Believe In What You Do
2006 NHAHPERD Conference Opening Keynote
Dr. Stephen L. Cone


It’s great to be back in Waterville Valley and see all the positive changes in NHAHPERD. After twenty years at Keene State and now completing my eighth year at Rowan University, it has been an honor and a pleasure to have crossed paths with so many extraordinary professionals. I know you will join me and thank the NHAHPERD board for another well-planned conference.

We all know about NCLB and Health and Physical Education’s place, or lack of a place, in it – but I’d like to tell you another version. Here's the football version of what is going on in education right now. This makes all too much sense to you if you're an educator, wellness professional, or concerned citizen.

So, I dedicate it to all the educators -- in or out of the system.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND---THE FOOTBALL VERSION

1. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If, after two years, they have not won the championship their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents.

ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!

3. Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th game. It will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. If parents do not like this new law, they are encouraged to vote for vouchers and support private schools that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players.

We can all enjoy the humor in this analogy; however, the big picture message is that we need to be part of the education game plan. The federally legislated mandate has impacted all programs and forced schools to define time, finance and personnel priorities. Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance and Sports still are not considered essentials in education or society. It is ironic that billions of dollars are spent on medications, rehabilitation, doctor visits and health services to address illness and disease, yet we also hear that good nutrition and physical activity are critical to prevention, as well as recovery. We are in the best damn profession – maybe even the most important! Our work with students, community members, dancers, and athletes can contribute to healthy active lives, expanded life expectancy, and making life enjoyable and fulfilling. We already know this. However, we must be constant advocates, implement exemplary programs, and make meaningful connections with the people with whom we teach and work.

Let me share a few ideas with you and ask you to consider them as you return to your essential work.

First, be open to different ways to solve a problem or another perspective on a topic. When I asked a student to create a new way to jump rope, one child threw the rope high into the air. As I turned to ask why he was throwing the rope in the air, in what appeared to me to be an off task activity, I saw him jump over the rope as it descended to the floor. He was thinking and exploring a creative solution beyond any conventional response I had previously observed.

Second, teach a new content area or a familiar content area in a way you have never done before. It is never easy to break new ground, venture into the unknown. In the beginning it may feel like chaos, you may feel awkward out of control. Take a risk. A student teacher was frustrated with his cooperating teacher and his unwillingness to change from his comfortable throw-out-the-ball pedagogy. Ricky was being forced to roll out the ball and conform to the teachers’ style. He asked his Rowan University supervisor what he should do. The response, do you want to teach and, if so, then you should let your cooperating teach know. Well, Ricky had the conversation and literally assumed complete control of the class by engaging the students, teaching skills, using photography and music, and encouraging student leadership. A few weeks later as Ricky and the cooperating teacher were waiting for the Open House to begin; Ricky asked what he could expect. The cooperating teacher said that usually only one parent showed up and then only to complain. When the Open House began, there was a line at the Physical Education table – a line of parents coming to thank Ricky for teaching their daughters and sons. Ricky had taken a risk and made a difference.

Third, create an exciting environment. Surprise students - capture their curiosity. Students who enjoy learning it will also value learning. One student teacher tells about his experience teaching several basketball lessons to fourth grade students. To create an exciting atmosphere, he went beyond the usual pictorial display of basketball photos and hung his personal collection of 30 basketball jerseys around the gym plus several of his favorite posters. You could hear students saying Awesome and Cool. The cooperating teacher tells me that the students still talk about him. His willingness to think creatively made learning meaningful and memorable.

Fourth, directly link student’s lives to the curriculum. Create relevant connections between the content and how it can personally relate to the student. On the first day of my classes, I ask the students to tell me what they know about the topic and how they have come to know it. In my curriculum and instruction class, I ask students to recall some of their favorite teachers and talk about what they most remember. This discussion is a first step in the development of their Health and Physical Education teaching philosophy and guides them as they develop yearlong plans that are meaningful and relative to their lives and to the lives of their future students.

Fifth, recognize that students can create the content. Let them lead the class, introduce an idea, or make suggestions about how to direct their own learning. They become totally engaged in learning when you set the tone that you are willing to accept and use their ideas. Here, students are viewed as active participants in their learning not passive consumers.

And finally, share your personal life with your students. Let them know your interests, your needs, your favorite movie, food or color, or who you are as a person. I was sadly reminded of this powerful way to connect to students at a memorial service for a friend who taught architecture at Columbia University. At the service, several of his students spoke about how he would weave his dreams, his philosophy of life, his past experiences and his love of poetry and music into his teaching about architecture. I never forgot how touched his student’s were by his willingness to share, to be human and infuse his teaching with his personal life.

I’d like to leave you with one of Emerson’s most powerful quotes.

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your objective. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Please join me and think about how you engage in these ideas and how you can make the most of this quality conference.

GO E-A-G-L-E-S