Former National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) President, Tom Templin, last month shared his concern that we need to provide better "proof in our pudding," demonstrating that the programs we run and the teaching we demonstrate be consistent with local and national models of best practice. I agree completely, that it is "mind boggling" that national health concerns such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and malnutrition rarely persuade policy makers to look toward school settings and physical education programs to provide much needed relief to these health ills.

Unless of course, as noted by Professor Templin, those policy makers and the general public do not associate our day-to-day physical education programs with providing a health-related exercise focus, but instead, with only providing a much needed "break" in the academic day for nation's youth. And if we have been, at times, our own worst enemy…what might that mean for our next generation of teachers and students?

As a university teacher educator, I would like to extend Professor Templin's thesis to also include the need for undergraduate teacher education programs to provide "proof in their pudding" concerning models of best practice. We've all been hearing for years about the "graying" of our nation's teachers (and general population for that matter), and the need for future teachers. One potential problem as I see it is the lack of colleges and universities committed to preparing future teachers.

I provide you, by way of example, the two schools I attended - Colorado State University as an undergraduate, and Virginia Tech for graduate study. Both of these schools have, in the years since I left, discontinued their undergraduate teacher education programs in physical and health education. I have heard from colleagues across the country about similar stories in their state universities. We have all seen stories about "best colleges" in publications such as U.S. News and World Report, but how many of those "best" schools provide the schoolteachers needed to provide instruction to our next generation?

Since I teach at a smaller state university founded as the state's normal school (i.e., teacher education institution), my university is committed to preparing teachers, yet my university is no where near the list of "best" colleges which are dominated by Ivy League schools. Shouldn't the best colleges prepare the best teachers?

Okay. So I am being a bit facetious. Yes, I do realize these lists are not inclusive of all schools, and yes, my university is listed within its own category (based on size, university mission, etc.), and yes, I realize Ivy League schools do not want to "waste" their time preparing physical education teachers. It just seems odd, that as we see daily stories about the ill effects of poor health on our nation's youth, and we might expect more colleges and universities committed to preparing teachers to educate those youth, we instead see fewer schools committed to preparing future teachers.

Jon Poole
Secondary Section Editor

80th Annual ASHA
School Health Conference

Planners are busy organizing the agenda and activities for the 80th Annual Conference of the American School Health Association, October 11-14, 2006, St. Louis, Missouri. The 2006 conference theme is Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: The Mental Health Connection.

Many Programs will address identifying the causes of mental health problems among children and youth, emerging prevention or intervention strategies, the interactions between mental health and other educational and health outcomes, and/or practical approaches to school-based prevention or intervention.

Healthy School Communities and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's (ASCD) Healthy School Communities program is part of a large, multi-year plan to shift public dialogue about education from an academic focus to a "whole child" approach that encompasses all factors required for successful learning. ASCD hopes to recast the definition of a successful learner from one whose achievement is measured solely by academic tests, to one who is knowledgeable, emotionally and physically healthy, civically engaged, prepared for economic self-sufficiency, and ready for the world beyond formal school.

VISION

Healthy School Communities

	Demonstrate the belief that successful learners are emotionally and physically healthy, knowledgeable, motivated, and engaged.
	Demonstrate best practice in leadership and instruction across the school.
	Create and sustain strong collaborations between the school and community institution.
	Have evidence-based systems and policies in place to support the physical and emotional well-being of students and staff.
	Provide an environment in which students can put into practice what they learn in health education and physical education.
	Use data-driven decision making to continuously improve.

GRANT APPLICATION - Healthy School Communities: The ASDC Whole Child Initiative. Find grant application information from ASCD, and funds available for schools to apply for support efforts to create a healthy school environment.

Since many states hold their annual convention in the fall (including my home state of Virginia), this is the perfect opportunity for you to reconnect with old friends and colleagues, catch-up with your professors from your college days, and gain some valuable professional development.

For example:

VAHPERD
November 2-5
Virginia Beach, VA

Visit the national AAHPERD website to find both state and district convention information.

Fantasy Game Helps Students "Pass" Math
Many youngsters crunch sports statistics, but never think of it as doing math. But a curriculum developed by a former middle school math teacher that combines math with Fantasy Football is scoring big with students. Also check out Math in Sports.

Heads Up - A cooperative education project between Scholastic and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Heads Up, is a drug education series for Grades 6-10 complete with lesson plans and reproducible slides/handouts. This includes some timely information on steroids, and their abuse with high school students.

National Institute on Drug Abuse - The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) created this Web site to educate kids ages 11 through 15 (and parents, and teachers) on the science behind drug abuse. NIDA enlisted the help of teens in developing the site to ensure that the content addresses appropriate questions and timely concerns. The site delivers science-based facts about how drugs affect the brain and body so that kids will be armed with better information to make healthy decisions. - source

Lunch Box Builder - This is NOT the same old, same old 'healthy lunch box' ideas. This site offers LOTS of healthy lunches, shows what the lunch looks like, and makes lunch really fun! Check this site out, if no other!

From this same site comes some more great recipes for packing school lunches. These recipes sure make lunch fun! Also, check out these wraps! You won't run out ideas for great lunches!

Smart Food Choices - When it comes to food, one thing's for sure, there’s never been so much choice. So if you’re finding it hard figuring out what's what - but want to make some shrewd choices - then this section could be for you. Check out their recipes for lunch ideas.

Main Dish (Lunch) Recipes - If you have the time, how could any teen not like these recipes? Great lunches, and your teen would be the envy of everyone else! Also check out these recipes. Only 5 are shown at a time, so scroll through the pages to see the rest!

Create Fast, Fun Meals with Wraps - Wraps, those flatbread-encased parcels stuffed with any filling imaginable, started springing up on menus everywhere over last few years, along with entire fast-food restaurants dedicated entirely to serving up global cuisine wrapped in a tortilla. Check out this site for a LOT of wrap variations. You won't get bored with wraps!

Healthy, Fast Back-To-School Meals - As the long, lazy days of summer come to an end, a busy fall routine usually kicks in for most families, with kids returning to school and schedules filling up with all sorts of activities and obligations. To help make things a bit less trying at mealtime, cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie has some quick, yet healthy, suggestions meals great for lunch or dinner.

Healthy Alternatives for your favorite Mission recipes. To find the Healthy Alternatives modifications, just look up your favorite recipes. You'll see their suggestions and nutrition facts there on the same page. Pick the modifications that look good to you.

The Visual Guide - I absolutely love this site. Although tailored to appeal to younger children, you can get some great recipes for teens too. Whether you need to provide lunch to teens or younger kids, look this site over! It's great fun.

Recipe Type - Burgers, Tortillas & More
You'll find a very long list of great meals that can be used for both lunch and dinner. Each recipe includes a picture of what the meal looks like when prepared. Mmmmm....