September 28, 2015 Meeting
Posted by A. Todd
on Sep 28, 2015
Sadly, not a very good speaker photo. On the 'bright side' has Conrad ever looked better? M'thinks not!
Where's Fred when you need him?
Today we welcomed Assistant District Governor Tamiye Meehan.
Tom Whelan, wrestling coach at Prospect High School was our speaker. Tom is also a physical education teacher and he started his talk by detailing how gym class has changed since we were in school. Rather than teaching students how to play basketball or crab soccer or the like, phys ed is more of a fitness class now with personalized training programs for each student.
This is especially true for the school's athletes. Each athlete has their own heart rate monitor and their workouts are tracked online so they (and their coaches) can track their progress. This level of detail actually helps the athletes academically since it better incorporates their development towards their sport and decreases the time needed for practice.
The Phys Ed department is also working with Harper CC to award physical training certification to students by offering test prep workshops.
Tom has very few rules for the wrestling team and they emphasize self-pride and work ethic. Tom feels that his athletes need to take away more than just a knowledge of how to do a take down. They need to build a strong character that will serve them well the rest of their lives. Towards that end, Tom and his staff meet with each wrestler and works with them to set their own individual goal, team goal and program goals. It's critical that the student create these goals himself because that ensures they're invested in accomplishing it. Plus, Tom is always amazed at the types of goals his wrestlers come up with - often they're nothing that he'd ever think of on his own.
Tom has been very successful this approach to the team. He's earned numerous education and teaching awards since he joined Prospect, including District 214's Outstanding Contributor to Education. He's doing great things and his students are benefiting greatly as a result.