Coach Larry Calhoun, the star of the Move to Learn exercise break videos, visited the campus of East Sunflower Elementary School on Thursday to introduce administrators, teachers and students to the Move to Learn Initiative.
Calhoun introduced the students to the M2L program and provided some personal background before engaging them in a physical exercise demonstration.
During his presentation, Calhoun told the students and staff that he grew up without having a relationship with his father, so his major influences were his teachers and a coach who spotted him crying in the hall one day and admonished him to stop and then encouraged him to tryout for sports.
He credits the interaction with the coach and other teachers as being what influenced his love of reading, writing and studying. Noting that he was the first in his family to finish high school, get a college undergraduate degree and a master’s degree, he recognized the help he received from his teachers as his inspiration.
He is also the first in his family to become a published author. His initial encounter with that coach led to his participation in five different sports, to him becoming an award-winning athlete and also a paid certified NCAA official. “I didn’t say that to impress you, I said it to impress upon you that you (the adults) have power and that power is in your words,” he said.
As he continued to address the teachers and staff, he related them to other educators and acknowledged the probable sacrifices they too have made for their students. “Teachers, I know exactly what you do, some of you get up early to this school and you leave late,” Calhoun said.
He also applauded teachers for their financial sacrifices and impressed upon the students the significance of that surrender as well. “Some of these people in this room, they’ve gone in their own pockets, most of them are not rich, and taken money away from their own families and spent money on some children in this school to make sure you have everything you need to be successful,” Calhoun said.
Then addressing the students, he recalled a dark time in his life when he contemplated stepping out in front of a speeding big rig because of all of the dysfunctional and emotional turmoil he was experiencing in his young life. Calhoun said recalling some of the things that his teachers had said to him is what caused him to change his mind.
He told the students that each one of them was born with a gift for the world inside of them and if they were to die without sharing that gift then the world would lose out. He also encouraged the teachers to help the students find that gift.
He implied that on a teacher’s worst day, they are some child’s best hope. “Let me take it a step further, on your worst day, in this school, you may be some child’s only hope,” Calhoun said.
Anne Travis, CEO of The Bower Foundation that is partnering with the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools said in a press release, “Improving nutrition and physical activity levels for Mississippi school children is a priority; healthy children are more likely to be academically successful.”
The release said the foundation is partnering with the MDE OHS to improve the health of students statewide through the program.
Scott Clements, Director of MDE’s Office of Healthy Schools added, “Brief physical activity and increased fitness improve learning and test scores. With this in mind, Move to Learn was designed to be fun for students, improve learning, and assist teachers with classroom management.”
According to the information, teachers are noticing that incorporating the fitness breaks in the classroom has increased their students’ ability to learn and to focus on schoolwork. Plus, it helps teachers create positive learning environments and promote effective classroom management.
Mississippians developed the breaks for Mississippi children and research shows that when you exercise your body you are also exercising your brain, according to the press release.
More information about The Bower Foundation’s Move to Learn programs may be found on the Internet at http://www.movetolearnms.org.
