Dearborn County, Ind. — The Dearborn County Retired Teachers, with the help of some very loyal business sponsors recently were able to award three Educator Grant/Awards.
Duke Energy funded Heather Lunsford’s wobble stool request for fifth grade students at Sunman Elementary. According to Lunsford, wobble stools “allow students to stay seated during instruction but also move around to get energy out.” Alternative seating allows students to better focus on the task at hand; they are, therefore, less disruptive in the classroom because they have the ability to move. Some students have the sensory need to move. The stools help to control fidgeting. With less and less time given to recess, more seat time is required of these young people. The wobble stools allow for some movement in a contained setting.
Valley Rural Utility Company of Hidden Valley sponsored Fizz Ed: PE for Generation Z. The award was presented to Terri Schmeltzer, Principal at St. John Evangelical Lutheran School in Aurora. According to the application, multiple studies have been done to suggest that immediate and constant access to technology has negatively affected today’s youth physically. Post-millennial students are more comfortable competing with video games than with traditional physical education games. The number of students avoiding physical exertion is dramatically increasing. As this trend continues, the percentage of students who have reduced strength and flexibility because of lack of physical activity is ever increasing. Cooperation and teamwork will be learned through physical movement.
