If we do not help our children who will we help.
HISD Reports that more than 1 in 3 HISD students are suffering from child obesity.
http://www.click2houston.com/education/21040051/detail.html#video
Texas Ranks 6th in Nation for Childhood Obesity.
http://www.click2houston.com/education/21040051/detail.html#video
The highest overweight and obesity prevalence is found in Mexican American boys (ages 6 to 11), 43 percent, and Mexican American adolescent males (ages 12 to 19), 44.2 percent.
http://obesity1.tempdomainname.com/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Team Ranger's Fitness Program
Currently Team Rangers Fitness Program comes right out of FM 21-20 The United States Army Physical Fitness Training Manual. We start off with a series of rotations, then stretches, followed by a series of excercises to strengthen our core.
As of today I have them run a mile. As we spend more time training I plan on increasing the distance in quarter mile increments. Furthermore, I plan on doing some speed training so that my students can increase thier times.
As of today I have them run a mile. As we spend more time training I plan on increasing the distance in quarter mile increments. Furthermore, I plan on doing some speed training so that my students can increase thier times.
Team Ranger Goals
Team Ranger is through my school's 21st century after school program. The director, Lisa Caruso, asked me last week if I would train the kids to run the 5K at the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 17th 2010. I said yes right away. I am really excited about my students running in this well organized event. I have run 5 marathons at 4 different locations and Houston is by far the best venue!
http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/5K/index.cfm
Currently this is the only race that we have on our calenders. However, with the right support we have the potential to participate in a lot more.
http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/5K/index.cfm
Currently this is the only race that we have on our calenders. However, with the right support we have the potential to participate in a lot more.
Who My Students Are
As of today I have 15 students in my after school program. However, this is just the first week of the program and realistically thinking tells me that the numbers may change. Most of them are students from my Texas History classes; however, I do have several 8th graders as well.
The program just got started this week and we are still very much in our infancy. But I have high hopes and I see real potential for this club growing into something really awesome. I see a lot of potential for this group to go from running the 5k once in January, to becoming a full time running team that runs marathon relays and 5K's around the city. However, only time will tell what happens and it is still a long time from January 17th.
The program just got started this week and we are still very much in our infancy. But I have high hopes and I see real potential for this club growing into something really awesome. I see a lot of potential for this group to go from running the 5k once in January, to becoming a full time running team that runs marathon relays and 5K's around the city. However, only time will tell what happens and it is still a long time from January 17th.
My Schools Profile
100% are Title 1
92% of my schools population is Hispanic
89% are on Free/Reduced Lunch
55% are At- Risk
21% are LEP
21% are ESL
** If running is an interest of yours and you want to help change these students' lives, please feel free to contact me to see how you can make a difference!**
92% of my schools population is Hispanic
89% are on Free/Reduced Lunch
55% are At- Risk
21% are LEP
21% are ESL
** If running is an interest of yours and you want to help change these students' lives, please feel free to contact me to see how you can make a difference!**
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Who I Am
My name is Adam Johnson. I am a 7th grade Texas History teacher at W.I. Stevenson Middle School in Houston I.S.D. Prior to education I spent 11 years in the United States Army as an Airborne Infantryman. I spent one of those years in Afghanistan participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. Shortly after getting out of the military, I started teaching and never thought I would do it for more than a year or two. Six years later I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life and its all because of these little kids that I teach and mentor each and every day.
Running has always been a big part of my life. I started running as a child to escape my childhood troubles. If there was ever anything that was troubling me, I would simply go running until it did not bother me anymore. It was just my way of dealing with the stress that life has to offer. In fact, as a teenager it was not uncommon for me to run 8 or 9 miles a night. In addition, as a member of the United States Army we would run several miles everyday.
Yet, somewhere between getting out of the Army and starting my 1st year of teaching I just stopped working out and started making some very unhealthy life style choices that soon became habits. Thus, it was not before long that I had a lot of extra pounds that I did not want.
Then one day as I was looking at myself in the mirror I just said enough was enough and decided that I was going to do something about my weight issue. So just as I had done when I was a child, I started running. When I first tried, I could not even run a mile. In fact, I could not really even run. But I keep at it and in a couple of short months I was running 4 to 6 miles a day. That's when I decided that I was going to run the Marathon (26.2 miles). When I told my family and friends they told me not to do it, that I was crazy and that I would die. But the more they told me not to, the more it determined me to do it. And six months later with a lot of training I ran the Houston Marathon 2008, and when I crossed the finished line I told myself I would never do it again because it was so mentally and physcially challenging. After a few weeks, I remembered how great it felt to cross the finish line. You feel like you're 10 feet tall! My friends convinced me to run again, I ran my 2nd marathon in March of that same year in Sea Brook. Then 6 months later I ran my 3rd in San Antonio in Nov. 2008, my 4th marathon a month later in Huntsville running the Sun Mart Ultra Marathon and my 5th marathon back at Houston in January 2009.
As of today I am still running. In fact, I am scheduled to run the Houston Marathon a 3rd time in Jan. 2010. I have high hopes for this years running season and hope to set a PR at the Houston Marathon. But more importantly I get to share my love for running with my students.
Running has always been a big part of my life. I started running as a child to escape my childhood troubles. If there was ever anything that was troubling me, I would simply go running until it did not bother me anymore. It was just my way of dealing with the stress that life has to offer. In fact, as a teenager it was not uncommon for me to run 8 or 9 miles a night. In addition, as a member of the United States Army we would run several miles everyday.
Yet, somewhere between getting out of the Army and starting my 1st year of teaching I just stopped working out and started making some very unhealthy life style choices that soon became habits. Thus, it was not before long that I had a lot of extra pounds that I did not want.
Then one day as I was looking at myself in the mirror I just said enough was enough and decided that I was going to do something about my weight issue. So just as I had done when I was a child, I started running. When I first tried, I could not even run a mile. In fact, I could not really even run. But I keep at it and in a couple of short months I was running 4 to 6 miles a day. That's when I decided that I was going to run the Marathon (26.2 miles). When I told my family and friends they told me not to do it, that I was crazy and that I would die. But the more they told me not to, the more it determined me to do it. And six months later with a lot of training I ran the Houston Marathon 2008, and when I crossed the finished line I told myself I would never do it again because it was so mentally and physcially challenging. After a few weeks, I remembered how great it felt to cross the finish line. You feel like you're 10 feet tall! My friends convinced me to run again, I ran my 2nd marathon in March of that same year in Sea Brook. Then 6 months later I ran my 3rd in San Antonio in Nov. 2008, my 4th marathon a month later in Huntsville running the Sun Mart Ultra Marathon and my 5th marathon back at Houston in January 2009.
As of today I am still running. In fact, I am scheduled to run the Houston Marathon a 3rd time in Jan. 2010. I have high hopes for this years running season and hope to set a PR at the Houston Marathon. But more importantly I get to share my love for running with my students.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
