Friday, January 30, 2009
Leader of the Pack
Learning to teach with the "Firm but Warm" ideals is an art all unto itself. In a way it is also the same mantra for Cesar Milan (AKA - The Dog Whisperer). Casar takes the toughest cases of dog misbehavior and works tirelessly to "re-rehabilitate the dog" but "train the owners" - and NOT the other way around. What does he say about the importance of a) walking together (exercise), b) belief in yourself as the leader of the pack, and c) creating a pack to create harmony. Watch this video and leave a comment that best explains your reactions to Cesar's techniques and the parallel to teaching youngsters. If you want to see more of Cesar and his techniques and awesome effectiveness click on this YouTube playlist and National Geographic Channel.
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19 comments:
During the video it was pretty clear that in the beginning the two animals thought of each other as enemies. Cesar Milan helped to show me that by making the two dogs walk together friendship can be created. They become "buddies during the war" instead of thinking of each other as enemies with eye contact. Another key element that he pointed out was that the person handling the animals has to have confidence in order to take control of the situation. He said that if a person believes that they can't do something then they won't be able to do it.
This can all be related to physical education teachers and their student's. In class the student's often have to compete against one another in activities. This can sometimes create conflict and possibly fights. In the video it implies that in order to avoid creating unneeded conflict between two people that are already unfriendly, put them on the same team and maybe they will become friend's through that. He also shows that you have to be a confident teacher in order to control the student's in the class and be the leader.
I think this video is a great example of what we, as P.E. teachers, may see in a social and sometimes competitive environment. I second what Amanda says. If you notice that two individuals are going head to head and "butting" heads often try and put them on a joint mission...maybe not just the two of them but as a collective whole. In the same token letting the students know who is in charge is very important. I like the way Cesar talks to the dogs in a firm but helpful way and at times he tells them to stay focused. Ultimately he lets the two dogs sniff each other and get to know one another in a less confrontational arena, after they have "walked" together. This could translate to P.E. by meeting after class with two or more aggressive students and re-capping some of the positive and negative experiences and why or why not we should act that way. Most social interactions (especially with children)that have two or more participants usually results in some sort of conflict sooner or later. The trick is finding out how to re-direct that energy into hopefully something positive!
I’ve watched a few episodes of “The Dog Whisperer” and it’s amazing what Cesar can do. A lot of his techniques or concepts can be applied to teaching children (But make sure you don’t try using a leash on children).
I think the most important thing Cesar talks about is believing in yourself as the leader of the pack. Without believing in yourself as the leader or person with control, it will be very hard to accomplish any goals. If you believe you can’t do something, then you won’t accomplish whatever you are trying to accomplish. Having the confidence to reach a goal is just as important as having the skills to do so. If you have the skills but the confidence is lacking, the chances of success decrease. On the other hand if you are lacking the skills but come off very confident, you may be able to pull it off.
Creating a pack to create harmony is very important because it makes people feel like buddies as opposed to enemies. When people or dogs are in a pack, they have a common goal or are “put in the same boat”. Members in a pack work together so the pack as a whole is successful.
Walking together or other various forms of exercise together is a way of making people feel like a pack. The dogs are going through the same exertion so they have a commonality. The common element they share allows them to feel like a pack which then, will create harmony.
Cesar’s techniques of working with dogs with behavioral problems are very applicable to teaching youngsters. For starters, teachers have to be in control and they have to believe they are in control or they won’t be. If a teacher wants to get students to work together, he/she could come up with activities that would cause the students to share a common goal and feel like a group or pack. They would then realize that in order to be successful they would have to work together. Cesar mentioned that a teacher or somebody in control has to match their assertive energy with the aggressive energy of the misbehaving person. The teacher also can’t seem nervous or tense because they will lose control of the situation. Lastly, if one technique doesn’t work, a teacher has to be able to adapt and try another technique to reach their goal. Cesar’s first attempt didn’t seem to work but then he adapted, tried another technique and was successful.
Watching this video allows everyone to see how if you as a teacher or master, you have control of every sitituation. Cesar Milan could have let the dogs bark at each another until they stopped, but he took control and allowed them to walk together and become a team so they were not enemies anymore. Milan was confident in his skills to have these dogs follow his directions and do what he wanted them to do. That is what we all need to be able to do when we become Physical Education teachers, we need to be confident and know whatwe are doing so the students learn to the best ability they can and we will be the best teachers that we can.
While watching the video you could see how one dog had more control than the other. Cesar Milan was able to step in and try a couple different things to make the two dogs get along. He was able to get the two dogs to walk together as if there was nothing wrong. By Cesar taking the control away from the one dog, the two dogs were able to become friendly. This could be to a bully in school, trying to pick on another student. the teacher could be Cesar and try and defuse the situation by bring the two students together and making them a team, so that one is not better than the other. By taking the control away each student would be then forced to see things in a new perspective and learn to respect one another. Which in return would make the classroom situation better for everyone.
In this video Milan demonstrated that confidence is key in order to gain control of a situation. He could have let the dogs go wild and simply pull them away from each other, but that would have allowed the dog to still believe that it was in control. Instead, he stepped into the situation right when the confrontation began which showed that he was in control. To further prove this he had the dogs walk together side by side. He then allowed the dogs to smell each other. He slowly allowed the dogs to explore each other, while maintaining control. Since the dogs knew that he was in control they did not bark or growl at each other.
This is related to physical education because in a classroom you must let the students know that you are in control of the class. Showing complete confidence in your authority to the students is important so that they won't second guess your ability to run a classroom effectively. By showing confidence in my abilities I will be able to better mediate conflict situations in the classroom as they arise.
I have watched a couple episodes of Cesar Milan “ The Dog Whisper” and I think it is absolutely astonishing on how he develops such a connection with these dogs the first few minutes that he meets them, and helps with their misbehavior problems. I thought it was really interesting how he said walking together creates friendship, and when they are walking side by side they become friends rather then being face to face and being enemies. Creating a pack to create harmony is a key point because when people work in a pack they have the same common goals and work together rather then against each other and being enemies. Cesar took immediate control over the dogs and showed them that he was the leader of the pack.
This can be related to physical education because teachers need to be in control of their classrooms, and it should be an environment where all the students are friends with each other and not enemies trying to compete against one another. Like Cesar the teacher is the leader of the pack and should maintain control over the classroom, an develops a connection with his/her own students.
By watching this video you can see that Cesar Milan is very good at controlling the situation of the dogs. He was able to make the two dogs friendly with eachother instead of almost ripping eachothers heads off. One thing he said is that when a dog growls the owner must make sure they dont get tense and nervous. They must stay calm during the situation and take control. I think that this has alot to do with physical education because situations can occur in your class and you have to be able to think fast. Students have to realize who is in charge of the classroom so that order and organization takes place. The title is "leader of the pack" which in a classroom setting would be us as the teachers. It's important to have a leader so that things are organized and under control. By walking the dogs side by side he was able to calm them down from the situation. In physical education some situations might get a little out of hand. So we as teachers need to be able to calm the situation down. I thought this was a good video to show so that we see how important it is to take chardge in a class.
A P.E teacher can take the concept of being the leader of the pack, that Cesar “The Dog Whisperer” Milan took, and apply this to his/her class. This is a very useful strategy in order to get the respect needed for creating a positive learning environment. This strategy at the same time will not create the image of a “totalitarian” P.E teacher most people tend to misinterpret. I am not a big fan of dogs, but I can't help but to notice how similar human behavior is to that of a dog. We as Physical Educators are going to encounter all types of behaviors from different students. Some students will be more competitive than others. It is our duty to know how to deal with the students who might be too competitive in nature. Joining a group of competitive students together to try to reach a common goal creates teamwork, trust, and most importantly friendship throughout the class. While reaching this goal it is essential for you to guide the pack but also not interfere too much. Making your classroom feel like a team with you being the coach will create a more harmonious environment for your classroom. It will also take away the preconceived notion of P.E classes being all about competition. See what dogs made me realize…..
This video shows a few things about what it takes to be a teacher and also behavior management. Cesar Milan said something about showing confidence and not showing nervousness around the dogs because they can pick this just as kids will as your teaching. If they feel your not in control they won't do as you want. He was in control of the Dogs and eventually made them do as he wanted. He also showed quick initiative as to know what to do in calming a the dogs down and making them work together. As teachers we need to be able too know about many of the different situations that can arise and be able to act quickly and get students to work together. He is being stern by like dragging on the dogs collar but was speaking in a warm tone to them but with good projection. This is everything a teacher must do. We have to show that we are there to help but the students aren't going to be able to act out or there will be some sort of consequences.
The clip stated that you must match your assertive energy with the aggressive outside energy. This is to show you are in control and not nervous about the situation. The dog whisperer states that a dog can pick up on you being nervous or fearful so in relation to physical education class I'm sure humans can pick up on that as well and if that happens you are no longer "leader of the pack".
Another thing I noticed is when he took the dogs for a walk side by side instead of when they usually pass each other and come face to face, they changed their old aggressive habits for more friendlier ones. This can be related to physical education class in that students might not always like each other outside of class or in the halls but when they are in that class where the teacher is in control they have to learn to work together and cooperate.
After watching the video, I can see the similarities between the dog whisperer and being a physical educator. Being an educator, we will all run into confrontations, like the dogs in the clips. Caser had his own philosophy of being the “leader of the pack”. Behavior management is huge in this field and being the leader in these situations is key. Success will come when you as the teacher can create a positive and fun environment, however keeping discipline when needed for your students. Caser knew when that it was important that the dogs knew that he was in charge and he had no fear. Being a physical educator is no different, if you are passive you will get walked on by your students. If you can keep an assertive attitude while teaching, and keep the “leader of the pack” role, you can have a positive teaching environment.
Cesar Milan explains to people that you must be the leader and show examples of leadership in order to be taken as the 'head of the pack'. As a teacher this is a major factor, because you want to be taken as the leader.You must be confident and positive and if you show that you aren't students will not listen to you and you will have a tough time teaching in a setting where your not the head of the class.Cesar uses the help of other dogs to help him with his challenges. For teachers this is a plus because you can have students help others or if students are not getting along have them work in groups where they need to work together and forget about their issues and achieve a certain goal. the whole point of Cesar's theory of the Pack leader is to be calm, confident and assertive. He showed me that if you stay calm and show confidence you will be the one students listen to.
I thought this video really showed some cool social interactions that can be easily compared to students in PE class. In the video, when the black dog had trouble with the new dog, it reminded me a lot of kids coming in to the beginning of class. I remember students would always get really rowdy if they were left to mess around. But, as a teacher came into the situation and displayed a leadership role like Cesar did for the dogs, they start to fall into line. Also, walking the dogs together to establish a bond is a lot like using cooperative games to bring students together. Although students might have preconceived notions of one another, when they’re put into competitive or cooperative situation they almost always conform to succeed. By using this technique, dogs as well as students can create a bond through an activity by directing their attention away from each other and onto a common goal.
This video gives great insight on how simple it is to resolve certain problems that you can get with dogs or even with students within your Physical Education class. A simple technique such as walking two dogs to make them become a pack is something that a normal person would never think of.
Cesar Milan is not only teaching people how to get there dogs to stop seeing other dogs as enemies. He is also teaching us that there are ways such as bringing two opposing forces together and make them do something together. Side by side, eventually a common bond will be made and their guard will fall. These teaching and methods will be something that is used inside a classroom for teachers that can help eliminate bullying and fighting within a school environment.
Great video to watch and contrast how the concept of becoming the "leader of the pack" may come to play in becoming the leader of your classroom. At first it almost seemed as if Cesar Milan was dealing with two dogs that could not be tamed, but he strictly and swiftly devised a plan to create peace between the dogs. That quick action thinking is a skill we must develop as we are future leaders of the classroom and we may never know which situation we may be put in.
I thought that this video was pretty cool. Cesar Milan is great at showing the dogs who is really in control. By taking the dogs for a walk side by side and having confidence that his theory will work, he made the crazy dog become submissive. He also says that if you believe that are not going to be able to achieve something, then that will become a reality. I think the techniques in this video can be applied directly to a teacher and his/her students. The teacher must be the "leader of the pack" and have confidence in what he/she is teaching. If the students do not sense this leadership, they will be tempted to not listen during class. Also, if there is a conflict between any students, put the on the same team and they will work together in a positive way. Confidence and leadership are both very important to running an effective P.E. class.
After watching this video, the control Cesar had with the dog was unbelieveable. The confidence he had in his abilities to rehabilitate the dog were absolutely amazing. By taking control he really had the attention of the dog to where he could have the dog do what ever he wanted it to. Cesar demonstrates great patience with the dog, he remains calm and doesn't get stressed out. His ability to resolve conflict is one of his greatest strengths. All these features that Cesar demonstrates with dogs are closely related with teaching. As a physical education teacher you have to be the individual who is in control at all times. There will be conflicts in your class room and being about to resolve those conflicts is one of the most important parts of the job. By being a confldent teacher the opportunites are endless. By just watching this three minute video it reinforces that being in control of your classroom everything.
Being a huge dog lover I was really interested in this clip on Rockstar PE. I usually watch the show "It's Me or the Dog" on TLC, this show has a similar concept as The Dog Whisperer. I have been very fortunate with my dogs who are both very well behaved and give little trouble if any. I really never thought of how a dog handler is so similar to a teacher or professor. The Dog Whisperer takes immediate control of the dog and shows who is the authoritarian and is going to dictate what is going to happen on their walk. This authoritarian, no messing around attitude, needs to be demonstrated by a teacher at all times. Kids will see and take advantage of any weakness they feel a teacher has, as soon as a teacher gives a student some slack this is when the teacher begins to lose control over their classroom.
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