Philosophies

Jeff Hansen

I.                   Philosophy of Education
Education of our population is what enables our society to continue to progress.  Its purpose is to enlighten students in the ways that they will change the world. The catalysts of these changes originate from the school employees, the students themselves, and the engagement of teachers in the community.
The purpose of Education is to give students the knowledge and opportunities to achieve what they want in their lives. The ideal school will prepare students to go to college or the work force. A school also provides many opportunities and extracurricular programs that will allow students to explore their interests and learn new things. A curriculum should have a base set of knowledge that students can utilize throughout their lives. The goals for my students are to give them the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to be successful in life.
The leaders in the school need to help guide and aid students in a positive direction. Most importantly, they need to be role-models for their students. Teachers should lead by example in the way that they do things. They should demonstrate qualities such as : equality, respect, trustworthiness, and discipline. Debbie Calvino once mentioned that “Our students rise and fall to the expectations we set for them. If the standards are low, students will have lower achievement rates. However, when we raise standards, students will achieve more William James Dawson once said “The true gain is always in the struggle, not the prize.” In the struggle to meet higher expectations students learn more about themselves by being disciplined and applying to something, even if they do not reach the goal. The teachers definitely do because they are more engaged with the students than any other staff, and will have more influence on the student body.
The role of students is to know what they want and then to take advantage of the opportunities in the school that can get them to where they want to be. This includes their choice of classes, as well of the extracurricular activities that they engage in. The more programs that a student is involved in, the more well rounded of a person they will become. In the end how educated they become is based of how hard they work for it.
Teachers and parents should communicate when necessary in order to stay updated on how the student is performing. The teacher’s responsibilities in the community are to relate their teaching to outside of the classroom so that students can apply what they have learned. Engaging students in the real world will make the transfer easier after school. It will also help give them an idea of what direction they may want to go. The teachers should also participate in and promote the extracurricular programs in order to make students aware of opportunities.
            Education will always give students the power to change the world. Administrators, teachers, and staff are the ones who provide this power. Students themselves need to choose how to apply it. 
   
II.                Philosophy of Physical Education
A teaching philosophy is important because it explains our belief on how and why we teach. Physical education teaches people how to be involved in activities that keep them active and healthy. What I enjoy most about teaching is seeing my students make progress. Student success depends on whether or not they have lifetime sport skills, knowledge to make healthy decisions, and positive attitudes by the time they graduate from high school. My job is to give students these tools to take into the real world to keep themselves healthy. Key challenges include motivating students to push their physical limits in order to learn the skills and acquire proper equipment and facilities to meet the student’s needs.
The teaching method that I will utilize is the demonstrating the skills and task which I present to my students. This is most important because many students understand better when they see what is expected of them. I will also provide students with plenty of feedback because it is important for them to know how they are performing. This feedback should also be positive and specific because I don’t want the students to get discouraged and I want them to know what they are succeeding in.
Grading should be criterion referenced. It should be this way because it is better to show a student their progress through pre and post assessment against themselves and beating their past results instead of fitting them into a norm. Norm standards would not be used to grade students but they could be used to challenge advanced students. An example would be telling students the average mile time of students in their age group before they do the mile. This could motivate certain students to push themselves in order to prove that they are better than the norm. To assess the students I will use skill test rubrics which allow us to get data by applying a number to performance, such as cues, that are observed. Another project that I will implement is a physical activity log that students hand in weekly, that shows all of the physical activity that they had done each day. They will then have to explain why they did this activity and how it helps get them in better physical condition.
It will be expected that all students in my gymnasium  will cooperate and respect each other. I can help  create a supportive and successful learning environment by constantly giving positive feedback and setting up students for success in activities before challenging them. After safety the most important thing about the environment is keeping it positive. Keeping students motivated and engaged will help them enjoy physical education. More importantly if they enjoy physical education class they will have a positive association with physical activity that can spread outside of the gymnasium and into the world.
I can make a difference in the lives of students by helping them to attain skills and developing attitudes that they can utilize to be healthy, active, and more confident individuals. My success as a teacher is having students who understand how and why they can better themselves physically. This can be evaluated in the assessment of their fitness and skills through skill test rubrics , fitness tests, and the weekly fitness log.  The goal is that these assessments will improve each time they are used and that student’s physical fitness and activity level increase.  

III.             Philosophy of Athletics
 Athletics are very important in the process of education. This is because they keep students active and they teach them how to deal with themselves and how to deal with others. This improves their emotional intelligence which will make them more successful in life. A coach can have a great impact on his athletes, it is important to make sure that this impact is a positive one.
I coach because I know how to lead athletes. As a coach I am put in command of my athletes, and when put in command you need to take control. That being said this control is not to be abused, but too be a firm leader of a program. All relationships in the program, with coaches, players, parents, opponents, officials and anyone else are too be built upon a foundation of respect. And any good coach will tell you that you need to give respect in order to gain it.
I also know what it takes too build athletes. Enthusiasm, and hard work. through hard work people really can accomplish more than they may realize.  I would not say I was a great athlete but I know that I worked harder than most athletes at our level. As an athlete I have been in situations where I was a first string starter and I have also rode the bench for an entire season, so I can see different athlete views from these types of situations. This will help me in knowing how to deal with different athletes.
I gained most of my values in athletics from the football coaches that I have had over the years. They taught competence by making their athletes strive to be the best that they could be for the program and their teammates.“Every time we face mistakes and attempt to move forward in spite of them is a test of  character, there always comes a time when giving in looks more attractive than digging in, . . .and in these moments character may be the one thing you have to draw on to keep you going.”- John C. Maxwell. This is a quote that was passed on to me by my coach. In short this quote basically says dig in, don’t give in. This idea of having enough character too never quit, back down, or give in was burned into me as an athlete. What kind of person are you and will you be there too work for your teammates when they need you? This same mentality will be branded into the athletes who come to play for me. The role of athletics in education is not about the win, it is about the pursuit of the win. Through this pursuit, athletes learn lessons that can almost always be transferred to life.
 A win is just the end, it is a target. In order to hit this target we must do all of the little things right. Success is not necessarily measured in wins and losses. It is about putting your best foot forward in competition, and coming to. If a team can come together and put in their best effort for a whole competition, that is success. A coach should never expect anything less from his players than their very best. This will force them to rise to higher levels of play, even if they are not perfect. Reality is that everybody loses. Generally only one team can end on a win each year. Athletics in education teaches students how to handle failure and the emotions that come with it. Tough losses always give teams some trouble, but it’s the ability to learn from them and let them fuel the fire that leads teams too success.

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