Online Portfolio

Here is a link to my online professional portfolio in progress!

Jamie Florindi's Professional Portfolio

Final Paper

Here is the link to my final paper for 470 which focuses on bullying and cyber bullying in schools Final Paper

enjoy :)

Bullying Paper so Far...

Abstract

            This paper explores the causes and effects of bullying and cyber-bullying in schools today. Tragedy has been demonstrated through horrible events such as school shootings and suicide among youths, and bullying has been a precursor to these events. Recent research that has been conducted in the United States has documented that bullying is a common and potentially damaging form of violence among children (Limber, Nation). Students may be bullied in the school environment when a student says mean or hurtful things to them, exclude students from groups on purpose, physical abuse such as kicking and punching, along with many other reasons. Bullying is clearly a problem within our schools today, and teachers as well as other school personnel need to take an active role in minimizing the amount of bullying that is going on in school. If adults step in against bullying, many of the bullying events that take place in schools would not go as far as they do if an individual in the school takes a stand to stop it. The amount of metal detectors and extra security measures that take place in schools do not decrease the amount of bullying that is still going on throughout the entire school year. One-third to half of America’s children report being bullied at least once and 10 percent feel continually targeted (Sadker, Zittleman). This paper will go into great detail about the causes and effects of bullying and cyber-bullying in schools and ways that schools and other individuals can step in to stop the amount of violence and hate that is in the school environment.

Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: A Look into the Causes and Effects of Bullying in Schools

            What exactly is bullying? A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students (Olweus). Bullying can be defined as repeated and systematic harassment and attacks on others. Bullying takes many forms, and can include many different behaviors such as physical violence and attacks, verbal taunts, name-calling, and put-downs, threats and intimidation, and exclusion from the peer group. Physical bullying can entail poking, pinching, kicking, biting, hair pulling, or beating (NASW, 2002). Verbal bullying can include teasing, name-calling, threats, and spreading rumors. In a typical classroom of about twenty students, two or three come to school every day fearing being bullied, harassed, or worse. More than forty percent of students admit to bullying a classmate at least once; more than half have witnessed bullying and have not stopped or reported it (Sadker, Zittleman). There are specific characteristics of the bully and the victim that can help researchers look into reasons why students bully and what the victims are doing to try and stop the bullying.

            Individuals that exhibit bully behavior have little empathy for others, have a more positive attitude towards violence, and are aggressive to parents and teachers as well as their peers (Olweus, 1993). Bullies that are in the schools are unlike their peers because of the fact that they have more aggression built up towards others. Bullies that exhibit aggressive behavior have an inability to channel their anger in a more acceptable fashion. Children who bully are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property, and drop out of school (Sadker, Zittleman). Causes of students bullying may come from a power imbalance, where the student feels more powerful and stronger than their peers. This gives these students a feeling of authority, and they believe that they can pick on their peers who are weaker and more timid than themselves.  Sometimes older students feel the need to bully younger students, and they use their age and size as an advantage. In addition, there are gender differences that add to the patterns of bullying in our society today.

            One conclusion made about gender differences in bullying is that boys are more likely to be both the perpetrators and the victims of aggressive physical and verbal bullying by peers (A.S.A.P). Boys are more likely to engage in physical bullying, while girls often revert to relational bullying, such as gossip and exclusion (Sadker, Zittleman). Boys and girls both engage in bullying, but their behaviors are much different. Olewus (1993) reports that one of his studies, conducted with students in grades five to seven, found that sixty percent of girls who were bullied were bullied only by boys, while another fifteen to twenty percent were bullied by both boys and girls. Tendencies of girls include using social means to bully others such as gossiping about others as well as manipulating friendships. Girls socialize differently than boys do, which includes verbal bonding by telling stories, hopes, and dreams. Girls can be quietly vicious to one another and their behaviors might not be as obvious when they are bullying others. This is one of the reasons why it is hard to detect that girls are bullying because girls use emotional violence when they bully others. Those who are being bullied sometimes don’t speak up for themselves because they may be afraid of the consequences if they tell someone what has been happening.

            Those individuals that are targeted for bullying are usually the individuals that do not fit in, targeted because of their physical appearance, or because of their mannerisms. Often times, boys tend to bully those who are smaller than them. According to Olweus, victims of bullying do not have friends and withdraw from others.

I am going to go more in depth about bullying and cyber-bullying as well. I am going to the library to take out resources for my paper so that I can do more research not just with websites but with journal articles and books as well. I found Dan Olweus as a great source and I am going to research more about his works on bullying. 

Portfolio Showcase

Today, I attended the Portfolio Showcase in Park Center. I wanted to go and support my fellow peers that I have gotten to know over the past 4 years at Cortland. It sounds crazy to say that I have known these people for the last 4 years of my life. We were all complete strangers and have bonded together because of our profession: Physical Education. We all share similar beliefs and get along because we have made this journey together at Cortland. I don't think many people can say that when they went to college they made so many friends just in their major. Our graduating class is one of the brightest and I will cherish all the friendships I have made during my college career in my classes. The physical education program at Cortland is such a tight-knit program where you are in classes with your fellow peers, interacting with them every day. I have the utmost respect for all my peers, especially those individuals that made it into the showcase. First, I noticed that my friend Gillian Garzia made it into the showcase. I have known Gillian since freshman year; we went through COR 101 together and ever since then I have noticed she has worked diligently to where she is today. I asked her a few questions about her portfolio and she said she worked on it all throughout Thanksgiving break. She is very active in her sorority and she has many certificates in her Professional Development section that highlights what committees she has served on in her sorority. We had many of the same artifacts in our portfolios and she really thought all of her reflections through. I have also known Aly Case since freshman year and I have the utmost respect for her as well. Her portfolio was filled with certificates from her position as an RA in the residence halls as well as honors for getting on the Dean's List and attending the mini and state conferences. What I also enjoyed about her portfolio is that she had many pictures from when she went to Raquette Lake this summer. It gave me an insight about her trip and the friends she made this summer. She told me she was very proud of her professional development section because she has worked so hard in her 4 years at Cortland and she believes that it has all paid off. I was also impressed at Ben's online Portfolio. I enjoyed the fact that Ben had music with his portfolio and that it is accessible online. This is great when you go to a job interview because you can leave your website with the panel that is interviewing you and they can look at your portfolio whenever they want. I noticed that Ben had a  plethora of teaching pictures of himself. That is something that I want to refine in my portfolio to make it better. When I am student teaching, this is a time to refine my portfolio and make it even better than it is now. I have many goals for making my portfolio better and that is just one of my many goals. I took a few pictures at the showcase that I will post in my blog. It was a great time and I congratulate all of my fellow classmates for making it this far!

 Gillian with her portfolio

Professional Memberships in Alyson Case's Portfolio

Ben's online portfolio

Rich speaking about his portfolio

 Ben's online portfolio from another view

Exit Interview Questions

In class last Wednesday night, we went through sample exit interview questions for those of us who will be student teaching next semester. We went in with a group of 3 people and we were each asked 2 questions to answer to a panel. In the exit interview, we were interviewed by one professor and we were in groups of about 5. These sample interview questions really got us prepared for what was ahead and what we should do during our interview. I was told that it was great to reiterate the question to the panel after it is asked. That is important and it is also important to list things in an answer and then go back and explain what you have listed. I am glad that we were able to go through some of these interview questions as a group to get us ready for what was ahead for the exit interview. When we got the list of questions on Friday, I was ready for some of them because I remembered the answers from those in my group. It was great to get feedback from those in my group as well as the panel that was asking me questions on Wednesday night. I remembered to make eye contact with all of those in my group and to answer my questions in depth but not make my answers too long. I felt very prepared for my exit interview on Tuesday.

Coaching Philosophy in Progress

II. Coaching Philosophy

A COACH is a leader for their team and is a strong individual that is able to face adversity with a positive attitude. A coach is one that the team looks up to when they need guidance on doing the right thing. Coaching includes dealing with problems head on and turning them into learning experiences for the entire team. Coaching also includes keeping your team united as a unit that are working together to achieve a common goal. Athletics shapes a person’s character and instills specific virtues in their life. My philosophy of coaching rests upon three main ideas that are winning isn’t everything, making time for their team and always looking at situations with a positive attitude, and developing and improving ability of all members of the team. Looking back on my athletic career, I believe that many of my coaches instilled these 3 beliefs in my mind. They did not focus all their attention on winning the game, but did focus on making us better players. My coach was always at every game and practice and gave in extra time to practice on the weekends, and cared about improving our skills to make us all better players.

First of all, I believe that a coach should not put all their emphasis on winning the game. If you focus all your attention on winning a game, then your players will be upset when they do not come out on top. The real emphasis should be on working together as a team and getting closer throughout this process. There are going to be times when you may not win a game but it is all about how much effort you put in during that game. If you did not care about the game, your players will feel the same way and will not give their full effort. I believe that a coach should emphasize giving the full effort during each practice and each game and it will pay off. There were plenty of seasons where I played on a team and we lost more games than we won. There were times where our coach would be disappointed with our playing during that game, but it was all about how we picked ourselves up from that loss and moved on to the next game. The attitude of the coach is infectious to the players as well and it is up to us as coaches to look at each game as a new one and to not get discouraged if things are not going to way that you planned.

My second philosophy is based on the belief that a coach should make time for their team and always look at situations with a positive attitude. Unless my coach had a family emergency, I cannot remember one time where they were not at a game or practice. My coach always made time for the team especially on the weekends when we needed a little more practice time. A coach should put the team first and realize that any decisions that are made can affect the team positively or negatively. I believe that a coach should also pick an assistant coach that will be able to fill in for them if they are unable to make a practice or game. A coach is one who is always on the sidelines cheering on their team in good and bad times. There have been plenty of times where I have been on a team and my coach has lost their cool. As a coach there are going to be situations that will make you mad, but it is all about not losing your patience and letting it go. You will give your team a positive reputation if you demonstrate good sportsmanship that your team can embody. (needs work)

My final belief about coaching is that a coach is one who develops and improves the ability of all members of the team. As a coach, there are going to be certain individuals on your team that will excel in all skills, while other players on your team will need some work. As a coach I believe that you should not single out your players that may not be at the same ability level as others on the team. Each player on your team should have a fair chance in playing and developing their skills during practices and games. None of your players are going to be perfect and the job as a coach is to improve certain skills of all their players. I was the starting catcher on my varsity softball team during my sophomore year of high school but that still does not mean my skills were perfect. My coach worked with me to improve my ability behind the plate, as well as when I got up to bat. Each one of my teammates improved their ability during the softball season and each one of my teammates had an opportunity to play no matter their skill level. As a coach, there should be a belief that the only way your players will improve their skills is if they are able to participate in game-like situations. By the end of the season, a coach should feel as though they have made a difference in their players lives in a positive way.

Physical Education Philosophy in Progress

           The main goal of PHYSICAL EDUCATION is to educate individuals on a lifetime of physical activity for their own health and benefit. Physical Education is used as a guide to lead individuals in the right direction on creating a healthy lifestyle and sticking to it. Our job as the physical educators of the future is to create a positive learning environment for our students and be role models that they can look up to and talk to whenever they need someone. My philosophy of physical education rests on three basic ideas. These three ideas include being an influential leader for our future students, educating individuals about our profession and our purpose to teach physical education to those who don’t know how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and to promote a lifetime of physical fitness. Physical Education has a reputation of just teaching students how to play sports, but it digs deeper into involving the domains of learning into our teaching. We are the leaders of the future that need to change the view of physical education to those who are unaware of our purpose to educate.

            I believe that we are influential leaders for our future students in a variety of ways. First of all, we are different from the teachers in the classroom because we see our students in a different environment. They come to physical education to enjoy themselves while learning at the same time. When the students are in the classroom they are focused on sitting quietly in their desks and not getting a chance to express them. When these students enter the gymnasium, they get a chance let out all their energy and express themselves through moving. I know that when I was in school I felt more comfortable talking to my physical education teacher than my classroom teacher. With your physical education teacher there is such a wide variety of things to talk about which could either be about a favorite sports team, a workout routine that the student is participating in, as well as what they did that past weekend. I think we need to leave that door open for students to come and talk to us when they are having a problem that they do not know how to resolve. We are there to influence our students to make the right decisions when they do not know what else to do. As a physical educator we need to let our students know that we are there for them and educate them on following the right path.

            Physical Education has gotten a reputation over the years that we just roll a ball out for our students while they play the basic sports such as basketball, football, soccer, and baseball. Our profession digs deeper by integrating the 3 domains of learning into our classroom. The students are not just playing sports and getting a grade on if they are prepared for class or not. We focus in on the ideas that students should be working together while in class and respecting the teacher and the rules of the classroom. The students are also being challenged cognitively with quizzes that reinforce their knowledge of the activity they are participating in. Their grade is not solely based on how well they can play a sport. We are also educators for those who are unaware about how to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We are there to help these individuals get on the right path to eating correctly and exercising daily. As physical educators we need to give our students numerous ways to keep their body healthy if they do not know how. We are there as an extra resource when our students are lost and want to resort to hurting their body to maintain a certain weight. The last thing I would want to see in my classroom is one of my students abusing their body to maintain a healthy lifestyle. There are ways around this and this is our goal as physical educators, which is to educate our students on what it means to keep and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

            My final philosophy about physical education is to promote a lifetime of physical fitness. Our students need to be educated about how to maintain a healthy level of physical fitness when they are out on their own and have limited resources. Especially when students go to college, most of the time they are engaging in activities that do not promote a healthy lifestyle such as drinking and eating the wrong things. We need to start out educating our students early about this and the effects it has on their body. When educating our students, we as educators need to be physically fit and set a good example for our students that may be struggling. The home life of many students can be a factor in not being physically fit. Their parents may not cook for them every night and they may always go out to eat. We need to get our point across to our students that it is important to eat the right things and exercise to keep them fit. A lifetime of physical fitness stretches throughout the entire life and to promote this philosophy, it starts in the physical education classroom. We are the resources for our students to keep an active and healthy lifestyle for the long run.