to Arts High School in Newark on Friday I was so impressed. The students who attend this school are exceptional. For the breif time we got to spend in the classrooms on the tour a student gave us, I saw so much talent. This included talent in dancing, singing and acting. This was only some of the subjects that we walked into. The teachers and principal took great pride in their students and thier talents. Hearing the teachers talk about the students and their jobs, you can tell that they really have a passion for teaching.
Arts highschool is also beautiful! I could not believe how beautiful it was inside. In some parts of the school I thought I was in a muesuem. In the school there was beautiful display of art from some of the students and some beautiful stained glass windows. The school also appeared to be very clean and well taken care of.

why observe for Inquiry project?

My inquiry project is going to be, What is the importance of Physical education and Health and why do schools continue to cut down programs? I think a way I can observe this though the question is seeing how much physical activity kids are really getting in school. Also if the children are getting alternate physical activity. A couple of examples would be some afterschool sports or intramural teams. Also I can see how kids react for physical activity, if they enjoy physical activity or if they just look it as a burden.

Inquiry project

I am having some trouble thinking of an idea for my project. Being a physical education major here are a couple of topics that I have considered doing...

1. How important is to to teach physical education and health in schools?
2. If obesity is a rising problem is our country...why are some school districts cutting down on their phys. ed programs?

Newspaper article about Random Drug Testing

In the "Daily Record" there was a article about a possible random drug testing for Morris Hills Regional District students. This would apply to students would be driving to school and for athletes. The students would not be subjected to suspension if found positive for a drug test, but would have to attend a rehab center. Initially I thought this was a great idea to keep drugs out of the high schools. Then as I kept reading on, I questioned about would the parents approve of this? Who do you subject to a random drug test? Somebody who looks/acts like they are taking drugs? And what if the teacher is wrong? Do the parents have the right to sue the school for harrassement? I think that the random drug testing can do some good, but can potentially do some harm to the faculty,school and to the students.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070930/COMMUNITIES/709300347/1150/NEWS06

Teaching against idiocy

At first looking at the question, How important is it to teach democracy? Of course I said to myself, “crucial”. While reading “Teaching Against Idiocy” I came across a quote that demonstrates how important it is to teach democracy, “When aimed at democratic ends and supported by the proper democratic conditions, the interaction in schools can help children enter the social consciousness of puberty and develop the habits of thinking and caring necessary for public life”. (PG 4,Parker)
This is just one factor how important it is socially to each democracy, but a very important social developing factor. This quote demonstrates that the children in our classrooms can have a easier time adapting to new situations. When children first enter elementary school, most children do not have experience in making new friends of different racial backgrounds. Children whether they want to or not ,can be judging each other without even realizing it. It is extremely important to teach children to interact with each other to make this transition easier.
Children also can learn respect for other people and accept people for who they are. Children learning this can help them understand about equality. After the initial quote this article continues and states, “This kind of thinking that enables them to cut through conventional wisdom and see a better way”. (PG 4, Parker) America today being so diverse it is extremely important for children to accept, respect, and understand people of different ethnic backgrounds and different views of life.

The movie "Kids"

In my sexual education class we watched the movie "Kids". I think everbody who is going to be a teacher should watch this movie. It's about a group of kids who live in the inner city and don't have any guidance. This movie shows kids doing some shocking things like drinking,doing drugs and having sex at such a young age. This movie really opened my eyes to how kids could be living in the inner cities and even in some areas near home. The movie is shocking but I think it shows a good display of how important it is to teach children self respect and self esteem.