I saw through GRIT that students could achieve.

Our inner city school was so dangerous a New York City police officer was stationed in the school every day.  He and I used to talk about our track experiences. When the gym teacher stated he wanted to start a track team we both told him we would help.  We did not have a school yard or an area outside where we could practice within a short distance from the school. So we started having the team run the halls and staircases.  We were a four story school built at the turn of the 20th Century.

When we finally got to the nearest track which was located behind another middle school over a mile away everyone wanted to race me.  There was no way I could beat them sprinting so I told them we would first have to warm up.  I neglected to tell them that I was a long distance runner who was brought up to kick in the end of every run.  They started to huff, puff and complain as I jogged the first quarter mile at a good pace.  Then I picked up the rate for the next quarter.  Many of them were dropping out but I kept going and increased the pace.  There I was on the third lap all by myself so I decided to sprint in the last lap.  They all cheered and told me how fast I was.  I had gained their confidence and they were challenged to try and beat me. 

We showed these young men (and later we involved girls) that through hard work they could achieve.  We set the standards high and with perseverance and determination they went on to win all of their dual meets and the Brooklyn Borough Championship.  To win the New York City Track Championship you had to beat the over 125 schools that qualified to run.  Yes, they went on to win the NYC Track Championship and during the summer some of the runners went on to win state and national titles. 

I am proud to say that some of these runners were able to get college track scholarships as a result of their hard work.  And the best thing I saw was that their classwork and conduct improved.  They saw that through hard work they could get to places they never felt they could before. 

Angela Duckworth’s GRIT: POWER of PASSION and PERSEVERANCE is a must read for all educators. 

My Track and Field page

My Grit page 

I can, I shall – I did! #1000in2014

I just completed another 500 miles in 2014.  After doing my first 500 I decided to do it again.  I want to see you and your students also set goals but keep at them and reach what you have set out to accomplish.

Set goals, design mission and vision statements but focus on what you have done and reflect periodically making the necessary adjustments. This is a follow up to my previous blog post “Setting Goals and Reflection

There were days that I was at first not motivated to get outside and do my walk/jog/run morning activity but I persevered.  The following chats, etc. helped keep me going:

The Breakfast Chat #530   I look forward to this spark chat (5:30-5:45am EST – Mon-Fri.).  It gets my Twitter day started.  Luckily I don’t need or like coffee as I am wide away when I arise (yes, I do sleep a few hours).  After the chat I would hit the road.  It was dark before we set the clocks back.  I got to see students waiting for their school buses at 6:15am, horses grazing and then the beautiful sunrises. I try to make it home to prepare coffee for my wife when she gets up.

BFC-Becca-Promo

On Saturdays I try to get my usual minimum of 4 miles in before the very stimulating #satchat for educational leaders (7:30am EST/PST).

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Sundays it is easier as #sunchat starts at 9:00am EST.

My Walk Tracker Pro app also was a great help to keep me motivated as it tracked my mileage and spurred me on to complete my miles in less than 13 minutes.

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One of my heroes is @Principal_EL and it was a tweet by him in January that alerted me to the #500in2014.  He set out to accomplish this feat but got injured along the way. It definitely slowed him up but he did not give up and is back on track. Also have to give shoutouts to @Vroom6 who also came back from an injury.  And I could not leave out @WonderingWinter who had to put up with the climate of Vietnam to complete her #500in2014

Here is an update on the progress of the original 52 of the #500in2014

13 have completed 500 miles in 2014

4 have completed 1000 miles in 2014

I wonder if this is the same percentage of people who make New Year Resolutions and then keep them.

I am worried as we are not in shape physically, mentally or educationally.  It is easy to make resolutions, mission or vision statements but living up to them should be our goal.

 

 

Setting Goals and Reflection

Too many people make resolutions and set goals but do not follow through.  I set my educational goals each school year and also had my students make their own learning goals.  I kept copies of their goals (now it is easy to do this with all the devices we have available) but the key that helped keep them on track was to have them periodically review them.  I had my students reflect on their goals at least once a month.  I did this around the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, December Holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa..), New Year’s, Valentine’s Day…)  It takes persistence and diligence to achieve what you set out to do.

My Goals page

This past January in my Twitter feed I saw tweets about #500in2014. Investigating, I found out it was walking, jogging or running an accumulated distance of 500 miles in the calendar year. I have always set fitness goals so this was perfect for me. After this Medicare recipient reached the 500 mile plateau I set a new goal of 1000 miles.

Google doc for the #500in2014 challenge

I use an app on my iPhone called Walk Tracker Pro (Running, Cycling, Walking) as it periodically tells me the time of the workout, distance I have traveled, my pace and calories burned. My goal on most walks is to do a mile in 13 minutes or better. This every five minute notification keeps me on “track” and gives me the opportunity to speed up if necessary to reach my goal. During my walk/jogs I have plenty of time to reflect on a lot of things. Once again set a goal and review it!

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I am disappointed that only 52 educators signed on for #500in2014 and only a small percentage of those will reach the goal of 500 miles in 2014. I am a strong advocate for educators to promote good health, proper nutrition and exercise. We need to lead by example and model for our students.  

9 have achieved the 500 miles  

1 is on the verge of accomplishing the goal  

6 have the potential to reach the goal  

So far 2 have surpassed 1,000 miles

2 have the potential to reach the goal 

My Health page
My Exercise page
My Nutrition page 
My Track page

Since I live in Florida, after spending most of my life in the Northeast, I have found the best time to work out is the early morning hours. The Breakfast Club chat #BFC530 (a fifteen minute spark chat 5:30-5:45amEST/MST Mon-Fri) gets me up early and moving so I can then catch some really nice sunrises ( I even saw a lunar eclipse). I used to be at school at 6 am (to do the early morning programing when teachers called in sick)  so getting up early is easy for me. I make it a point to say good morning and have an awesome day of learning to the students I see at 6:10 am waiting for their school bus.

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On Saturdays I try to either get my workout in before or after #satchat (School Leaders chat 7:30-8:30 am EST/PST). I wish more of our administrators would set fitness, health & good nutrition goals and model the importance of exercise and good health. I feel health, wellness & eating properly are the most important subjects we need to stress with our youth and staffs. The 9am EST Sunday morning #sunchat is at a great time as I can do my usual hour workout & shower before this stimulating chat starts.

Hopefully you have set educational goals for yourself and have your students do their learning goals.   It is important that you periodically revisit the goals that you have set, reflect on them and make any changes. 

My Resolutions and Reflection page

Get Fit with and without Technology

walk may 24 2014Look around at our society and you will immediately see the fact that we are not as fit or healthy as we should be and this troubles me.  We talk so much about tech but neglect health, fitness and nutrition without which we do not function as well as we should.  I will never forget my good friend and assistant principal who passed on too early.  He did not heed his doctor’s warnings and even my suggestions on improving his condition.  This man stopped whatever work he was doing and helped anyone who came into his office.  He was so concerned about everyone but himself.  

As educators we should be setting a “healthy” example for our students.  Now, we can employ tech to measure our health and fitness. Over a year ago on a promotion I picked up a free app Walk Tracker.  I like the fact that periodically it indicates the distance I have traversed, my pace and calories exerted.  It keeps me focused because I believe in sustained activity at a varying pace. 

Helping me keep fit this year is the #500in2014 challenge group. My personal goal is have 500 miles by ISTE14 in June.  I have a link to add your mileage for #500in2014 on My Exercise page 

I am happy to see some of my PLN members using FitBit Fitbit® Official Site: Flex, One and Zip Wireless Activity and Sleep Trackers  I feel it is a good start to making you more conscious of your fitness and health.  

My friends and PLN members have mentioned about other devices they use which include the following:

Nike+ FuelBand SE. Activity Tracker & Fitness Monitor. Nike.com

MapMyWalk, CardioTrainer, RunMyRoute

Today I found an interesting article in USA Today Finally, fitness trackers measure up It will be interesting to see how the latest activity trackers work out!

Jawbone: UP24 | Activity Tracker with Bluetooth Sync | Live Better 

Misfit Wearables Misfit Shine

Withings Pulse 02 

Garmin Vivofit 

Samsung Gear Fit 

Adidas MiCoach 

TECH NOW: Here’s the skinny on the latest fitness bands

Save of the Day: Optimize your workout with this watch

Whether you use these devices or not the main thing is that you start moving, become fitter and healthier.

 

 

 

Model Fitness and Good Health

Yes, we must prepare our students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and to be able to collaborate on a global level but I feel more important we want them to learn how to be healthy.  Children need to eat properly and exercise in order for their growth and healthy development. This is a lifelong skill that I feel is essential. We, as educators/parents should be modeling ABCDE: Act Boldly to Change Diet and Exercise for our students/children.

I must commend these educators who lead by example in terms of fitness:

David Britten @colonelb, Salome Thomas-EL @Principal_EL, Bob Dillon @ideaguy42, Josh Stumpenhorst @stumpteacher, Joan Young @flourishingkids, JoAnn Jacobs @JoAnnJacobs68, and Philip Cummings @jasontbedell Jason Bedell among others.

It is felt that children who have good nutritional habits and exercise regularly feel better about themselves, perform better in school, and can cope with stress better.

Take a survey of your students and see if they are getting enough exercise and eating properly.  Children should be getting at least 60 minutes of exercise on a daily basis and this does not mean playing games on their Xbox, texting or watching TV.


The fact that I exercised regularly and ate properly kept me well, gave me more energy and led to an excellent attendance record.   My track teams appreciated the fact that I ran with them. I tried modeling good nutrition yet my students used to laugh at me when I ate a salad for lunch with water as my beverage.  When I taught in my school’s health careers program I was very pleased at the end of each year when some of the students would thank me for changing their lives when they followed my preaching of eating properly, exercising and getting enough rest.

 

My new workout sneakers.

2013 is here and I will soon be eligible for Medicare and I will continue to exercise regularly and be more careful with the foods that I eat.
 
We all can achieve more if we are healthy as we have more energy.  Too many children are not getting enough exercise and eating properly.  Please model proper health to your students/children. 

Hope everyone has a very Happy and Healthy 2013.