EIU Physical Education Alumni
Luke Hearn (B.S. 2017) is currently teaching Elementary Physical Education in Mahomet IL
I'm currently teaching 3rd through 5th grade Physical Education, and coaching Middle School track. I teach about 750 kids, seeing my students once every 3 days. I have about 27 students in each class, inteach 9 to 10 classes per day.
I learned so many things from EIU that I used daily in my planning, instruction, and assessment! I have designed my curriculum to be based around skill themes and movement concepts- it works so well. My lesson plans are full of Extension, Refinement, and Application tasks- you will see how important these are in teaching. I'm so thankful for the wealth of knowledge that the EIU professors have given me to be successful in my first job.
Lucas Hunt (B.S. 2018) is currently the Strength and Conditioning Physical Education Teacher, Head Golf Coach, and Assistant Coach for High School Basketball and Baseball at Havana High School
After I graduated from EIU, I accepted a job teaching strength and conditioning, and coaching golf, basketball, and baseball. My responsibilities at the school are to teach 4 PE strength periods every day, as well as two health classes and one CO-ED PE. I am the Head Golf Coach and assist the high school boys basketball and baseball programs.
EIU gave a realistic approach to teaching and what you will be doing as soon as you graduate. I feel that the program prepared me extremely well for taking a job as a teacher. The physical education program stresses active engagement and providing students with an equal opportunity for improvement and those are the main things I have taken from the program in order to implement a quality curriculum. What I feel that EIU focused the most on is the daily grind that you go through as a teacher.
Logan Jackson (B.S. 2015) is currently teaching P.E. at Bement C.U.S.D. #5.
I teach K-4 Physical Education, Middle and High School Health, and High school Conditioning P.E. at Bement C.U.S.D. #5.
I would say the #1 thing I learned from EIU was the importance of lesson planning. Especially when you teach elementary P.E. you need a ton of extension tasks to keep things "new." The more time I spend lesson planning, the easier the class is and the more engaged the students are. Lesson planning ties to classroom management more than people understand. The physical education program did a very good job in preparing me for planning quality lessons. They do a good job of teaching it and I've done a good job applying it.
Tyler Jakse (B.S. 2016) is currently teaching health, PE, and drivers ed and coaching freshman football at Dunlap High School
I am a Physical Education, Health, and Driver Education teacher at Dunlap High School. I also coach football, basketball, and track.
The teachers that I had at EIU definitely had the greatest impact on me. Through their own willingness to go above and beyond to help me achieve my goals, the teachers that I had at EIU taught me the importance of caring for students and forming long-lasting positive relationships with them.
Mike Kahn (B.S. 2016) is currently teaching freshman and sophomore PE at Chicago Tech Academy
My job entails teaching 5 classes of high school PE. Not only do I get to help students learn about their health, I also get to teach them how to be successful in the real world. Whether it’s giving them extra information about a healthy lifestyle or helping them with problems at home or with friends.
EIU taught me to bleed now, so I sweat less later. In college, that phrase wasn’t sticking in my head, but the week before school started, I was working extremely hard to get everything ready for the school year. We are a Project Based Learning school which means every subject creates a project for their class that pushes the students. We also have a different grading scale than a regular school. Going into this experience required me to plan or organize, which allows me to provide my students with quality physical education experiences. GO EIU!!
Greg Rogers (B.S. 2017) is currently teaching Health and Physical Education at Charleston High School
I am teaching Health and Physical Education at Charleston High School in Charleston, Illinois. Working with high school students is rewarding because I can see the impact that I am making on the students. I am also the head boys' cross country coach. I'm thankful for the opportunity to share my love for running with the student-athletes at CHS.
Wade Rogers (B.S. 2018) is currently teaching Physical Education for Armstrong Township.
I teach K-8 Physical Education at Armstrong-Ellis Grade School and High School Physical Education/Health at Armstrong Township High School. I also coach high school basketball and baseball.
Eastern did an awesome job of preparing me for the next step as a teacher. The small class sizes allowed me to build relationships with my professors and peers that I use today and will continue to use in the future. I couldn’t have picked a better place to further my education and help me obtain my dream of becoming a Physical Education Teacher. EI-EI-EIU!
Jenna Stokes (B.S. 2017) is currently teaching K-8 PE at Westwind Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona
I teach k-8 physical education at a Title one school in Phoenix Arizona.
I am thankful for the small class sizes and one on one attention from my professors. I received a solid foundation of knowledge and I was afforded various teaching experiences that prepared me well for my career.
