Supercast

[Music]

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They are challenging young minds and making amazing light bulb moments happen on a regular basis at Daybreak Elementary School.

On this episode of the Supercast, find out how teachers are blending Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math with a mix of the Arts, turning it into a full day of fun and learning that is sparking student curiosity and developing strong thinking skills.

[Music]

We're here at Daybreak Elementary to talk about their STEAM activity today. Introduce yourselves and tell us what's going on.

Leslie Ewell:
Great. I'm Leslie Ewell. I'm the principal here at Daybreak Elementary and with me is Amanda Williams. She's my instructional coach. We started this last year in the spring. It's a STEAM Explorer. We got the idea from an elementary school in St. George, Diamond Valley. They are a STEAM school and they do these rounds too. So I went down and visited and saw what they were doing and just loved it so much. So then I worked to create it here at our school. And so what happens is every teacher creates a four-week unit with 40-minute lessons on anything in the STEAM acronym, which is science, technology, engineering, art, or math or they can combine all of those things in that unit. They are required to have the engineering process in that unit, so to follow that. And they can choose anything they want. The teachers can choose anything they want to do within those boundaries. And then we create some slide shows. The kids see the slide shows and they pick their top three choices. And then we place our kids in one of their top three choices.

Anthony Godfrey:
So each teacher has designed one and the students get to choose which one they want to be a part of. 

Leslie Ewell:
Yeah. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Ok, great.

Leslie Ewell:
Yeah, and so we do our best to get them in one of their top three choices. We usually are pretty successful at that. 

Amanda Williams:
We've never not gotten them into one of their top three choices.

Anthony Godfrey:
I’d say that’s pretty successful.

Amanda Williams:
I think that’s pretty successful.

Leslie Ewell:
Then they go on Fridays, every Friday from 9:30 to 10:15. They go to one of those classes and they get to participate. There's lots of fun, fun things going on. We have a teacher right now that's doing basketball using Newton's theory of physics. So they spent time talking about that and then they're putting those skills into practice. So you can see that today. We have our wonderful counselor that has been doing dinosaur digging and talking about dinosaurs and that paleontology.

Amanda Williams:
And he even brings in-- He has a lot of family history, which is really cool. A lot of these projects are passion projects from the teachers. So something that they're interested in that they can bring their passion and engagement with the students. So he has family land and has all these fossils and petrified wood, so he brings that in and he lets all of the kids see it. He has dinosaur teeth. It's just really amazing to see not only the students engaged in the lessons and exploring and participating in this hands on learning  but also that the teachers, when you walk in, you'll just see their faces glowing because it's so much fun for them as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
It sounds like a very, very deep, meaningful level of learning. So if anyone wonders whether Fridays are really worth it, Fridays are worth it. A lot's going on here at Daybreak. We have three students here now at Daybreak. So tell me your name and your grade and what you've liked about this.

Jane:
I'm Jane. I'm in fourth grade and I've liked doing our art thing. I'm in Kertamus's class. She's doing pointillism and needle and thread thing. I forgot what it was called. It's really fun and I just love doing it.

Caleb:
My name is Caleb and I am in third grade Miss Adams class. I love the Stop Motion Studio because it's just so fun to do it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Have you made a movie yourself?

Caleb:
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey;
What did you use? What was the movie about?

Caleb:
We're like, it's like the old 90s and we're like, there's two kids who are bull riders and two kids that are bulls. I'm a bull and one of my other friends are bulls.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so you're actually acting in this film?

Caleb:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. So you move a little bit.

Caleb:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it hard to stay still?

Caleb:
If you keep your momentum a notch. It's not if you keep your momentum but if you don't it's just so hard not to fall off.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does the movie have a name?

Caleb:
It's like a bull rider, bull riders that crash into each other and fall and the bulls just start fighting.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. I'm looking forward to seeing this. It's not in 3D is it? I think that might be a little scary.

Caleb:
No, no.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about your experience.

Luke:
So my name's Luke and for this class I've been taking a coding class because I want to figure out how to code video games and I've been learning a lot from the teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what have you learned by coding?

Luke:
I learned the basic blocks of what you connect and how to make a character move and how to add a character.

Anthony Godfrey:
Does it make you look at video games differently that you play?

Luke:
Yeah. It makes me look at them way differently.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that something that you'd like to do?

Luke:
Maybe, but I don't know if I'd be able to make the most complex ones but I'd be able to make some simpler ones.

Anthony Godfrey:
One day maybe. What are the video games that you like to play?

Luke:
I like to play Minecraft and Fortnite.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. All right. We've got pointillism, we've got filmmaking and we've got computer programming coding. I think that's fantastic. Shall we talk with your counselor here and let's see what he's up to?

Isaac Broadbent:
Hello, hello.

Anthony Godfrey:
Introduce yourself and talk about this activity.

Isaac Broadbent:
Yeah, so I am Mr. Isaac Broadbent. I am one of the counselors here at Daybreak Elementary and I am in charge of the Dino Dig STEAM lesson. And so I chose a dinosaur-themed topic to do for my STEAM.

Anthony Godfrey:
You don't wear Jurassic Park gear every day to school.

Isaac Broadbent:
Unfortunately not. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Hat and shirt.

Isaac Broadbent:
Yeah, I got my hat and my shirt, the whole outfit.

Anthony Godfrey:
A Jeep outside with a wrap around it.

Isaac Broadbent:
Oh man, you know what? That is actually next on the list.

Anthony Godrey:
That's next level. So talk to me about this activity. What do you have set up?

Isaac Broadbent:
Oh, right. So today is our fourth lesson. Right. So this is the last lesson and this is kind of like the pinnacle part that the students have been working towards. So we've already discussed, you know, the basic anatomy of dinosaurs, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores. And then we've progressed into fossils and different types of fossils and how we can find those in the process that has to take place in order to have an animal remain fossilized. And now we've gone over how sediment plays a role in that process. We've been able to create our own little dinosaur fossils in that sediment encased for the students to dig up today. And so they've been waiting for this moment today.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's exciting.

Isaac Broadbent:
And they can actually, you know, have some hands-on experience with digging and chiseling away at a fossil that they've created themselves.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have a huge drop cloth laid down in the media center. Normally when there's a drop cloth laid down, there's going to be something fun happening.

Isaac Broadbent:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it looks like the fossils are in the red solo cups over here. Is that right?

Isaac Broadbent:
Yep. Yeah. So over here.

Anthony Godfrey:
With some names. So which whose fossil should I dig up for them? I’m just kidding.

Isaac Broadbent:
So I've got Nathan right here if you want.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Sorry, Nathan. I really want to do this. No, this looks great. It actually looks more like a root beer float in there.

Isaac Broadbent:
It does. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What you're saying is that they have fossilized something showing how the sediment can harden and then they're going to cut into that and chip away and preserve that fossil hopefully. So what did they put in as the fossil?

Isaac Broadbent:
So I was able to get some little dinosaur toy skeletons and they were able to kind of pick and choose their favorite dinosaur skeleton and what they wanted to dig up. And then I helped them mix up the sediment. We placed the skeleton inside that sediment, let it harden. And then today I'll be cutting away the cup and we'll have that big block of quote unquote rock for them to chisel away.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is a big day. 

Isaac Broadbent:
Yeah. Oh, it's a huge day. They've been asking when we're going to be getting to it for well, ever since we began. So this is the big event.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love it. This is really exciting. And hopefully, we can swing back by while some of those fossils are being revealed.

Isaac Broadbent:
Oh, please do because that is going to be where all the energy and excitement is occurring.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK, fantastic. Thanks for providing such an awesome activity for these students.

Isaac Broadbent:
Of course. It's a blast. I love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back, students will show us some of their projects at Daybreak Elementary.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're upstairs now. Tell me about some of the options, Amanda, that we're going to drop in on.

Amanda Williams:
OK, so right here we have our kids that are doing criminal investigation. So when they entered, there was crime scene tape all on the doors the first day and they came in and were told they're now detectives. Their first case was the case of the missing sandwich. But now they've learned about, you know, the missing sandwich.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's important. Absolutely.

Amanda Williams:
But they learned about motive and intentions and how to collect evidence and how to use evidence to support their claims. So now today, they're looking at fingerprinting and how a fingerprint can give them a very clear sense of who is at the scene of the crime.

Anthony Godfrey:
These are their stories. 

Amanda Williams:
These are their stories.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I love it. This is awesome.

Amanda Williams:
So this group right here, they're joined by their new chess challenges. So they have different levels of chess, beginning, middle, obviously more advanced and they are doing different tournaments. So you'll see that there will be kids in the pod playing chess. There'll be kids in the classroom playing chess and they're just at different level tournaments. But this has been continuing on, so kids have continued to go back to it so they can further extend their learning and become better chess masters.

Anthony Godfrey:
How's it going here, guys? Who's winning? 

Student:
We’re basically like tied.

Anthony Godfrey:
You’re basically tied. 

Student:
He has one more point than me. 

Anthony Godfrey:
OK.

Amanda Williams:
I heard there was a checkmate. So this one is a very serious battle because there was a checkmate already and now it's going on the second time. So they won't even talk.

Teacher:
Soon they're going to take each other's games. So like five more minutes, they'll switch boards. So he'll have to play his game.

Anthony Godfrey:
OK.

Teacher:
So whoever's losing, they're going to switch boards. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow. So you need to understand each other's game really well. I love that. I've heard many times that losing in chess is how you learn in chess.

Teacher:
Oh, yes. 

Anthony Godfrey:
They didn't just tell me that because I was losing?
Tell me your name.

Carson:
I'm Carson Bardsley. This isn’t my real hair.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I didn't think you had gray hair yet. So this is a Daniel Boone kind of Davy Crockett hat with gray hair underneath it. And this is part of part of the video you're making, right? What other costumes do you have?

Carson:
Well, several wigs.

Anthony Godfrey:
Show me.

All right. Caleb, show me what you've got going on here. Can I watch the movie? (movie starts to play)

So you guys are doing the motion yourselves climbing on. This is so cool. Oh, wow. That was great. Oh, now this is animated with a drawing of an ambulance. He's driving along. Who's this? That's Max. OK. Max is a good driver. Oh, wow. He's dragging the patient along the wall. Marla Adams. OK. I can't stop laughing. This is so cool. I love this video. That is awesome. 

Caleb:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's just like you described it, Caleb. What did you guys like about making this video?

Student:
Just making people laugh. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Well, you did that today. I thought it was so cool.

Students:
We did this over an extended period of time. 

Like last time we just we did that all last time, right?

No, we didn't do it all last time. 

We added some sounds this time. We added the clapping sounds.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it kind of fun working with kids from different grades and different classes? 

Students:
Yeah.

Everybody has different ideas. That's just a great way to go together.

There's third graders like–

But they'll get that yellow. Get that yellow on.

That's just a scene of yours. 

Anthony Godfrey”
What's that? 

Student:
Can you interview ours? 

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. 

Student:
Yes! 

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, this looks fantastic, guys. You've worked really hard on it and I loved it. This stop motion makes it look like an old time movie. 

Student:
Oh, wait, wait, wait.

Anthony Godfrey:
You have a production company. 

Students:
Yeah. Stickman Productions.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stickman Productions. Very cool. Well, you guys have done a great job of this. Thanks for sharing it with me. 

Amanda Williams:
Dax wants to show you one that he worked on.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Let's see yours. 

Student:
My project is stop motion where you have to move it very slightly so it can get -you know how like Coraline and Nightmare Before Christmas.

Anthony Godfrey:
Right.

Student:
Those are stop motion and they are actually those take a long, long time.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what was the film that you made? 

Student:
So basically it was just we made like a bunch of, you know, people. So we made them fight. It's kind of like a lot of fighting scenes and--

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you use action figures or real people?

Student:
Action figures. 

Anthony Godfrey:
OK. And what were some of the action figures that fought each other?

Student:
The action figures. So the one is from Naruto and then there is another one from Naruto. We used a bunch of other different action figures. So Naruto, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Spider-Man and another Naruto.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's a combination that copyright wouldn't allow for outside of school. So you made a film that could not be made anywhere else.

Student:
Yep. And it was pretty hard to make because we have to move it very slightly and it just will fall at certain times. And it's really frustrating because we finally get that position we want and we can't really like do anything to make it like, you know. So that is hard. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Was it worth the work though? 

Student:
Yes. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Sounds like a blast.

Student:
It was really fun. And we could only do it one day for three weeks.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, one day a week for three weeks. So you kept looking forward to that day. 

Student:
Yeah.

Student:
Well, thank you very much. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Thank you. OK, let's check out your pointillism.

Jane:
So here I have a SpongeBob house. I have the pineapple with a little door. I filled in all of the sea, the background, but I haven't filled in the foreground of the sand.

Anthony Godfrey:
This is the pineapple he lives in under the sea.

Jane:
So I have SpongeBob right there. I have two seashells. I have Patrick floating around.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, Patrick. And what are these? Are these bubbles over here? Wow. That looks fantastic. So this is about, oh, three inches, two inches by two inches. Oh, it kind of has a shimmer to it what-

Jane:
Yeah, I've used my glitter pens since I didn't finish it when we were doing this project. I've used my own pens. 

Anthony Godfrey:
If you ask me, there isn't a dot out of place. I think it looks fantastic. So are you going to fill in the rest of this with some orange and yellow on the pineapple? 

Jane:
Mm hmm.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. I love it. It just looks really, really good. How long have you been working on this for three weeks now?

Jane:
Yeah, three or four weeks. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you think you'll finish it today? 

Jane:
Maybe. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Wow. It looks fantastic. I love it. Well, Jane, where's this going when you finish it? 

Jane:
Probably to my house. I'll hang it up in my room.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, you should for sure. Be sure that you take good care of it. That looks really, really good. And Patrick seems happy up there. 

Okay. Let's check out the coding you've been doing. Let's just sit at this table and see what you've got. So this is a Pong game that you created?

Luke:
Yeah. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that what it looks like? 

Luke:
Yeah, so you just take the green flag and then you just have to keep the ball going.

Anthony Godfrey;
Okay. That looks great. I love how the game looks three dimensional. 

Luke:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
You know, I played the original Pong on my old TV. I still have it. 

Luke:
That's cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
So let's see. But you created this game. 

Luke:
Yeah. 

Anthony Godfrey:
So you move it back and forth using the mouse pad? 

Luke:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
And then does it increase in difficulty as it goes along or is this just the first stage?

Luke:
This is just the first stage. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Now I can see on the left all the building blocks. So these are all the components that you put together to design the game.

Luke:
This is all just for the ball. So this is the code that I had to upload on the ball and then on the paddle. And I just do this so that it follows the mouse. And then on the line, if it touches the ball, then everything stops.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you've programmed it so that if the ball touches the line, then it stops and so the game's over. And that's the red line at the bottom of the screen there. That is so cool. I'm so impressed you were able to put that together. 

Luke:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Good job. 

Luke:
Thanks.

Anthony Godfrey:
What would you say to teachers or principals who are listening to this thinking about trying the same thing?

Leslie Ewell:
Well, first I'd say is come see. 

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. 

Leslie Ewell:
Come and see it. And second, I would say it's a process and you have to be pretty clear about your expectations and just make sure that teachers understand why we want kids to be able to have this kind of choice, and and then just start. I mean, that's the biggest thing. It took me a while to actually start because I was so nervous about how it would go.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. 

Leslie Ewell:
And once we started, it's been the energy in school at the energy on these days is so it's just so fun. They talk about it all day long in the lunchroom. 

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that that's happening. Well, I can't thank you enough for diving in and trying this new thing and really transforming the whole school by doing this activity on Fridays. I saw so much energy and and excitement from the students and from the teachers everywhere I went. So thank you.

Leslie Ewell:
Well, thanks for coming in and seeing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is an English 2010 class that is music to the ears of the students taking the course.

On this episode of the Supercast, we visit West Jordan High School, where Ben Jorgensen is teaching students to be passionate about music and is making students look at songs in a much more meaningful way. From the Beatles and beyond, join us as we find out why students say their teacher is rocking his lessons on music culture and helping them understand the meaning behind some of the greatest songs of all time.

We're here at West Jordan High School in Mr. Jorgensen's class to talk about the Beatles and music and culture and all kinds of things. Mr. Jorgensen, thank you for inviting us here. We're here with a few of your students as well. Tell us a little bit about this course and this is the culmination of a particular unit. So tell us about what's led you to today.

Ben Jorgensen:
Okay, so I've been teaching at Salt Lake Community College for about 12 years. I've been teaching concurrent enrollment for about six years. When they started letting me teach English 2010, I talked to some other teachers about what they were doing with it because I knew the curriculum was about rhetoric. A lot of them did some really creative things with it. Basically, the idea is that you get to explore rhetoric in its different forms. So I put together several units and because I'm kind of a music fanatic, I developed this rhetoric of music unit. We also have a rhetoric of service unit where they do service projects. We also do have a rhetoric of public speaking where they give TED talks. But this is where we start, and this is the longest unit. So I've kind of developed it and tweaked it over the years. I've just gotten a lot of great satisfaction out of it and students seem to enjoy it for the most part. They learn a lot about kind of the history of music, how it developed, and we focus mostly on modern music from like the 1950s on.

One of the main things that we do is I have a list of albums, impactful albums over the past 60 years. I have five albums from the 60s, five from the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. Each student has to take one of those albums and do a rhetorical analysis research essay where they research the music, the artist, and the historical impact of that album. Big albums like Michael Jackson's Thriller, any of the Beatles albums, we do Joshua Tree from U2 and we get into even more modern stuff. I think in the 2010s there's an album by a band called Lord Huron on Strange Trails which is also one of my favorites. So yeah, that's kind of where it's gone.

Anthony Godfrey:
Boy, that's fantastic. In this moment I wish I could go back in time and take your class as a high school student. What are some of the changes that you see in students through this music unit in particular? What are some of the discoveries that they've made over the years?

Ben Jorgensen:
Well, they realize how much music does impact culture and their own lives. We look at lyrics and meaning and message. We talk about just sound and tone and how music makes us feel. We do visual rhetorics. We look at a list of music videos and we kind of comment on how the visuals affect how we understand the song or the message of the music. This symposium that we do at the end, I'm always slightly worried that it's going to go well and then I'm always completely relieved that it went really, really well. It's an academic intellectual conversation about the Beatles and that's a pretty fun topic to have.

Anthony Godfrey:
Having the chance to sit in here and watch kind of a fishbowl discussion where you have people out in the crowd watching the six and then they can tap each other on the shoulder, step in, take their place, and join the discussion. It was really hard for me not to jump in and share my opinion because it was so it was such a great environment. It's obvious that you've created this really productive dynamic in your class where people have meaningful conversation with each other, draw each other's opinions out, react in a way that it provides a really deep rich learning. So that was really fun to watch and hard not to be a part of.

So let's turn to you students. Tell me a little bit about, first of all, the unit before we get to the Beatles. How has this changed your view of music and its impact?

Abby Phillips:
I'm Abby Phillips and I say that music is one of the most important things in my life because I'm a dancer. So every day I'm listening to music and I'm expressing myself through movement to music. So it's actually been really cool to be able to apply school to my interests. And so I just think it's really interesting. It's been one of my favorite units I've ever studied in school because I actually care about it. It's just really fun to be able to learn about something that you don't really get to learn about in school.

Ashton:
Yeah, my name is Ashton and I think it's great to have a class all about you in music. My family, my mom's side is from the west coast and my dad's side is from out east and so I grew up listening to any type of music you can imagine. It's always been such a huge part of my life to listen and learn about music. This class specifically about rhetoric, it's very interesting to think of music as a tool to persuade rather than just a song. So it's definitely changed my mindset in that I'm more looking into the ways that artists can persuade an audience to listen and can push their message forward. It's very interesting.

Arlen:
My name is Arlen and honestly this class has been extremely thought-provoking. I like how you dove into your background with music in terms of your father's side and your mother's side because my family is very rooted in Mexico. My stepdad's even Mexican, my mom and my dad are Mexican and then all the way up to my grandparents. So at home, it was a lot of songs that were in Spanish and if it wasn't songs that were in Spanish, it was my older brother playing rap music. So when I was young I grew up listening to a bunch of rap music, some songs in Spanish but it never really appealed to me. So taking this class really– it opened my eyes. I never really dove into the past, I didn't listen to any slower music, I always liked my music fast with not the best lyrical content but you know definitely something.

Jorgensen just opened up my mind to the past. There's a couple of artists that already stuck with me. I know I had to pick the song “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman for one of my projects and I listened to that song on repeat. Now I get in my car I'm like shoot I don't have a fast car but I've got a car.

I mean, in terms of rhetoric and music I think it's honestly phenomenal. I did a speech just recently in this class about Bob Marley and his effect on music. To do that speech I went to go watch the movie on Bob Marley. So I've been thinking ever since that movie and being introduced to the Beatles, I've been thinking how they appeal to the audience and how the message isn't separated from the music. Actually, Bob Marley says that in the movie, but I think it's just amazing to connect both of those into one. Especially because now I feel like a lot of the rap music that I listened to and a lot of the music I listen to now is very disconnected from the message they want to push. So being able to listen to some of the older music where the Beatles are pushing love and positivity and other people are talking about their own personal trauma and past, I think it's really been amazing to just kind of reflect on myself and reflect on how it affected others at that time to honestly become a better person through the music.

Anthony Godfrey:
So Bob Marley is in particular one that has caught hold of you through this unit.

Arlen:
Oh yeah, most definitely. And you know I just want to point out now that I have the mic I think it's kind of hilarious that Mr. Jorgensen came in the Beatles shirt. I've never seen him in anything other than a suit and tie so I think it's pretty funny.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, I do like when Bob Marley tells me “every little thing's going to be all right. Don't worry about a thing.” It works. What are some of the artists that the two of you have discovered through this music unit?

Abby:
Well, I have grown up listening to the Beatles. My grandfather's a big fan of them but I think that it really just opened me up to like listening to them in a way I never have before. Like I've never dove into their music and they're singing about the time that they're in and how impactful their messages actually are. And we're gonna learn about like who they are and how they came together and how they fell apart. It's just like the more you know about the artists the more meaningful the music actually is to you. So I think that's been really interesting to actually learn about the Beatles. Not just their music but who they were and how they impacted others. So that's really cool.

Ashton:
I think I have a story that kind of contrasts pretty crazily with I think a lot of people in this class in that I've been listening to music from the 60s and the 70s my whole life and so I know a lot about these bands. This class has kind of pushed me to listen to more modern music. I guess it's not super modern, but I'm talking to talking to Jorgensen all the time he's gotten me to listen to bands like Crowded House and U2 a lot more. I've heard of them but I've never actually took the time to listen to them. I love Crowded House. I think it's a great great band and I'm glad that I got to experience that through this class.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love hearing how it's this class has expanded your listening taste but also impacted your lives in the way that you view the world. It's nice that you get to stream music. I was telling my son last night just how if I listened to music they had to decide to play it on the radio or I had to actually buy it. And when you invested in music you really gave it a deep listen. I think this class gives you that experience as well that you give things a deep listen.

Stay with us. When we come back, more with Mr. Jorgensen's class.

Break:
Does your student want to become a veterinarian, commercial pilot, programmer? Maybe they want to make a difference as a dental assistant. These are just some of the programs offered as part of Career and Technical Education, CTE in Jordan School District. CTE provides the technical skills needed to prepare students for future employment or a successful transition to post-secondary education. Career and Technical Education provides work-based learning opportunities. We partner with industry experts to offer apprenticeships and internships with students working in the real world at real jobs while going to school. The CTE experience starts in our elementary schools with the Kids' Marketplace and grows through middle and high school. To explore all CTE has to offer in Jordan School District visit cte.jordandistrict.org today and let's get your child started on the pathway to a profession.

Anthony Godfrey:
I really want to dive into the Beatles now so I'm going to ask all the Beatles questions. First of all, your favorite song. Tell me your favorite Beatles song and that's a tough one to pick.

Abby:
I think it's “Yesterday.” That song, it just every time I listen to it, it makes me emotional because it's just so beautiful and I love the message. It's just so well composed that it just brings out all my emotions. There's actually a movie called “Yesterday” it's about if the Beatles didn't exist. I think that like I can't even imagine not knowing that music because it's just it's all so beautiful. And so “Yesterday” is definitely my favorite.

Ashton:
Yeah, my favorite Beatles song is probably going to be “Don't Let Me Down”. I think that it's– I think obviously it's a beautiful song but I think more in retrospect, it kind of serves as a great wrapping up point for the Beatles. It's kind of on the Let It Be album but not really. It's like on the Master Edition and on the Blue album and so it like kind of wraps up the Beatles in a very nice way. It's a very beautiful song, has a very powerful message and it's pretty positive.

Arlen:
In terms of my favorite Beatles song, it'd probably be “Girl” by them or even “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. I do like “Don't Let Me Down” a lot but I'm really big on how the music sounds itself. So that's why I've loved this class actually because it's made me dive into the lyrical content of music more because I've always just been on how it sounds in my ears when I'm not really listening to the lyrics and just how the beat sounds and how it flows. So that's one of the reasons I like “Girl” so much actually. I love the the way it sounds but even diving into the lyrical content like I can't say I 100 percent relate to it. I won't say that but I do like some of the lines they say. I think it's a little bit funny. Some of them do relate to me so that would have to be my favorite song “Girl” by the Beatles.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me who is your favorite Beatle? Do you have a favorite Beatle?

Arlen:
I feel like I don't have the traditional favorite Beatle. A lot of people would probably say John Lennon or Paul McCartney. My favorite Beatle is actually Ringo Starr. I love the way he looks. I loved watching some of the the rooftop concert for Apple Studios was it? I loved watching that concert and kind of just seeing Ringo Starr kind of really just beat along to the music and nod his head. I feel like just the way he carries himself makes me laugh and I just it feels friendly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it feels friendly. I love that description. Nobody's having a better time than Ringo. Ringo is just there “Hey, I'm so good I'm just gonna fill in all the gaps and do it in a way nobody else could.” So yeah I love that.

Ashton:
I'd probably say George. It's like I think John and Paul, they started as geniuses and it's like everyone knew that they were talented. George was kind of the underdog and he took the time and developed his musical talent and he really blossomed into a I think a wonderful musician. So definitely George Harrison.

Abby:
Well, it's actually funny that Arlen said Ringo because I wrote down in my notes that Ringo doesn't get enough credits for being on the Beatles. This is something that Jorgensen has discussed. Like their music wouldn't be anything without Ringo keeping that beat. And I actually do like how he just jams. And the rooftop concert, their last song they ever performed was "Don't Let Me Down". It that was a really cool video watching them just kind of-- it was just like a farewell. And yeah, Ringo looked really cool in that he was just jamming. He– I don't know he kept the music going and he's the reason that they have their beat and their flow and so yeah, he makes the songs iconic and recognizable because of that that those drums you know.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, do you think that you are going to consume pop culture in a different way now because of this course?

Abby:
I think that definitely this course has given me like the idea that music is not just for the enjoyment of listening but for telling stories and getting messages out. You don't see that as much in modern music I think. I think that music was a lot more meaningful like the Vietnam War and people putting out messages. Like everything was a lot more meaningful and so I feel like I don't know, I try and listen with more intent and try and find a message from what I'm listening to instead of just jamming because it has meaning.

Ashton:
I think that Abby put it pretty perfectly. This course has definitely made me think about music nowadays and pop culture that I'm actively alive for and involved in in a more intellectual and like a more meaningful way. This class has definitely made me put more of an emphasis on learning my surroundings and trying to understand the people that are around me.

Arlen:
You know I love the way both Ashton and Abby put that, and they put it absolutely phenomenally. I actually wanted to say pop culture is more of a lifestyle nowadays than it is just a part of the culture. Every single thing you do now is a part of the pop culture. Every show you watch, every song you listen to, all the clothes you wear, is just all part of the pop culture. And the culture here in America and the lifestyle. Honestly, I do feel like I'm gonna ingest it differently now that I have taken this course and I know a little bit more about the music. But I really hope, and this this is like a far-fledged hope, like I'm really just throwing a bullet on a football field, but I really hope we can even revert a little bit back towards the times where music held a deeper message. A lot of the music now is– it's very personal, don't get me wrong, there's definitely a message there, but the music from the Beatles era was very– it was music for a country. It wasn't music for a specific group or a specific community it was music for America. And I mean, of course they took the world by storm by writing for the masses, but I really hope now and I mean maybe I'll pick up a Mic so that I can start doing what I'm dreaming of. But I really hope now that the music can spread more worldwide instead of being contained to individual areas like it has been.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, I love all those comments and all of them show that this is going to have a lasting impact on you, the study that you've done in Mr. Jorgensen's class. But I think you're right, and this was discussed earlier in class, that the culture is more fragmented. Partially because there are more options, but just also because of other culture and political forces. It used to feel good that everybody knew a certain set of songs and we all had that in common and I love what you said about that. Any parting thoughts?

Arlen:
I mean the Beatles are definitely– I honestly, I'm gonna just say the Beatles is the best band to ever grace the planet of the earth. The Beatles are amazing. I said this earlier as a joke like what was it listening to the albums for the first time but I want to just put my experience out there. It was honestly like giving my heart a thump. It's like having a chocolate bar. It's like I'm gonna just take another bite and another one and another one and by the end of it, like it's better than a chocolate bar because you don't even feel bad. You're just like ‘that was great I loved listening to that’. I just keep on going so I just want to say the Beatles are the best band to ever be made. Amazing. I love the class thank you so much for having me Jorgensen.

Ashton:
Yeah, the Beatles are definitely the best. I remember the very first time that I listened to Sgt. Pepper from the beginning to the end, no breaks. It's such a crazy experience. It's not– you're totally captured and that's not just Sgt. Pepper, it's every album. But Sgt. Pepper is just I think a culmination of greatness, and so them as a band they're just wonderful.

Abby:
I think that everyone no matter your age needs to listen to the Beatles because like Arlen said, they're the greatest band of all time. They changed the face of rock and roll. They changed like what you would normally think rock and roll is. They totally rearranged it and gave people a different idea of what it was. They pushed boundaries and they made really impactful music. So everyone everywhere needs to listen to the Beatles, no matter what.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, any parting Beatles thought?

Ben Jorgensen:
Just it's been fun. It's a fun unit. I've received so much good feedback from my students and from others about this unit I feel like it is impactful. It is an academic pursuit to be able to look at something and break it down intellectually. Look at lyrical content messages everything like that. It certainly relates to rhetoric, persuasion, impact and I'm just grateful I get to do it it's fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's fantastic it's so it's so fun to be part of it today thank you very much for your time and happy listening.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will need today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They were asked to take a swing at designing miniature golf courses, and these students showed that concentrating on teamwork pays off.

On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to Jordan Hills Elementary School, where STEM teachers gather groups of students in the gym for a unique lesson. The students were asked to use engineering skills and to work in teams to create challenging mini-golf courses worthy of a hole-in-one. It was a STEM exercise that was educational and a whole lot of fun.

We're here with Susan Smith, one of the STEM specialists at Jordan Hills Elementary, to talk about your inaugural mini-golf course here. It fills the gym. It looks fantastic. It's very colorful. I'm not sure what the fire marshal would say. It's a lot of cardboard and paper.

Susan Smith:
It is. Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it looks fabulous. And it looks like every single hole has a different theme. Tell me a little bit about how this came to be. As the STEM specialist, of course, you're focused on engineering, math, science, technology, and giving students opportunities to do some real-world sort of work in that area. Tell me all about this project. It looks really cool.

Susan Smith:
Well, for six years, we've been working here as the STEM specialists when the program first started. I have been getting all my ideas off of the internet. We saw this idea several years ago and wanted to try it, but it seemed daunting.

Anthony Godfrey:
And this is the year?

Susan Smith:
This is the year. We decided to really give it a go. We came up with a couple dozen themes, separate themes for each of the classes. None of these classes have the same theme. We all decided they got to pick out of a few of those themes, which ones they wanted their class to do. And so every theme– I mean, there's farm, outer space, RSL soccer.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow. We're going to take a walk-through. Tell me what are some of the things that you wanted students to take away from this project? What did you want them to learn?

Susan Smith:
The main thing was for them to work together and to cooperate and to collaborate as a class.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. Yeah, that's great.

Susan Smith:
It doesn't really matter how well the golf course turned out, although some of them really did turn out well. But no, we really wanted them to learn about collaboration and working together.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how did that turn out?

Susan Smith:
Beautifully. It was awesome. They all just really got excited about it and worked together to come up with all of their different ideas for their individual class course.

Anthony Godfrey:
So is each one a different class? So the whole class worked on the hole.

Susan Smith:
Yes. The whole class made one hole.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.

Susan Smith:
Well, the ALPS classes, since they're larger, made two courses.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That looks fantastic. So now, you know, when Arnold Palmer or any of the pros design a course, it's their signature course.

Susan Smith:
Right.

Anthony Godfrey:
So this is like Mrs. So-and-so's signature course for each of these holes. Okay. Well, let's walk through and check it out. I hope I get to play some of them in a minute.

Susan Smith:
Sure. Oh, yeah. You'll have to compete with Mrs. Sanders' class.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. Well, I'm up for the challenge. Let's give it a try. All right. Let's check out some of these. On the farm. Look at this one. Looks like we have the...you have to go through the barn. I'm glad I don't see any windmills. The windmills tend to stump me.

Susan Smith:
Well...

Anthony Godfrey:
I have a difficult time with those. Oh, wait. There is one.

Susan Smith:
Oh, yes. We do have something that resembles a windmill.

Anthony Godfrey:
And a pyramid. What kind of guidance did you have to give students as a part of this project?

Susan Smith:
Well, we created parameters that they had to follow.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Susan Smith:
They had to make something that had a distinct fairway. So we taught them some of the words of golf, like the T-mat and fairway. They had to define the edges by putting some sort of a bumper or a fence around it so that it would guide the ball to the hole in the correct direction that they want.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Okay.

Susan Smith:
Some of them made false pathways.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh.

Susan Smith:
Like I think this basketball one that Mr. is...

Anthony Godfrey:
Mr. Pringles, it looks like.

Susan Smith:
So there's a fake hole and a real hole.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right.

Susan Smith:
And they have to decide which one is going to get them there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Nice. This is impressive. This took a ton of work.

Susan Smith:
This is our sixth week.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the steps that you took them through to prepare to get to this final product.

Susan Smith:
Okay. So we used– we taught them the engineering design process. This is a thing that we've been teaching them all these years. It starts with asking a question. And the question for this activity was, "Can we build a golf course using these materials?" Then we went to the planning stages, the hypothesis, the planning, and we had them write up a design. Everybody got a chance to include their ideas. And then from the plan, we started to create it. We provided them with all of these materials that in fact they have been bringing in and donating from their own houses.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Susan Smith:
Like the cardboard tubes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I see some cereal boxes. Somebody has cocoa puffs in their home frequently. Yes.

Susan Smith:
So from the creation, then we had to go through and test to see if they were going to actually work once they had built some of it. So we would test it, improve it, test it, improve it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love it.

Susan Smith:
And then finally today is our sixth week. We have the classes coming in during their STEM time to sit and observe the PE class, who is learning about miniature golf.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, okay.

Susan Smith:
To come and observe and make some notes and–

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how it overlaps. They're learning to design and create. They're getting to observe all of their hard work paying off.

Susan Smith:

In a real life sort of setting.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it's exciting.

Stay with us. When we come back we take to the homemade mini-links to test our putting skills.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, let's take a look at some of these. So we've got outer space here. We've got on the farm. We've got at the zoo. I love these themes. This is really cool.

Susan Smith:
There's Bug Island here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, let's go to Bug Island. Where's Bug Island?

Susan Smith:
Right over here.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's walk through. For those who are listening, this is really–this is filling an elementary school gym completely. Bug Island. And everyone signed it. I love that. It is their signature course.

Susan Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's perfect.

Susan Smith:
This is Mr. Squire's second-grade class.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.

Susan Smith:
Every class signed a sign with their own name so that they know that this is the one that we created.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome.

Susan Smith:
Monkey Jungle is a really good one.

Anthony Godfrey:
Monkey Jungle looks really good. Oh, look at the bananas that were made out of the tissue paper. So if this is where you wrap the tissue paper around the end of a pencil, dip it in glue and stick it on. Okay, so those listening, maybe you can picture that. Then the sides of the track are the paper towel rolls cut down the center and taped and lined up. So let's give it a try. Maybe I'll grab that. Oh, here we go. Here's a club. Blue. I feel like I'm really going to be successful with this.

Susan Smith:
There's the tee.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, I set it on the tee. It's intimidating. They've done a good job. All right. Am I banking it? I don't know. I'm trying to use a little geometry myself. Oh, a banana got in the way. This is very appealing, though.

Susan Smith:
Appealing. Oh, I love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did I get it in? I did. Almost. Oh, no. I got close, but it's down inside the monkey. All right. It’s inside the monkey's mouth. Not quite. All right. With a little help. Do I get a one-stroke penalty for that? All right. Let's try. Let's see it through here. All right. I think I made it.

Susan Smith:
Did it go in?

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, that feels good. Yes. Success. All right. Thank you. That's really nice. That's good. Three putting a miniature golf course that should be two. That's about my normal score.

Susan Smith:
That’s your par.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I would say that they've done a very nice job here. We're going to go over to this really colorful one here. I want to check this one out. How's it going, guys? Is this a pretty tough hole to play?

Student:
Kind of.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Let's see. Let's see what you got. Let's try it. You're in the rough right now.

Susan Smith:
In the breakdown, after we get back to class, the kids talk about which ones worked well and which ones didn't. This one actually is really hard because of the incline and some of the things just kind of get in the way. But it looks fantastic.

Anthony Godfrey:
And I would think there's a ton for them to learn, even if it's because their hole didn't work very well. You learn something from that just as much as you do if it works well. And you want them to reach for something that's more difficult. If it doesn't work, at least they tried something that stretched them maybe beyond a simpler hole.

Susan Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're going to talk with three students from Jordan Hills who helped design some of these. Each of you are in a different grade. Tell me your name and your grade and the theme that your class chose for your hole.

Zikaya:
I'm Zikaya Murray, and we actually did the jungle, which was Monkey Jungle. We did Monkey Jungle.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what grade are you in? You’re sixth grade, right?

Zikaya:
Sixth.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I played that one. I love it. I love the bananas. I think it's a really cool design. It did take me three shots, but I felt pretty good about that. It was in the monkey's mouth after two shots, but I missed the hole.

Zikaya:
A lot of people, you had to hit soft enough, but also hard enough to actually get it into the hole.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you test it out in a number of times?  And what was your best shot? Did you get a hole in one?

Zikaya:
The best shot was made by, I have to remember, Maddie. She actually made it in two shots right into the hole.

Anthony Godfrey:
So everybody felt good. Maddie can do two. It's ready for prime time. We're ready to have students play on this. What was your favorite part of the process of doing all this over the last few weeks?

Zikaya:
My personal favorite was designing the actual thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah, okay.

Zikaya:
It's like designing the monkey and the bananas and the actual base.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what did the design process look like? Did you draw it out on paper, or what did you do?

Zikaya:
We drew it out on paper. There were five designs we wanted to do. So we were going to do a mountain where it was sort of a river and not which the hole was that had monkeys all over it. Or we were going to do a big giant rock and then it had monkeys all over it. All my class wanted to do was to do the monkeys.

Anthony Godfrey:
So monkeys were going to be involved one way or another. It's a great idea, great execution. And did you try to make it hard or easy, or what were you going for?

Zikaya:
We tried to make it hard with the bananas. So Kaylei came up with the bananas because we wanted to make obstacles. So we would bounce into things. We were trying to make it hard but not too hard. Easy enough that someone could do it but not too easy.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, putting all those bananas on there must have been a bunch of work.

ZIkaya:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you very much. It looks fantastic. You guys did great. Now tell me your name in grade.

Dezarae:
My name is Dezarae Lund. I'm in fourth grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me Dezarae, what was the theme for yours?

Dezarae:
The theme for mine, we called it the Challenging Forest.

Anthony Godfrey:
I really like this. This looks cool. Tell me about it.

Dezarae:
So the Challenging Forest, so we started with that one that has the trees. We started off with the animals. As you can see here, this is a wolf. And over there that's a squirrel on the tree. So we have like these separate ideas of people doing. We had some people doing the big footpaths and some people doing the trees, the covering.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see the footprints now. So you're trying to get the ball along big foot's path right along where those footprints are.

Dezarae:
Yeah, and then we had a group of boys putting the cave, and then two boys that did the bridge. That's the waterfall.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me what you learned from the process.

Dezarae:
Kind of what I learned from it is that it's more helpful to have lots of people working in different groups instead of like all together. That sounds helpful.

Anthony Godfrey:
So divide up the labor. Have people get a specific assignment and then bring it all together?

Dezarae:
Yeah, and I really liked how people work together.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sounds awesome.

Dezarae:
I think this was a really fun project and I think we should do it again.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, it turned out great. Nice job.

Dezarae:
Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, tell me your name and grade.

Benson:
My name is Benson. I'm in third grade.

Anthony Godfrey:
Benson, tell me about this hole. It looks really cool.

Benson:
First, we had to start making ideas for it. And we were starting to think of an idea for a sandcastle like over there. But then we couldn't finish it in enough time because there wasn't that much good materials to use for it. Because cardboard is hard to shape into a sandcastle shape. So then we couldn't make it.

Anthony Godfrey:
But you learned some things when the sandcastle and other parts of it just didn't work out.

Benson:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's your favorite part of making this?

Benson:
My favorite part of making it was probably taping on everything. A lot of it was good. Actually everything.

Anthony Godfrey:
Everything. Everything about it was fun. It looks really cool. And I love the palm trees. There's a little cabana over here it looks like. I wonder if you could play it for me? Show me how it's done.

Benson:
Okay.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now is the ball supposed to go over the bridge?

Benson:
But the ball can go through the bridge.

Anthony Godfrey:
It can. But it doesn't have to.

Benson:
We had to add a lot of obstacles and hurry and we didn't decorate them that much.

Anthony Godfrey:
It still looks great. You've got the half paper towel rolls all along the border so the ball will stay in. Let's see what you got. Oh whoa! You're right in range right there. You just took it right over the bridge. Oh so close. Two good shots. Oh now all those obstacles you were telling me about are getting in the way. Alright, get it in there. It's almost there. There we go. Yes! Nicely done. Well done sir. That looks great. Oh hey and there's a bumper around the hole so once you get past the sunset it goes right in.

Benson:
Otherwise, if you hit it too far it might go out a bit and drop down.

Anthony Godfrey:
You obviously knew that the bumpers were there because you really hit it once you got close to the sunset there.

Benson:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, you hit the ball into the sunset and you made for a very picturesque shot. So well done. That was awesome. Thank you, Benson.

Anthony Godfrey:
You said earlier that this was pretty daunting. Seeing the final product I could see that it was a ton of work.

Susan Smith:
It was.

Anthony Godfrey:
Was it as difficult as you expected it to be?

Susan Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Are you still glad that you did it?

Susan Smith:
Yes, absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
And will you do it again?

Susan Smith:
Maybe in a couple of years.

Anthony Godfrey:
Maybe in a couple of years. You need to kind of reset.

Susan Smith:
We need to reset. We need to refine. My cohort and I need to go back and do the engineering design process ourselves and see where we can improve. We have been collaborating with the children and hearing their opinions about what they thought, and we’ll take some of their opinions and ideas into consideration when we try to do this again in two to three years.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now just for those who may not know exactly how this all works as STEM specialists what you do is you take over class during the week for an hour at a time so that teachers can collaborate.

Susan Smith:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And have their prep time and that sort of thing. So you get the students how often?

Susan Smith:
Once a week. We get each class once a week for 40 to 45 minutes. And it's also like at that same time the other students in the same grade will be in PE or computers or music or library.

Anthony Godfrey:
I would imagine that that's a 45 minute period that they look forward to every week. It's a nice break in their week. They get to do something different. And I love that you're providing such great projects to teach STEM at a whole different level. At a level that's very meaningful for them.

Susan Smith:
Yes. And really what we're trying to achieve is just having them be able to think differently. Think outside the box. And to work together as teams. Sometimes we have small group activities. Sometimes we have large class old class activities and they do. They love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thanks for what you do. I think this is awesome. I'm going to play a couple more. Thank you again for everything.

Susan Smith:
Thank you so much for coming.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's my pleasure.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It was a project that was made for Black History Month at Herriman High School, and it had a musical twist.

On this episode of the Supercast, we introduce you to some members of the Black Student Union who organized an amazing display celebrating the accomplishments of iconic Black musicians dating back to the 1960s. Join us as we travel back in time, getting to know the talented artists and music that made history, as well as some recent recommendations.

I'm here with five of the students that are part of the Black Student Union here at Herriman High School. Why don't you introduce yourselves and tell a little bit about yourself.

Efrain:
Hello, my name is Efrain Villa Matos. I normally go by Effie. I have been a member of this club since its inception, and I am a musician and a student at Herriman High School.

Trace:
My name is Trace Pounds. I'm the president of the BSU. A little bit about myself is I'm an athlete. I do track and basketball and also like doing art and stuff.

Nigel:
My name is Nigel Feese. I do track with the president, and I'm also part of the social media team for the BSU.

Elsie:
Hi, I'm Elsie Rhys. I'm the secretary of BSU, and I play the cello.

Ariel:
Hi, my name is Ariel. I am a musician and an athlete. I'm part of BSU.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, you're all obviously very involved in a number of things at school. Tell me about BSU, what it means to you, how it started, all of that.

Student:
Sure, I feel like all of us have been friends ever since we kind of came to this school. So when Miss Codella kind of approached us to start a Black Student Union, it was something pretty inspiring to us because obviously being just not white in Herriman High School, we are kind of different. So having that safe space for us to just be able to hang out with our friends was incredible. I mean, us just being able to be ourselves together was really important to our tenure at this school, and so to me, this is something very important and something I love being a part of.

Student:
Yeah, that's the same thing for me. We're just having that safe space is just really useful, and like you can meet new friends, you can talk to people, and you can feel safe rather than you kind of just go out and you don't know what people are going to say or how they're going to treat you. Just having a safe space for people to meet and talk to each other.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure.

Student:
Yeah, I like it just as a sense of community with people who are like me, and I just get to relate to.

Student:
Adding on to what they said, me and Ariel were from Brooklyn, so the difference in culture here was very shocking. Just having a community for us to be able to express ourselves and have similarities with other students, it's very comforting.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me a little bit about this display. Who was most responsible for the display here?

Student:
We all had our parts, and obviously I kind of just went over and assigned people, because we want to give them leadership opportunities and opportunities to have creative control. So we had all the decades listed that we wanted to feature, and then we were like, "Hey, I need to have like two to three people sign up for each of them." So I know that we had many different people, but my main one that I focused on that I kind of was a part of is the 2010s.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, let's go look at the 2010s. Is that Kendrick Lamar there?

Student:
Yep, Kendrick Lamar, yes. And we also wanted to talk about black artists and musicians, but also other things that they do. Because not only do they create music, but they also create a sense of community. I talked a little bit like Tyler, the Creator, how not only did he influence music, is he also streetwear and just kind of how people dressed in general. Where it's like music doesn't, it's not just music, it changes culture. So yeah, not only talking about things that they've done in music, but things that they other.

Anthony Godfrey:
What's your favorite album by Tyler, the Creator? Because I spoke with a student just the other day who was telling me about one I need to listen to.

Student:
Yeah, he has a lot of good ones. Some of my favorites, I'll probably say Igor.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's the same one they mentioned is Igor.

Student:
Okay, I'm a bit of a traditionalist and my favorite by him is Cherry Bomb, which is the least favorite by everyone else, but, I love it.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I start with Igor, and I go to Cherry Bomb. So I get the full range.

Student:
I would probably go to Flower Boy before I went to Cherry Bomb.

Student:
It's a more, it eases you into it, because his music is very out there. So Flower Boy is very avant-garde or whatever.

Anthony Godfrey:
So maybe I need to listen to all of his stuff. That's what you're telling me.

Student:
Yes, and definitely even watching like a video. When I was doing research for it, like watching video essays, I'm like, “Wow". There's like, it's a lot more depth to not only is he's telling a story, like even in his first three albums, last two mixtapes, he told a story about someone where it wasn't, it's not just individual albums standing on their own. It's like a whole story that comes together.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

Student:
And I was mostly responsible for the 2000s, but I kind of like to talk about why we chose to do music as a whole. I mean, obviously, for Black History Month, a lot of people focus on like, a lot of the civil rights activists and a lot of the people who acted during slavery to help free the slaves. And that is an important thing, but we want to kind of stray away from that and show kind of the modern Black people. Some of the most influential people in our country have been these Black artists. And obviously, in the modern day, as a whole, like artists, musicians and directors, and influencers as a whole are some of the most important people responsible for like what we consume as a whole, and what we see every day. So we thought it was pretty important for us to shine upon some of the most influential artists of well, the past like seven decades or so.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure.

Student:
I covered the 2000s. You know, I'll be completely honest, I'm not necessarily like the biggest fan of all of these musicians. But you know, we got Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Mariah Carey, there's Kanye West, Beyonce, I mean, you can't not know their names.

Anthony Godfrey:
There are some greats that came out of that era for sure. Tell me about these other areas. What is your favorite era? 2000s is not, tell me what's your preference?

Student:
Probably like 1000%, like either the 90s or the 2010s. I grew up in the 2010s and all my favorite artists are from the 2010s. You know, people like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, incredible musicians. And you know, I grew up listening to them and I was there for the release of some of the projects. So that was really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, it means something different when you were there when they first came out. It's different to listen to it when it's new. Speaking of which, I was listening to things that were new in the 80s. Any 80s music that you particularly like?

Student:
Well, yeah, like the start of hip hop, people with Nas at the end of the 80s, who are like pretty much set the wave for like that. Also, like a lot of R&B artists, and like, just a lot of influential things. And although I can't like name all of them once I hear it, like, it's just, comes back to me

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, sure. Is there something that surprised you about music or that you discovered by putting these displays together?

Student:
Definitely just like looking at like, even though I really kind of focused on one even just reading through a couple of them, like, wow, there's just a lot of people that like I knew the names of, but I didn't know necessarily what they did and learning more about them. I was like, oh, that's that putting a name to the face in like a career as well.

Student:
Yeah, it's kind of insane how almost like the grand majority of the most influential artists across all these decades, were all black musicians, they really paved the way and led the culture and it's just, it's really cool.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you hope people take away from seeing this display?

Student:
Kind of just like acknowledgement to where it's like, what kind of how he said is like a lot of prolific artists throughout the years are black and just like realizing black culture and stuff and their influence on the community as well.

Student:
Yeah, I would just say like acknowledgement and appreciation for like artists throughout the decades and just like what they've done and the impact they've had.

Student:
Because you know, this is a little more than the music, right? To just like kind of see past just the music and really see the people who made it.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here with the advisor for the Black Student Union. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about how this got started.

Vickey Codella:
My name is Vickey Codella and we started the Black Student Union last year. We got started a little bit late in the year, but we have really taken off this year. We've done a trunk or treat in October. We did a fundraiser for our school-wide Hearts of Gold thing. And then we did our setup for the Black History Month walkthrough museum for the students. We're just trying to be a big presence in the school and be of service and also have a strong voice.

Anthony Godfrey:
What impact do you want the club to have in Herriman High School?

Vickey Codella:
The kids who are a part of it, I just love watching them blossom into having a voice and feeling confident in who they are. So that's been really pleasant. And also like showing up for the Principal's Roundtable and just having a strong presence in the school, which is nice. And I just hope that the kids that are not part of the club can see that and appreciate their efforts and who they are.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you so much for everything you do. I know you're very active in supporting students in the BSU, and thanks for taking time with us today.

Vickey Codella:
Of course, thank you for coming.

Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us when we come back. We'll talk more about the talented musicians and familiar tunes that made history, as well as some current recommendations from high school students in the know.

Break:
Hello, I'm Stacee Worthen, Secondary Counseling Specialist for Jordan School District. Do you know all the ways Jordan School District counselors can help you and your student? School counselors play such an important role in our schools. They provide parents with resources to help guide their children in academics. They provide support with the mental and social well-being of students in our schools. And if you are in the process of preparing a student for college, or just beginning the conversation of higher education now is the perfect time to reach out to your child's counselor. We can assist with college applications and college readiness. I encourage parents and guardians to schedule an appointment and get to know your student's counselor. Together, counselors and parents can help develop plans and strategies for students to succeed long after they leave Jordan School District. Reach out! We're always here to help. You can find us and learn more at counseling.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me your name.

Student:
I'm Brenden Schmidt.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about the '60s display here.

Student:
So this one is Ray Charles. That's the one I did personally. He's like one of the most influential singers. And another song, this is kind of from the '70s, one of my favorite songwriters and singers, Donny Hathaway. I sang one of his songs at our cultural assembly at our school.

Anthony Godfrey:
Which one did you sing by Donny Hathaway?

Student:
It's called "Love, Love, Love."

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah.

Student:
It's a little bit older. It meant a lot to me because he's one of my favorite artists and he puts a lot of feeling into his music. And even if he doesn't write it, he makes it his own music.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love Donny Hathaway. Actually, I love his Christmas music too. What's the song? "This Christmas." That's a good one.

Student:
Yeah, that's great.

Anthony Godfrey:
Since you chose to feature music for Black History Month, tell me what are, who is your favorite? I know you were each assigned a decade. Tell me about your favorite recording artist. I'm a huge music fan, so you got to tell me the artist and you've got to tell me the album that I need to listen to from that artist so you can expand my horizon a little bit.

Student:
Especially recently, Smino, he's one of my favorite guys to listen to. I've just kind of, I've especially started listening to music more and more in the past couple of years. And just like, he's been one of the artists that I've discovered recently that I just like.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is he new? Is he part of a group previously?

Student:
He's been in the industry for about like 10 years. He is a new artist. That's when he like kind of started becoming popular. He is part of like the alternative R&B movement that like people like Frank Ocean led, but he kind of spearheaded and put towards more of a bubbly kind of fun wave. Smino, incredible artist. I absolutely love him.

Student:
And I just love so many of his songs where it's not, it doesn't necessarily all sound the same. Like he does a lot of different things and it all sounds great.

Student:
I would say my favorite artist is SZA because I used to listen to her a lot when I was a kid. And growing up in Brooklyn, we used to listen to her all the time. And now being in Utah, it's like so different. So listening to her reminds me of who I am and where I came from.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. Now I saw SZA on the Grammys and she's really taken off. Were you listening to her in the early days?

Student:
Yeah, I listened to her before anybody else knew her. I'm an original fan.

Anthony Godfrey:
So what should I listen to first?

Student:
I would say Love Galore because my mom used to play it all the time.

Student:
My favorite artist is Quadeca, but I think a more relevant artist to talk about is one of my most influential musicians. His name is Slauson Malone. Interesting person, but he makes masterpieces. I think his albums are really experimental. I like how they take elements of like old soul records, but as well as mixing it with live instrumentation. He was previously in a jazz band called Standing on That Corner. And I like how he mixes bits and pieces from so many different eras to tell a story in the modern world. It's kind of scary music, definitely very experimental and not for the average listener. But if you're into weird stuff, you might like it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, great. Experimental for sure. What else?

Student:
My favorite artist right now, I've been listening to more music as well recently, but my favorite artist right now is Lucki. My personal favorite album by him is probably his first one. I generally forgot about it. But my favorite song is probably Count on Me 2. And I just like them because it's different from what a lot of people like now. And either that or Frank Ocean too. And Frank Ocean–

Student:
Even though he hasn't dropped recently, his music is still good.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, he is kind of an enigma.

Student:
My current favorite artist is uh, it's a Sleepy Hallow and Sheff G. There are two people that grew up around the New York area.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sleepy Hollow and Sleep G?

Student:
Sheff G.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sheff G. Okay, tell me about them.

Student:
Um, they’re just two people that grew up around New York. They just grew up together. I listen to their music a lot. I like it.

Anthony Godfrey:
And are they taking off?

Student:
Uh, yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can I find their stuff to stream?

Student:
Oh, 100%.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is there a particular album or um, mixtape?

Student:
The newest one that I found is From the Can by Sheff G. And the other one from Sleepy is, I don't remember the album name, but he just recently dropped some new music.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm gonna have to do a follow-up with you guys after I've listened to all this stuff. Well, it's been a real pleasure talking to all of you. Uh, good luck with all of the remaining BSU activities this year. And uh, great job on the display. It's awesome talking music with you. And like I said, I'm gonna go back and download all these on title and get listening.

Student:
Thank you for your time. Thank you for putting us in the spotlight. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. He is a long-time physical education teacher who has been making fitness fun and inspiring students for many years.

On this episode of the Supercast, we head to the gym at Copper Mountain Middle School. There we find out why PE teacher Patrick Keating and specialist Tricia Rojas are passionate about finding interesting ways to keep kids active and why it is so important, especially in middle school.

We're here at Copper Mountain Middle School to talk about physical education with Pat Keating and Tricia Rojas. I'll give you just a moment to introduce yourselves.

Pat Keating:
I'm Pat Keating and I've been at Copper Mountain Middle for, this is my 11th year. Total years of teaching this is the 33rd year for me.

Tricia Rojas:
Hi, I'm Tricia Rojas. I'm the Health and PE specialist for Jordan School District. I support all of our Health and PE teachers as they support our students. I've been in this district for five years now, started out my teaching career in Texas, and really happy to be here. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
You spent time in the military as well.

Tricia Rojas:
That's true.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about all the things you've done that have led you to this point.

Tricia Rojas:
Well, so I did. I went right in the military when I graduated high school and worked on weapon systems. In the military, you get a side duty or a collateral duty in addition to your normal job. Mine was to facilitate the fitness test that all military personnel are supposed to do every six months. I would hold that and then anyone who didn't pass, I would train them for the next six months and get them into shape, get them ready. I ended up loving that job more than my main job that I was there to do. That's where I started, I got my interest in fitness and health.

After the military, I went into the fitness industry where I became a personal trainer, got my kinesiology degree. As time went on, my husband was a teacher, he was a coach, and inspired me. So I went into education and ended up loving it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that. That's a great range of experience that you bring to help support teachers. Now Mr. Keating, I'm going to have to call you Mr. Keating. I'm a Big Dead Poet Society fan. Mr. Keating.

Pat Keating:
Seize the day.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes, that's right. Tell us about where you first got interested in fitness and the journey that brought you here. I know you've worked at a lot of different schools with a lot of people that you and I have in common over the years.

Pat Keating:
Yeah, for sure. First of all, I played sports my whole life. I couldn't get enough of sports. I pretty much dabbled in just about every sport known to man. In college, I played football up at Idaho State and stuff. I didn't go into the military. I had all four brothers who went into the military, I was the only one that didn't. They said, "If you can go play football in college, you go play football." So I did.

And then I just, for whatever reason, sports just became such a part of my life and fitness and stuff. I just thought, "You know what? This would be a great thing for me to pursue." So I went into education and I got a double major in special education and physical education. So I have bounced back and forth with the two. I think I've spent 14 years in special ed and this is my 19th year in physical education.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, that shows your range as an educator to be able to be such an effective special educator and switch to physical education. And like I said, you're iconic. Lots of people know you and really admire the work you do as an educator. Talk to me about the impact that a physical education class can have on a student.

Tricia Rojas:
Well, the PE teacher has a unique place in the school and an opportunity to reach kids in a way that the classroom teacher doesn't have the opportunity for. So being able to take the kid, get them moving and give them this free space and judgment-free zone to just try, rather than being a competitive thing or for a grade. Just try. See what you can do. Set your own goals. Try to reach them.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, Pat, tell me about the impact that you've seen over the years of physical education on individual students.

Pat Keating:
Well, I've seen kids totally blossom. I've had kids come in that, like you said, they had no sports background. They had no confidence in doing things. They wanted to kind of stand in the shadows because they'd see other kids that played football or basketball or all these sports.

So my big thing is, which we were just playing, is floor hockey. It's a sport that– hockey in general is a sport that's not huge in Utah. So I usually like to start a semester or a quarter out with floor hockey. And I tell the kids, “Look, who plays hockey in here? Sometimes I get one hand go up. Sometimes I don't have any with 40 or 50 kids. And I tell all the kids, “Look around, see how many great hockey players we have in here.” And I said “You're all starting at the same level. It doesn't matter if these other kids play sports. This is a totally different sport. They have no background in it.” And for whatever reason, it kind of lights a fire underneath them to like, ‘hey, you know what? I mean, they don't have any experience in this either.’ And they get out there and they start trying.

And man, I see some kids that are so kind of withdrawn and skittish. It just lights a fire in them. And so it kind of triggers them to try in these other sports, even though, like when we do soccer, we'll have a lot of kids that have soccer experience. Or when we do basketball. But starting out with floor hockey kind of sets a good tone to get these kids feeling like, “Hey, I can do this”, you know.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love how intentional you are about creating that experience early on so that students feel very comfortable trying something different and really putting all of themselves into it.

Pat Keating:
Yeah. And I always tell them, I said, “Look, this is the one class that even if you're not great in here if you're giving me a great effort, you're participating, you show good sportsmanship, you can get as good a grade as the kid that is the elite athlete in here. What other class can you do that? In math, if you do terrible on a math test, you're not going to get an A.” This is a class that you know what, you come in, you participate, you know what, you have fun, you get active, you're moving.

My big thing is just to get these kids moving. That's always been my goal and stuff. I mean, because, you know, people say, “Oh, hey, obesity is an epidemic.” Nope. Inactivity is an epidemic. Obesity is the result of that. And if we can just get these kids moving, it doesn't matter. I don't care if they're good. I don't care if they can throw a ball 30 yards as long as they're trying and they're moving and they're participating. I feel like I've won if I can get them to do that.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love that approach. There are so many benefits to students, like you said, from just getting out there and moving. And I think they benefit the rest of the day or if they're taking this class early in the day, the rest of their classes, their mind is operating better when they get to get out there and move.

Pat Keating:
Yeah, yeah.

Pack it in the middle. Edges, edges, go up the edges.

Anthony Godfrey:
So we're down in the gym now and we've got some bright orange pucks and some brightly colored sticks here. Am I supposed to bang it against the floor to kind of get it?

Pat Keating:
Yeah, sometimes they do that. So we teach the kids the ready position. The top hand is always at the top of the stick, bottom hand is about halfway down. So if you were to lean forward, you kind of can support yourself a little bit with it.  When we teach them how to shoot, the first thing the kid wants to do is wind up–

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah, they want to come way up.

Pat Keating:
–and then they want to come through. So we eliminate all that. In hockey, that's a slap shot. We won't let them do slap shots. So in here we teach them just a little wrist shot or a little snapshot. So there's no backswing, they just trap the puck. They come forward and they get out to that front foot. See how my body will square up as I turn it. So as I pull forward, then I snap the puck.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow, you're good at that. Okay, so you lean forward.

Pat Keating:
Yeah, and then you get it out. Once you get it out, up past your front foot, then you push and snap.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh hey, that went farther than I expected it to. It did not go up in the air though, like I wanted it to.

Pat Keating:
So it's just a push. I tell the kids, it's a push and then snap. So it's pushed and then snap.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hey, got some air that time.

Pat Keating:
There you go.

Anthony Godfrey:
I've got to twist a little bit more though, right? Then the one knee.

Pat Keating:
Yep, you're just going to put a little pressure on that stick. See that one you slapped and come up through.

Anthony Godfrey:
I slapped.

Pat Keating:
Yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Dang it. Oh, I didn't think about that. There's a lot to think about. There's a lot to think about.

Pat Keating:
There's definitely a lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
That is really fun but you know what? As soon as the puck leaves, I want another puck right there to try it again.

Pat Keating:
Oh yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
You're right. Ijust want to keep trying and make it better and play through the mistakes just like you said.

Pat Keating:
It is definitely addicting. Once we get these kids going, you'll see how much fun they have with this.

Anthony Godfrey:
That’s awesome.

Stay with us. When we come back more with Patrick Keating and Tricia Rojas.

Break:
In Jordan School District, we like to support students in and outside the classroom along with their families. That's where the Jordan Family Education Center comes in, offering support services and a wide variety of classes for students and their families, free of charge. You can take a class called Blues Busters for children feeling sad or worried. Just Breathe is a class that helps students reduce stress. Or how about a class that supports parents in helping their children make and keep good friends. There are also support groups and free counseling, all provided by Jordan School District school psychologists, counselors, and school psychology interns. To find out how you can benefit from free family support services offered by the Jordan Family Education Center, call 801-565-7442 or visit guidance.jordandistrict.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
So guys, tell me about playing hockey in this class.

Student #1:
It’s pretty fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you like about it?

Student #1:
Shooting the puck.

Anthony Godfrey:
Shooting the puck. Have you had some goals?

Student #1:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah? How about for you? What do you like about it?

Student #2:
Yeah, I love the competition. We have a competitive class, so it's fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
How long have you been able to stay on the winner's court? How many teams have you blown through?

Student #2:
We've gone a day without losing a game.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow, that's awesome. That's great. Tell me about Coach Keating. What's he like?

Student #2:
He's great.

Student #1:
He's so fun.

Student #2:
He's a great teacher.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do you love about his class?

Student #2:
I like all the activities that we get to do and he gets to teach us some basic skills for those other teams.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. What do you like about Coach Keating?

Student #3:
What I like about Coach Keating is that he's fun. He's very muscular.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh yeah?

Student #3:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Something to aspire to?

Student #3:
Yeah, it inspires me to get muscles.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you think you can grow as tall as Mr. Keating?

Student #3:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, I believe in you. I think you can do it.

Student #3:
Thank you.

Patrick Keating:
Hey, glasses on! Glasses on! Here we go, get ready. Spread out, spread out!

Anthony Godfrey:
We're up in the room where you do circuit training with students. Just tell us a little bit about this. You've got machines throughout the room. I'm sure this is a very popular spot.

Pat Keating:
Yeah, so our fitness room, we set it up for circuit training and we've got 25 stations. So the kids will partner up. Two kids do a station. Every station has either a machine and then a secondary exercise. So when one of the kids is on the machine, their partner is out front, either doing push-ups, jumping jacks, jump rope, or whatever the secondary exercise is.

We do intervals of about 35 to 40 seconds. The clock will beep, the kids will then switch, the kid on the machine will do the secondary exercise, the kid doing the secondary exercise will go to the machine. The next time it beeps, they move to the next station. We have built-in water breaks about every 12 stations, so the kids know exactly when they can be in the hall and get a water break and when they can't.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's very structured, it's cooperative where they're working together, and there's always something for someone to do, so you're making the most of that time.

Pat Keating:
Yes, there's never any downtime unless they're on a water break.

Anthony Godfrey:
You know, everyone has been in a PE class over the course of their life at some point or another. Tell me, what are some of the myths about physical education class? What are maybe the misunderstandings? Sometimes because we've all been in school, we think things haven't evolved and things haven't changed. How are physical education classes different now from what they used to be?

Pat Keating:
Well, I think the big myth is we just roll a cart of balls out and say go. And it can't be farther from the truth. At least not in the middle school setting that I've always taught in. We teach. We teach skills, we teach drills, we teach the rules, we simplify it and stuff.

We take out hard rules to learn and stuff so the kids can enjoy the game. We take out offsides in soccer because it would take us a whole month to teach these kids that don't have soccer experience. So we simplify the games and stuff so they can all play it and have a good time and not always be thinking, ‘Oh, is this correct?’ And we'll let them know if it is or isn't.

I don't know if you know this, but we have an open gym two days a week after school, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, every Tuesday and Thursday. And we get about 50+ kids every Tuesday and Thursday that come after school and play for an hour. We set up volleyball, we have basketball, badminton, we'll put balance boards out. We'll have all these different activities for these kids to play and they come religiously every single day. And they have a little barcode, they scan in and sign in and stuff. And if they want to make up runs that they've missed or anything for PE, they can come make that up.

But they come in and it is such a good program. If we did it five days a week, we would have the gym packed five days a week after school. I mean, it's just I love it because I'm thinking myself, the kids who are showing up are kids that don't have anything like that available to them once they leave this school.

Anthony Godfrey:
I love hearing that. I love that you make that available to them.

Pat Keating:
Yeah, so it's been really awesome.

Tricia Rojas:
Yeah, I think that's a really, really good point. And I'm seeing these opportunities popping up at different schools throughout the district because I think the teachers are seeing a need for it. I don't think it's that the kids don't want to be active and they don't want to go play outside. But the screen is so enticing. Whenever a kid's given a choice, an option, go outside or play on your screen, it's almost automatic screen time. But when you remove that access, I think they find that they find their joy and their love of being active again. It's being a kid. That's great.

Anthony Godfrey:
While you're out and about supporting physical education teachers throughout the district, what are some of the great things that you see happening out there? What are the characteristics of a really successful physical education teacher?

Tricia Rojas:
Number one is engagement with the kids. The relationships that they build, the high fives are out at lunch duty. It's really happening a lot outside their class as well. You see the kids just light up. It is definitely the relationship with the kids that these coaches are making. And they'll work for them. You know, they'll work in the gym and in their classrooms because they just build that rapport.

Anthony Godfrey:
And Pat, I love the way you described it. You provide an environment where students who are athletic are able to excel and really be at their best. And students who aren't sure they belong here can really find things within them that they didn't think were there. And so that's a pathway to creating a relationship with every student that walks in your door.

Pat Keating:
Yeah. It's fun to see their eyes light up when they make their first goal in hockey. Or finally make a basket at the end of the basketball unit. Because I tell all the kids, “Look, it doesn't matter. If you miss, you keep trying.”

That's the beauty of sports. You don't have to back up like you do in math and correct a mistake and you race it and go back to where you made the mistake. In sports, you keep playing through mistakes. You just keep playing hard and good things will happen and stuff. So I'm always encouraging you to keep going, keep going, you know.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's great advice. Play through your mistakes. Just keep moving forward.

Tricia Rojas:
Yeah and for me, the mental resiliency that comes. I believe that you know, your mental toughness is directly tied to your physical abilities. So whenever you do something difficult physically, it naturally builds up your mental toughness and resiliency.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you both for taking the time. I'm thrilled with all the opportunities you're giving students. I wish I could go back in time and take your class.

Pat Keating:
Oh, you'd be good.

Anthony Godfrey:
It sounds so great. And just thank you for what you do to support teachers throughout the district. This has really been a thrill to talk with you both.

Pat Keating:
Well, thank you.

Tricia Rojas:
Thank you, Dr. Godfrey.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.