Level-up Leadership Program Part 2

Welcome PE Nation!

Today I share a part-two update on my martial arts style leadership program for elementary PE and how the belt levels are working in real life. I break down the benefits, the problems I did not expect, and what I want to change so it runs even better next year. 

• belt system built around leadership, behavior, and helpfulness rather than athletic skill 
• how students earn white, green, orange, purple, black, and red belt levels 
• daily responsibility expectations like wristbands, water bottles, and best effort 
• leadership roles through captains, referees, and helping classmates 
• privileges that reinforce trust and positive behavior 
• pros like improved effort, better sportsmanship, and stronger classroom culture 
• cons like some kids opting out, parent complaints, and over-promotion risks 
• future plans to make criteria clearer and fund supplies with a grant 

Definitely check out the first episode on the leadership program, it’ll give you a better idea of it. If you have any questions, reach out to me.

Take care,

Dave

My podcast on my Ninja Leadership Program.

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Transcript

Belt Levels And How They Work

What’s Working So Far

Problems And Pushback

Next Year Plans And Wrap

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hello and welcome to the Super Size for Zed Podcast. My name is Dave, and today I want to talk about our leadership program, kind of the part two updates, and how it is going and where it's going in the future and how you can implement it in your PE program. So without further ado, here we go. All right, everybody, welcome in. I appreciate you being here today and checking out the podcast. I apologize if it's been a little bit. I've taken some breaks here and there just to uh uh take some breaks and to get recharged and to come up with some new content, things like that. So I appreciate you tuning in. So today let's talk about the leadership program that I implemented. Um I actually um there's a podcast on it I did, and I'll put in the show notes um about the it's really the part one, and it explains um in detail what I planned for it and what the levels are and how it was gonna going to be implemented. And uh so today I'm gonna give you kind of an update about where we're at now with it and you know how it's going, the pros and cons, and again how you can implement it in your PE program. So, first, um, as a quick review, my I came up with it over the summer, last summer, by just thinking of ways I could implement um a new um way of leveling up, I guess, gamification, in this case, um not about skills, but about their leadership and behavior and just helpfulness and um you know helping others uh gain levels as well. Because I'm I'm a martial arts student myself. I got my black belt, um, it was like 20 years ago, but it was awesome. And you know, I wanted to implement that kind of thing, kind of like what uh a lot of people do with the jump roping skills and stations, with uh moving up with wristbands or you know, just in general, moving up with the the belts, the belt system. So I thought, well, why don't I do that in a leadership setting where students can gain um levels but also privileges if they do a great job with um again behavior and also just being helpful and and being responsible and safe and all the things we talk about in PE all the time. So again, it's not about how well you kick a soccer ball or how far you throw a football. It's it's so anybody can do it. And I decided to make this a third, fourth, and fifth grade program. And so I grandfathered some kids in. So fourth and fifth grade, we grandfathered some kids in with different uh colors. We didn't want to start everybody at white belt, but I'll go over the levels now so you understand where we where we started, the different levels, and you know how we can go from there. So the easiest way, let's hey, let's make it a boomer, because then I'll explain the different levels um that way. So here we go, number one. Alright, so the levels go like this. They start off, this is actually should be a third grade thing. It's a it starts off in third grade, but again, because we started this year, I we grandfathered some uh fourth and fifth graders in already. So we already gave them their white belts or the green belts kind of thing because um we gave them credit for what they are they've already accomplished in the lower grades before we even started the program. So here's the levels. One is, or the first level is well, really no belt. Um they have to earn their white belt, which should take place in a couple weeks, like the of starting the school year. They get a white belt if they are respectful, responsible, and safe, and they know all the rules of PE, and they they demonstrate good behavior and you know willingness to learn the rules and um just in general, um, you know, they're monitor they're monitoring themselves and they're making sure that they are on task and that they can they're being helpful of others. And that's that's just that's a white belt, and that's good. All right, I'm gonna go through these a little faster, but a green belt is um bringing they're wearing the wristband every day. So I give them wristbands, they're these rubber wristbands, uh, and yeah, I get them on Amazon and they they cost money, but they're not that expensive. And they uh they have to wear them. So that's just part of it. And I do check. I have a I have a checklist, I don't check every day, but the class that I have I usually check, and the class that the other coaches have, they don't check, or sometimes they do. So the green band is they have to wear a wristband every day, their green band. They have to bring a water bottle every day, and that's a big deal because we're outside and it's hot um in Florida, so they need to bring a water bottle, and that's just being responsible. They have to give their best effort, which that's that's another thing that some boys and girls um, you know, they they they try their best and some kind of don't. They just I call them eeyors, they just kind of mope around, um, not to their face, but I call them eeyors. So that is being a green belt, giving your best effort, and it it goes uh beyond the white belt. It's everything with the white belt, plus you know, the wristband, the water bottle, the uh give them the best effort, um, being a good sport. And that's a big deal. That's it's hard for some boys and girls just to be a good sport sometimes. So we talk a lot about that. And that's a green belt. All right, the next one is a an orange belt, and that's the highest a third grader can be, is an orange belt, and some are right now, because we've been doing this for uh three quarters of the school year. Uh we really start at the second quarter, so I want to say most of the school year, but not all of it. Orange belt is one year of leadership. So it it takes everything from white belt, green belt, and it just goes beyond that. So it's basically one year of leadership, and we give them credit for this whole year, and even if they're in second grade, if they were well behaved and they're always showing what we call the bear expectations, because we are the uh T it's the T-O-E bears, our school. Um, they're the bears. So if they're demonstrating all that, they can earn their orange belt, and that's a big deal because I tell them an orange belt is like the black belt of third grade, and just like that, um, well, after that comes the purple belt, and the purple belt is like the, and I tell the fourth graders this, it's the black belt of fourth grade. So there are some fourth graders that are purple belts, and purple belt is two years of leadership. So they, if they were field day helper or their safety patrol, um, things like that, they can get their purple belt, um, or they don't have to be field day helpers or safety patrol, but and this is a voluntary program. No one has to do this, but a lot of the most of the kids do opt into this and they want the privileges that come with it, which we'll talk about a little bit. So purple belt is the highest a fourth grader can be because it's two years of of leadership. And again, that means they could have been a captain in a game. Um, and the captains isn't it's not we don't do like the kindergarten thing when we were kids where you got picked last, but they can just be captains and help their team, and they can position their teammates. Um, um if they're playing like kickball or something, they can position their teammates, you know, help them out, encourage them. We might let them pick one or two um people to be on their team, but captains doesn't mean again, you you pick the night pick, then you pick the night pick, and then some kid gets upset about being picked last. We don't do that. They can also be referees in a game. So a referee is like in Gagaball. If I'm not uh I'm trying to watch everything, and I pick a few extra referees that'll be my extra eyes and ears, um, things like that, um, that they can earn, like they can earn that, and they can also demonstrate with that being a captain, being a referee, being a field day helper, being a safety patrol, their leadership skills. So that is uh purple belt. And after that is a black belt. So that's the highest. Well, it was the highest a fifth grader could be. And again, that's everything. That's just everything, and it's even longer period of time. And um, again, it's it there's more detail to it. I don't want that, I kind of did that in the previous podcast, which you can check out. I'll put in the show notes. So black belt is the true ninja, but then I I implemented a red belt. So here's what I told the fifth graders: a black belt is like a Jedi Knight, like Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia or whoever. And a red belt is like Yoda. They can actually teach the class, they can teach others how to become a black belt. Now, right now, we only have two red belts in fifth grade, and these girls are amazing. They are one of them is my one of my safety patrol captains, but again, doesn't have to be. She's awesome at uh sports, doesn't have to be, but she is. And she just knows, she has so much knowledge of the games and helps others just get better and better and better. And in our chook ball tournament, she's a great captain. The other one is not as athletic, but she's so helpful, so friendly, so kind. She helps our one of our um handicapped students all the time, volunteers her time to um make sure she's included, um, takes time out of games to go do separate activities with her, and she's just amazing, really. So two red belts. Um, those are the levels. And um, I want to move on from there because I want to give more of an update now of how it's been going, you know, the pros, the cons, and the future of the program. So here's number two. All right, so number two is the pros, the the good stuff of the program so far. So the pros of the program are many students are working hard. They are. And when I say working hard, it's not like they're studying for a test. They're just doing their best. They're on task, their their behavior has improved. Um, some of them, their behavior was already already amazing, but but some of them have really upped their game and they want to be even more helpful and more um I guess more kind. They want to be um, you know, they they want to keep moving up and they keep they ask. And I tell them they can they can ask, it's okay, just not in the middle of a lesson. They can ask what you know, a lot of them do, hey, what can I do to get my next belt? And I'll tell them. And a lot of times it's just, hey, keep doing what you're doing, it's just, you know, a longer period of time. And the students do have to be um a little more patient because these just like a martial arts, the belts don't come every week or every month. So it's a lot about being patient and just keep doing what they're doing over a longer period of time. And the boy, I'd say those some of the borderline behaviors, some of the students that are, you know, in the past might have not been as well behaved. Um, a lot of them are trying their best and trying to move up and their behaviors have improved. So that's a really good thing. So, you know, they and they enjoy the benefits, they enjoy being called out to in a good way to uh roll the dice at the end of the day. We roll dice for points, or they spin the wheel on Fridays, or they're again they're captains of a game, or they get chosen to help. It's amazing how many kids want to help. They just want to help clean up. It's like, okay, awesome. And you know, they enjoy being referees in a game, or you know, these new privileges. Um, the black belts, I let them sit wherever they want, or they can walk the track with their friends without supervision. Things like that, because we know we can trust them. If they're a certain level, we know we can trust them. And that also goes for the boys and girls in the school with their teachers. Like they know, hey, he's a or she's a black belt or a purple belt or whatever. That's pretty high. And so we can trust them. Um, you know, I always say the black belts and definitely red belts are the ones that they can run the whole class. I can give them my keys to my car to go get um my wallet. I don't really do that, but I'm just saying that's the example that I can really trust that they'll do the right thing at all times. And we always say this, and I do I have to emphasize this a lot. They're not, what we don't expect them to be perfect. Like nobody's perfect. I'm not perfect. And we're talking about, you know, like uh eight, nine, and ten-year-olds, 11-year-olds. Like they're not gonna be perfect, but they're they're working towards a certain goal and they're doing their best. And it's okay if you make mistakes, and just make sure you own up to them and apologize and you know, all sorts of things. So we're they're getting that, and we're all we're talking about that constantly. Little things of, hey, here's why this person's a black belt. They did this today. Here's why this person, um, I don't say names on this, but you know, here's what happened and this why why this person is not gonna move up because they got up, you know, they started crying when their team lost and whatever, capture a flag. And those kind of things are good conversation pieces so the kids know, here's what I need, here's why this person is at this level, here's why this person is not moving up. And you know, so they these are all pros, these are all good things, good conversations about sportsmanship, teamwork, showing grace while we win or lose, all that sorts of stuff. So that is those are the pros, and there's a lot of them. There's a there's more than that even, but those are really the pros. I think most kids enjoy it, most parents enjoy it, and uh yeah, now we'll move on to the cons, which is not so good. All right, so the cons of this, there's not that many. I I will say um some students kind of have given up on it. Like they're just like uh, you know, they just stopped wearing the wristbands, they stopped participating. Some never wanted to participate, or they're just like, eh, I'm not gonna do it. And you know, that's sad. I want everybody to participate, but I also don't want to make it mandatory, it's voluntary. So I'd say if I would give a percentage, I don't know, 90% of the kids are participating, something like that, maybe 85. And um, some have kind of like, like I said, given up a little bit. Um, I don't want them to. I want them to keep, you know, fighting for the belts and and doing the best they can. And we because we've moved some kids up pretty fast that have demonstrated that they deserve it. And then some have been the same color since the beginning of school year because they haven't really tried, or they haven't really been wearing the wristband, or they haven't been bringing the water bottle, or they haven't been showing, you know, that they're well again what we call the bare expectations. So, you know, I don't want them giving up. Um, we do we did have one parent. This I just heard about this last week. You know, one parent uh called the uh Cincent principal and was wasn't happy because her daughter wasn't moving up and she gave up, and some kids might have been um teasing her because oh, you're only this belt and I'm this belt, which I definitely don't want. Um it's and I I should have expected that, but I didn't really think of that. So I'm um, you know, just have to have those group talks with the kids that you know, if you're a black belt, you don't look down upon somebody or whatever belt you are. That's not how you get better. That's not how you help others. So, and then along with that, some not many, but some kids we probably gave um we over uh promoted them. Like I have a uh really good boy, he's really good, he's awesome, and he's the best cub stacker in our school. That's yeah beside the point. But I do a cup stacking club and he's awesome. He's a really good kid, and we made him a black belt, but then you know, I found out he got in trouble in class, like pretty big trouble. And so I'm like, well, maybe he shouldn't have met a black belt. No, I'm not I haven't demoted anybody. Um, and I'm not I'm probably not going to, but you know, we we we could be wrong sometimes, and kids make mistakes too. Like I said, no one's perfect. But um, I guess the other thing, the other con would be the the bottom behaviors, let's just call them the kids who I mean get in trouble a lot, they haven't bought into it. Like the you know, borderline ones, some of them have the bottom ones, um, they really haven't that I've seen. Maybe a couple of them. Um, I don't have that many like really, really major behaviors in my school, but a few of them just like no, whatever. So it hasn't really changed their behavior. Um, I'm hoping it does in in the future, but hasn't really happened yet. So those are the cons of the program so far. And now let's go to the future of the program. Here we go. All right, the final one is the future of the program. So I would say over the summer, and I did talk to my assistant principal, we're gonna make some little maybe modifications to it, maybe make it more concrete. Um, you know, it's not like, hey, you pass a test and you're the next belt. It's very subjective. And I think that's good though. But I think she wants it more like set in stone, like, here's why. And with that one girl, the parent that was upset, like she wouldn't tell me who it was, and that's okay. I get it. But I was giving her examples of why some students, and I'm guessing her student was an Eeyore, her or her or the student was an Eeyore, because um, I just have this feeling of I think who it is, they don't really give their best effort, and that's why they are stuck on a certain color, certain level. So I want to keep it going though. I think it's a great program. I think both my coaches have bought into it, uh, my paras and most of the teachers, I think, um that well, for those of I've heard from, um, you know, the kid they say the kids enjoy it, the kids are really showing pride in it. And so I want to keep it going. So, yeah, I mean, definitely want to keep it moving for next year. I'm gonna keep a running uh total, or not total, but a running um sheet of who is where when they come into school next year and get more bands. So I do have to buy more bands. That's another thing. It's like, oh man. Um, but I also am planning on writing a grant for the program because again, the bands aren't that expensive, but you know, it's a decent uh, you know, 20 bucks every time I buy a bulk uh color. So um, yeah, I I I definitely want to keep it going. I enjoy it. Um, most kids enjoy it and look forward to it. So that is the future of the program. And um, you know what? I'm not gonna do a cowbell tip of the day because I'm looking at the time. I'm like, this is a longer podcast than I thought it was gonna be. But I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you listened in. Um, definitely check out the um, if you haven't, the first episode on the leadership program, it'll give you a better idea of it. And um, yeah, if you have any questions, reach out to me at supersizefizhead.com or in the show notes. My email's in there. And have a great day, week, weekend, whenever you're listening to this. And let's keep pushing our profession forward.