Matt+Faurot

My name is Matthew Monahan Faurot and this my Wiki. My pathway to entering the MAT program is long and convoluted. During the 90's and 00's I taught snowboarding, skiing and telemark skiing at Mt Ashland, professions that launched me into coaching at Ashland High School and St Marys. Supplementing coaching with the time flexible jobs of waiting tables and bar tending, I was able to travel to Chile, Alaska and Europe to pursue my dream of snowboarding some of the world's famed mountain ranges. It was the experience of working with High School kids that led me into teaching and specifically it was the desire to help kids make the right choices as they navigate the difficult waters of teenage years. I returned to SOU late in 2008 to get a undergrad degree in Health and PE and I am continuing those disciplines here with the MAT program. My goal is to work as a 3/4 H/PE teacher, continue coaching and eventually lead High School students on language/snowboardring trips to Chile and Argentina.

=Topic: The Wide Ranging Benefits of Physical Activity and Physical Education.= I chose this topic because my core belief is that daily physical activity is crucial for students and citizens alike.

=Top Five Things I Discovered Researching This Topic:=

**Neanderthals were fit as the Brazilian-born //futbol// legend, Pele.** The hunter-gatherer body physique was shaped by an estimated 10-12 miles of travel per day. Our current global physique does not match the hereditary fitness of our shaggy ancestors.

**High School aged students can put together a __fantastic__ multi-media YouTube research project.** I encountered a video that spoke earnestly and intelligently about my topic and, much to my delight, it was published by adolescents. The educational uses of YouTube, Wikispaces and Facebook are only beginning to soar and as educators we must embrace, understand and ride this vanguard if we are to lead our students.

**Sometimes your research can lead to strange places**. During the viewing of one of the TED talks addressing the //physical play as a creativity fountain//, the presenter delved into a sidetrack touting hallucinogens as a wellspring of creativity. His audience was obviously raised in the heady 1960s.

**Exercise makes kids smarter**. A gym teacher harnessed the brain data of a study and placed mandatory gym class prior to Math class. Student’s scores __doubled__ in comparison to kids who had their gym class after Math.

**A daily regimen of physical activity is not complicated**. Research has shown that one of the most physically and mentally rewarding activity is WALKING. Walking is achievable by almost the entire population, is low impact on the joints and is extremely enjoyable.

My top resource:
The benefits of activity and PE are lauded by Dr John Ratey, a researcher who has linked brain health and cognition to exercise. A collaborator of the inventor of the SmartCycle, Dr Ratey has influenced educators around the country to continue to fight for the existence of physical education in the nation's curriculum. I give this resource a **5 out of 5.** Below is an excerpt of an interview with Dr Ratey from the USA Today.

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Sourced from USA Today, 2/19/2008

A fast-paced workout can build muscle, but can it also improve the memory and condition the brain? John Ratey, author of a new book, //Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain//, suggests regular physical activity makes the brain function better and might combat depression and anxiety.


 * Q: How does exercise improve brain function? **  A: A fast-paced workout boosts the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor. I call it Miracle-Gro for the brain, and physical activity is one of the best ways to release this brain-nourishing protein. A workout at the gym or a brisk walk also seems to build better connections between brain cells. Studies show that regular physical activity may increase the production of cells in the hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in learning and memory. The end result is a brain that's better able to perform in school, at home or on the job.
 * Q: So does a regular workout also make you smarter? **  A: Yes. Take the Naperville school district in Illinois, for example. In 1990, a physical education teacher there named Phil Lawler launched a fitness revolution: He had the kids run a mile every single week. He also handed out grades for PE based on effort and not skill. The kids at Naperville not only got stronger, but they also started to do really well on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, a test designed to compare how well kids from different countries do in math and science. In recent years, kids in China, Japan and Singapore have outperformed American kids, but in 1999 the Naperville kids scored sixth in math and first in the world for science. That really grabbed me.
 * Q: What about exercise and stress? **  A: A stressful situation or even worry can trigger the body's fight-or-flight response. The brain responds by cranking out powerful hormones that increase blood pressure and heart rate, and that makes people feel stressed out, anxious or agitated. But new research shows that you can literally pick up a jump rope or go for a run and short-circuit the stress response. After a fast-paced workout, the muscles relax and often the worry or agitation eases as well. People who work out on a regular basis find they're resistant to the stress response. They're more likely to remain calm even in situations that would have triggered a toxic stress response in the past.
 * Q: Can exercise be used to ward off anxiety or depression, disorders that are rampant in today's society? **  A: In some cases, a regular exercise program works as well as medication typically used to relieve anxiety or mild to moderate depression. I first noticed the link between exercise and mood disorders because I had a number of patients who ran marathons. They told me they started to feel depressed after they stopped training. The more you move your body, the more you can jump-start the brain and, in some cases, end the cycle of worry, anxiety and the blues.


 * Q: Is a regular workout helpful in controlling addictions? **  A: Smokers find that just five minutes of an intense workout can erase the craving for a cigarette. A workout helps redirect the brain away from the substance of abuse and fights off the impulse to reach for a smoke or a drink — often for hours. I had one patient who started drinking to deal with a stressful home renovation. She was living in a torn-up house, and to cope with the stress she started to have a glass of wine before noon. Soon she was afraid that she had developed an addiction. But she was able to kick the habit by developing a healthy way to deal with the stress: She'd pick up a jump rope every time she felt the urge to pour herself a glass of wine.
 * Q: Can exercise help people with attention deficit disorder to focus and concentrate? **  A: Absolutely. I have had a number of patients with this disorder tell me that they time their workout period to help them concentrate later in the day. One patient would take a run in the early morning so that he was alert and focused by the time he got to work. Another said he couldn't sit still to read so he'd bring work material to the gym and read it on the treadmill.
 * Q: Does a vigorous workout help revitalize an aging brain? **  A: We discovered in the 1990s that exercise was a way to prevent cognitive decline and delay the onset of Alzheimer's. We now have tons of studies that show regular physical activity can prevent the age-related brain fogginess that often develops by age 65. I recommend seniors work out five or six days a week. A heart-thumping game of tennis or a brisk walk around the golf course can keep the older brain in top shape.

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This resource is a fabulous presentation about the benefits of PE and PA. The video touches excellently upon the stigma of gym class as presented by cultural sources. The movie //Superbad// is used as an example of what kids can fear about being ridiculed in gym class. This video was created and edited by high school students!! I give this a **5 out of 5.**

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This video resource is so-so. The information is not new to me but the relevance is important. The author/creator conveys some good info about the benefits of PE/PA. The dangers of obesity are addressed and the ability of PA to ward off disease is mentioned. It appears to have been edited by a PE teacher, which is inspiring. I give it a **3 out of 5**.

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This resource highlights the many benefits of PA and is loaded with with catchy music and images. It reminds me of a video Power Point presentation and it has the ability to get the point home nicely. It gives credence to the notion that exercise can improve sleep, cognition, your mental mood and can boost energy. I give this a **5 out of 5.**

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This is a TED talk which highlights Creativity and Play and how the two are linked. This was a great resource in that it taught me that kids who feel most secure and are in an environment that is free from embarrassment, are given the larger opportunity to be creative. The speaker does get off topic, though. I give this a **4 out of 5**.

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This resource highlights the amazing work done by a Physical Education teacher in Naperville, IL, a suburb of Chicago. Spring-boarding off of the research by individuals such as Dr John Ratey, gym teacher Paul Zientarski applies the knowledge that exercise can help cognition. His placement of PE class before math class has helped to raise the math scores of his students. This highly inspirational video is given a **5 out of 5.**

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This last resource is actually my snowboard team competing at Mt Ashland! I coach the Ashland High Grizzly snowboard team and I am a firm believer that sports, activities and after school fun help kids to achieve in their classes. At a minimum, the students strive to achieved higher grades in order to be academically eligible.
 * A resounding 5 out of 5!!!**

= __Community Based Learning Project__ =

I chose to observe, shadow and interview the reading and writing Special Education teacher at my placement, Ashland Middle School (AMS). Greg Hanzel (“Greg” as he is known to his students) and mathematics teacher Linda Smith form the backbone of Special Ed at AMS. I must mention that each of the SPED teachers have an Educational Assistant (EA) working with them at all times, a huge benefit in the eyes of both teachers. My interview with Greg was conducted on Thursday January 26th at 3:10 with my observation/shadowing occurring 5 hours earlier in the day. I sat through his 7/8th grade writing class. Comments, reflections and insights from the interview will be interspersed throughout this document.

Greg’s classroom is a comfortable open space with ample natural lighting. He has decorated his room with a naturalist flair; there are posters and pictures of beautiful and dramatic scenes of the outdoors from local settings to exotic far away places. Not cluttering the eye, these soothing photos meld well with Greg’s calm demeanor. The desks are arranged in a grid pattern and the ten students are sitting equally spaced from each other. It is a classroom environment that appears very conducive towards the individualized learning approach.

Students slowly filter in the classroom and one student asks Greg “where is Johnny, he is never here!” Greg, not making any judgment whatsoever, responds, “ask him when he gets back.” His reaction belies a sense of control; Greg does not want to give the student “ammunition” to put down another commonly absent student. The bell rings and, as this is the first period, the announcements commence and the students listen with out any disruptions. My first impression is that this is class without any students with major behavioral issues. I learn later that AMS has a separate program called BELL that is dedicated to instructing students with behavioral issues. Greg conveys that separating out the more difficult learners from the SPED students is a benefit to all, a tailored fit approach to instruction and learning.

During announcements the principal mentions kids throwing out lunch trays by mistake and after the announcements are finished, Greg takes a moment to highlight the lunch tray issue. He then says that next week there will be in-service days on Monday and Tuesday, meaning the school year is halfway over. This means that the eight graders will be heading to the High school in two months for their //Transition Day// to get acquainted and begin to plan their freshmen year’s course load. Greg takes a moment to talk about the importance of //doing well now// and striving to improve their grades to help with their placements. He introduces them to the idea that being paced in a higher math and English class will benefit them, as they will have more freedom later in their HS careers. When they are in their Junior and senior years they could have an “out” for instance or be able to take interesting electives and not need to get required credits all the way through. This advice he gives speaks to the notion that the one of the goals of SPED teachers is to plant a seed in the students to get back to mainstream classes.

The rest of the 65-minute class is organized as follows. First they embark on 5-10 minute writing prompt after which there is a non-mandatory share of student’s writing. Nobody shares, so Greg reads his prompt and his topic triggers a small discussion. The next 15 are devoted to Direct Instruction of predicated adjectives and linking verbs. During my interview, Greg revealed that at the beginning of the trimester he and the EA administer a writing assignment and they take note of any patterns of grammatical deficiencies the students are showing. He tries to focus on the main writing deficiencies through these teaching moments. The EA is floating about the room helping students individually, checking for understanding and keeping them on task. This approach of direct instruction, the support of the EA and the small and manageable class size appears very beneficial to the student.

The next 15 minutes the students spend practicing typing on iPads that are fitted with separate keyboards. The SPED program at AMS received a $150,000 sum of money from the Federal bank bailout of 2011 and they devoted a large portion of the windfall to purchasing the iPads, a computer lab and a smart board. I learned later from my CT that some mainstream teachers feel that there is an imbalance in the funding, but Greg feels that these students are deserving of the improvements. The final stretch of class is devoted to Greg reading to the students from an ongoing novel. In Greg’s view, this class time allows the students to wind down and let their mind’s relax. The students all appear to be following along with the story, reading with him silently.

During our talk, I had a chance to hear more about the process of selection of students into the SPED classes. At AMS if a teacher has a concern that a student needs a more individualized approach the Child Study Team (CST) is notified. The CST is comprised of the school psychologist, the school nurse, the Vice Principal and the other SPED teacher, Linda. The CST will assist in implementing interventions within the mainstream class for 4 to 6 weeks and if no improvements are made, the student will be evaluated for SPED eligibility. Greg sees this as beneficial in that it acts as “gatekeeper” in a way for SPED; in order to keep their numbers to a manageable size, he and Linda must be sure to accept kids who are truly needing attention. With budget cuts gutting our districts, SPED class sizes have been growing steadily over the last few years and Greg laments at these changes. To add to the challenges, AMS had three SPED teachers not to long ago.

Taking part in this assignment has left me both optimistic and fearful of the current (and future) attention students with special needs are receiving. Observing Greg fills me with hope because he expresses a deep sense of care in the cognitive welfare of his students. But the political and statewide treatment of our schools in terms of funding has me worried for these individuals.