Education: Graduated from
UW-Madison with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and a minor
in Sports Medicine. During my time at the UW, I worked as a trainer with the
Badger football and basketball teams assessing and treating practice and game
injuries, taping hundreds of ankles and hands, and assisting with the
rehabilitation of athletic injuries.
Background: I grew up in a small
town outside of Madison. For some reason, as far back as I can remember, I
have always known that I wanted to teach Physical Education so it made the
path I chose very easy. Something that was a positive influence on me was my
parents who just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! They are both very
active, athletic and very dedicated individuals. My father played baseball for
over 20 years, so I basically grew up “on the diamond” and was always
surrounded by sports. But life wasn’t all sports - academics and grades were
very important and even graduating from college was expected in my family
before getting married and starting a family.
Philosophy: My teaching
philosophy is to provide a variety of physical activities to help all students
acquire knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes toward themselves and others
that will enable them to maintain a health and fitness level to function
effectively in today’s society. I believe students should have the opportunity
to create, examine and uncover their potential for movement. As students get
older the accent shifts toward appropriate body mechanics, physical fitness,
and developmental skills. Along with skill developments in sports, knowledge
of game rules and teamwork advance. I don’t believe P.E. is a time to “let off
steam”, each class period has specific goals and objectives. Self esteem,
respect for oneself and others is a must in my classes. Children need to
become thinkers and problem solvers and understand concepts and choices. I
want to give the children a taste of everything in hopes that they may find
that certain sport or activity that sparks them into a lifetime of action and
physical fitness.
Hobbies: SPORTS, of course! Any
kind! Due to old and overused bones and joints :), I don’t play many
competitive sports anymore like I used to, but I stay active by walking,
biking and swimming when I can. I also do have the occasional spare minute for
crafting, sewing, and learning new things on the computer.
I am married (27 years) to Antonio (Tony) and
we have two children, Roman (24) and Rachel (22).or the