SUNY Cortland PE Mini Conference

Walking into Park Center the morning of October 8, 2008, I had no idea what to expect. I had never been to the conference before, and was excited and curious to see what the day would bring. It began with a bang when our EDU 255 class, lead by Dr. Yang, kicked off the conference with a few activities to loosen up the audience. After our "We Will, We Will, Teach You," entrance we invited the conference attendees to join us in a game of "Mix, Mix, Mingle, Mingle," a game designed to break the ice. After the "kick off" activities were finished, we took a seat and were fortunate enough to hear a wonderful opening speech by Dr. John R. Passarini, a dedicated physical educator. This speech really hit home for me, because when I get older I want to inspire people to become better people and athletes, and it was amazing to see the lives that Dr. Passarini has touched. It made me realize that going to school to become a physical educator is one thing, but to become someone who influences the lives of other people on a daily basis is something completely different. Listening to Dr. Passarini, and seeing the various things he has done with his career really reinforced my decision to become a teacher.
Overall, I feel that the conference was a great success. It was great to walk around and see the positive attitude everyone had toward the conference, as well as see all the presentations that Professors and students put together. I had the opportunity to participate in a demonstration of Omnikin, and it was great to hear the perspective of current physical education teachers. the PE teachers visiting the conference were very interested in learning new activities to teach, as well as learning alternate ways to teach a certain activity. I am excited to return to the conference next year, and I hope to get the chance to teach an activity when it all happens again next year.