Today was my first full day back at school. I wore my new pedometer, and at the end of the day, without stepping outside the four walls of the building, I had walked the equivalent of 5 miles, without even realizing it. Just up and down the halls, checking on students, retrieving copies from the printer, walking to the cafeteria, getting books from the library.
I read last year that isolated exercise, an hour a day at the gym, while good for you, is not as good as we once thought. The body need ongoing exercise during the day.
I always thought that teaching took a lot of energy. I just didn’t realize that it also was that ongoing exercise activity, but I know that it is true that there is rarely a moment when teachers are sitting down, simply staring at a computer screen. We are wandering among desks, asking questions, looking for solutions. We are taking students to the nurse or leading groups to their next destination. We have work to do, most of it on our feet, all day every day.
So my take-away from this rather amazing number: be careful what shoes I buy! I will be on my feet and using them all of the time that I am at school. My feet are a much more important part of my job than I thought!
So buy a pedometer, and let me know how many steps you walk in the course of your day in the classroom.
Middle School Matrix 
AWESOME!!!! That number is amazing for the classroom. I am so glad you have your new pedometer, the number of steps can become addicting. You know me I can’t sit still so enjoy your newly found form of exercise.
It totally surprised me, but it is definitely my new form of addiction! Walking away!
Love it! :0)
I’m Jeffrey Dorsey a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I think that you are absolutely right about how much teachers walk around and move. I think the grade level plays a major role. A middle school teacher probably moves around more than any other school levels. This is a major thing teachers should think about, because heavy shoes will wear a person down over time after all of the moving in the course of a day.