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 BEING
A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE 
by Kim
Nygaard (about
Kim)
What is happening to our youth today?
Why are they more concerned with conforming
to peer pressure, instead of attempting
to make the right choice? Why does it
appear that when they are faced with
a decision, many do not take into account
the extreme repercussions which may
follow?
I’m sure you have asked yourself
these same questions. The answers should
be quite easy, but yet in today’s
society we are seeing a decrease in
children’s health & fitness,
a lack of communication, an amazing
number of school drop-outs, and more
awareness of drugs and alcohol in younger
children. What is happening in today’s
society to cause these to occur at such
alarming rates?
One problem that we face today is that
children are growing up in a world very
dissimilar to the one which we experienced
as children. While many of you may disagree
with this sentiment, I will inform you
that I used to be a skeptic as well.
However, I have come to realize that
one threat is present for them which
was lacking for us, technology. I feel
the most challenging obstacle we have
is dealing with rapidly progressing
technology, which many of us are unfamiliar
with. I understand more now than ever,
that the resources these children have
is quite frightening, not only for us
but for them as well.
In part, technological advances are
to blame for children’s inability
to communicate with each other. We never
had the access to computers which now
involve messengers, chat rooms, MySpace,
and Facebook,
nor did we have phones which allowed
us to send texts, cutting out the human
factor in communication. In addition,
despite the additional stressors that
kids face, there seems to be less time
for relaxing activities such as exercise,
family, and healthy meals. However,
it appears that the internet, which
is praised for its ability to make everything
available at the speed of light, has
had another very dramatic negative effect.
Children today have more access to drugs
through technology than ever before.
The internet has several sites that
promote drug & alcohol use. However,
sadly enough, these sites are not our
biggest concern. Some sites actually
provide our youth with information about
how to obtain and manufacture a wide
variety of drugs.
However, while technological advances
have presented a danger to our youth,
there are a large number of other risk
factors that we as educators need to
recognize. If a child has emotional,
physical, mental, or spiritual weaknesses,
they may think that drugs may help them
cope. As physical educators we have
our work cut out for us. As educators
we have the opportunity to balance the
information which we present to them,
teaching them not only how to play,
and therefore relax, but also inform
them about how different choices will
affect their physical well being. This
allows the physical educator to become
a person in this child’s life
whom they can turn to when they need
help learning how to cope with stressful
situations, or have questions regarding
their physical well being.
However, due to the stressful nature
of growing up, most children are physically
and mentally stressed. Some of the leading
risk factors of drug abuse include low
self esteem, abuse by bullies, and poor
parental guidance; factors which as
physical educators we can assist with.
However, it must be noted that there
are also other factors which are beyond
the capacity of teachers to control,
such as low socioeconomic status and
genetic predisposition. In order to
do them any real service we need to
recognize which factors are effecting
the children we interact with, and attempt
to reach out to these children in a
positive and effective way.
As physical educators you are constantly
presented with opportunities to help.
We help children with their self esteem,
conflict resolution skills, self confidence,
and overall character. These are opportunities
we get on a daily basis and can help
make a difference on how one feels about
themselves and others around them. These
same opportunities are not always available
in other classroom settings. In fact,
it is probable that by simply doing
your job - getting children to engage
in active lifestyles - you may be helping
them out. Researchers have begun investigating
whether exercise can help prevent substance
abuse. The logic behind such research
is that when exercising you feel better
about yourself, due to the natural release
of endorphins into the brain. This "feel
good" hormone appears to naturally
help individuals deal with stress, and
allows them to overcome negative thoughts
that can lead to substance abuse. In
fact many treatment
facilities, which seek to rehabilitate
individuals who have become addicted
to various substances, now incorporate
physical activity as a part of their
program.
However, if some children don’t
care about their health, homework, school,
sports, etc, what can we to do to help
educate these children in order to change
their ideas and goals? What we need
to do is accurately inform them about
what addictions are, and how easy it
is to become substance dependant. Many
substances and behaviors are addictive,
which means children can become emotionally
and physically dependent on them. We
also need to be positive role models
to children by setting an example which
they can follow. We can also provide
them with a caring environment that
they can feel safe in, so that in times
of trouble they know that they have
somewhere to turn. Once this safe environment
has been established children will be
more willing to ask questions, which
they may not feel comfortable talking
to parents about.
With all of these safeguards in place
children will be better prepared to
make right choices. When a wrong choice
is made we have the wonderful opportunity
to help these children see what had
just happened and what the consequence
could be. We can take time to help the
children understand, and let them express
to us why their choice was wrong and
how they could correct it. Sometimes
I feel too many adults get too busy
and just don’t take the time to
REALLY educate! It is easy to teach
the same lesson, or play the same game
in PE, but what about teaching to each
individual? They aren’t the same,
so our daily lessons should not be the
same. We need to grow as professionals,
and what a better way then to understand
the child? If you do this, situations
will arise when the child is faced with
difficult decisions, and now you will
be able to help guide and direct them
into a more successful future.
Good luck and please feel free to share
any experiences with me on your teaching
techniques or programs. I’d love
to hear them.
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