Pam
Stroupe's
Teaching Philosophy
I have been teaching physical
education for the past ten years. Presently I teach at an elementary
school that consists of grades kindergarten through eighth
grade, and I coach slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball, and
track. I have two children; a twelve year old son, who plays
basketball and baseball and an eighteen year old daughter who
plays basketball, slow-pitch softball, and fast-pitch softball. Academically,
my children maintain straight A’s in the classroom. I
have always been a very active person and I try to instill
that quality into my children. Now, at the age of forty-one,
I still enjoy playing softball with my church league, and leading
an active lifestyle.
When I began my teaching experience at Hills Chapel five years
ago the students there were not very energetic in their physical
education activities. After being here for one year,
I began looking for grants to provide the funds and activities
I needed to improve my physical education program. Receiving
the Project Fit America grant has helped me enhance our school’s
program and has helped the children get more dynamically
involved, in staying fit.
Certainly,
all children deserve a quality education in all aspects of
school; and especially with the amount of obesity in Mississippi
being so high, I believe school aged children need to be exposed
to physical activity at school. I feel that through a quality
physical education program, students will learn to appreciate
being active, and continue to see the benefits of lifelong
physical activity. Therefore, I strive to expose my students
to a variety of activities on a daily basis, and the Project
Fit America program has enabled me to do so.
 In
addition, having a positive environment is one of the most
important aspects of physical education. Because I want my
students to enjoy my class, I strive to find new activities
that they like to participate in. This
is important to me because I want them to participate in physical
activity outside of the gym, and they will only do that if
they enjoy the experiences they are exposed to. A part
of my goal in helping students stay physically fit is for them
not just to be active, but to feel good in the process.
 Positive
reinforcement plays a big part in getting the desired
results I want as a physical education teacher. Acknowledging
students achievements, no matter how big or small, gives them
a feeling of pride in themselves. The P.F.A. program provides
a unique opportunity to contribute to the overall development
and well being of every student, while teaching them to care
for their physical health.
In my P.F.A. program I am committed to providing knowledge,
skill, and opportunity in a supportive and inclusive environment
to allow each student to discover the value of movement,
cooperation, teamwork, healthy competition, wellness, and responsibility
to self and others. It is critically important to me
that every student, regardless of his or her athletic or physical
ability, receives the opportunity to participate and succeed
in physical education every day.
Because of P.F.A. the P.E. program at Hills Chapel
School is no longer a simple supervised playtime. It
is now a program that the students cannot wait to perform
in. Each morning when the students file into our building,
I am asked numerous times what the activities of the day
are going to be. This excitement, I believe, comes from the
motivation I provide. For example, one way I motivate
the students, is
by having them set goals for awards. For
further motivation, each year if a student receives six or
more gold rewards, I take him on a field trip. Last year
winners went skating for the afternoon. This year we are set
to go to our local Kids Town. The students work very
hard to achieve this goal.
 Also
a new activities incentive that I am offering this semester
is to award the room, who, at the end of the year has the most
blue ribbons at field day. Each student who wins an individual
ribbon, as well as class competition that receives a ribbon
will be displayed in the classroom.
I will count the ribbons in May, take photos for the local
newspaper and yearly annual and provide the winning class with
its field day. Because
my students love to have their photos displayed, this is yet
another form of motivation. Many of my parents have expressed
to me their gratitude for helping make their children feel
important. It is only through the assistance of the P.F.A.
providing the cards and ribbons that I am able to do this.
We at Hills Chapel also have a big field day for all students
and adults at the end of the year. Lots of fun games
and activities are played. The local PTO helps me with
this day. We provide nutritional snacks and water for
everyone during the day- long activities.
It
is especially important to note that my peers at Hills Chapel
are very supportive in helping me be good role models for a
healthy lifestyle. Together we encourage students to
drink plenty of water and exercise daily. In addition we have
a weight room with a treadmill that the other faculty members
and I use regularly. It is
very important for students to see that adults try to live
healthy lifestyles also. A
few of the teachers meet daily and use the Pacer
Pride disk,
along with the weighted hoops which,
I believe, further encourages our students.
My
plan is to continue to work diligently for the P.F.A. program
to be a continued success. I have had to overcome several obstacles
to reach my goals in Project Fit. One set of parents has even
called me the “Fitness
Guru.” I
have all my students participate in P.F.A. activities, but
I stress to them to push themselves only as far as they
can go, pointing out to them that some kids can push themselves
further than others. I try to help them understand that
each of us is unique in our own way, and should do
only as much as their bodies can tolerate.
Activities
The
students at Hills Chapel love the Shuttle
Cup Run, Food Challenge, and most of all Battleball. I
cannot imagine my program without these activities and many
others that we use on a daily basis.
The
following is a new activity I have incorporated into our P.F.A.
program this year. This activity was created by a few
of my sixth grade students and myself. We got together
a few days after school and developed this activity. My
students are really enjoying it.
P.F.A. Hidden Treasure
Materials:
6 cones
5
jump ropes
5
bouncy balls
Treasure
clue cards
P.F.A.
cups
Students get into 5 groups of 5. When the music starts
the students must jump rope 10 times, run to bouncy balls and
bounce themselves to free throw line and back to half court. Then
they must crab crawl to free throw line where the clue cards
are placed under a cone . Students must read the clue
and figure out where the P.F.A. cups are hidden.
When
they find the hidden spot, they are allowed to get 5 cups
at a time, and take the cups to an area and begin to build
their pyramid. The group with the tallest pyramid after a 15
minute run wins the game. This group will receive ribbons
to put in their class count.
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