Components of Physical Fitness

What is Physical Fitness?

Physical fitness is the ability in which your body can deal with day to day tasks at varying difficulty levels and tempos. It's being able to do basic physical activities at an efficient rate in which your body works well to first do the exercises, but then also to recover from them and prepare energy for the next. And it is also to be able to be flexible enough to avoid or reduce the risks of injury and again to recover from them if they do come about.

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Flexibility is the ability to be diverse in function. It is the ability to withstand all types of situations without being broken of failing. It is also the physical capacity of an individual to bend easily without breaking, or the ability of an individual to move his or her joints through a full range of motions. Flexibility helps individuals to stretch without straining themselves.

• Strength is the property of being physically or mentally strong.
• Speed is the ability to move quickly across the ground or move limbs rapidly to grab or throw.
• Balance the even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.
• Agility is the ability to rapidly change the body's momentum from one direction to another.
• Cardiovascular is a health-related component of physical fitness that relates to ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity.
• Reaction Time is the time it takes for a person to react to a certain stimulus. 
• Power refers to the ability of an athlete to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements.
• Muscular Strength refers to the ability of a person to exert force on physical objects using muscles.

Science Laboratory Rules

1. Conduct yourself in a responsible manner at all times in the laboratory.

2. Follow all written and verbal instructions carefully.  If you do not understand a direction or part of a procedure, ASK YOUR TEACHER BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE ACTIVITY.

3. Never work alone in the laboratory.  No student may work in the science classroom without the presence of the teacher.

4. When first entering a science room, do not touch any equipment, chemicals, or other materials in the laboratory area until you are instructed to do so.

5. Perform only those experiments authorized by your teacher.  Carefully follow all instructions, both written and oral.  Unauthorized experiments are not allowed. 

6. Do not eat food, drink beverages, or chew gum in the laboratory.  Do not use laboratory glassware as containers for food or beverages.

7. Be prepared for your work in the laboratory.  Read all procedures thoroughly before entering the laboratory.  Never fool around in the laboratory.  Horseplay, practical jokes, and pranks are dangerous and prohibited. 

8. Always work in a well-ventilated area.  

9. Observe good housekeeping practices.  Work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all times. 

10. Be alert and proceed with caution at all times in the laboratory.  Notify the teacher immediately of any unsafe conditions you observe.

11. Dispose of all chemical waste properly.  Never mix chemicals in sink drains.  Sinks are to be used only for water. Check with your teacher for disposal of chemicals and solutions. 

12. Labels and equipment instructions must be read carefully before use.  Set up and use the equipment as directed by your teacher.

13. Keep hands away from face, eyes, mouth, and body while using chemicals or lab equipment.  Wash your hands with soap and water after performing all experiments. 

14. Experiments must be personally monitored at all times.  Do not wander around the room, distract other students, startle other students or interfere with the laboratory experiments of others.

15. Know the locations and operating procedures of all safety equipment including: first aid kit(s), and fire extinguisher.  Know where the fire alarm and the exits are located.

16. Know what to do if there is a fire drill during a laboratory period; containers must be closed, and any electrical equipment turned off.

17. Any time chemicals, heat, or glassware are used, students will wear safety goggles. No exceptions to this rule!

18. Contact lenses may be not being worn in the laboratory.

19. Dress properly during a laboratory activity.  Long hair, dangling jewelry, and loose or baggy clothing are a hazard in the laboratory.  Long hair must be tied back, and dangling jewelry and baggy clothing must be secured.  Shoes must completely cover the foot.  No sandals allowed on lab days.

20. A lab coat or smock should be worn during laboratory experiments.

21.   Report any accident (spill, breakage, etc.) or injury (cut, burn, etc.) to the teacher immediately, no matter how trivial it seems.  Do not panic. 

22. If you or your lab partner is hurt, immediately (and loudly) yell out the teacher's name to get the teacher's attention.  Do not panic. 

23. If a chemical should splash in your eye(s) or on your skin, immediately flush with running water for at least 20 minutes. Immediately call a teacher for help.

24. All chemicals in the laboratory are to be considered dangerous. Avoid handling chemicals with fingers. Always use a tweezer. When making an observation, keep at least 1 foot away from the specimen. Do not taste, or smell any chemicals. 

25. Check the label on all chemical bottles twice before removing any of the contents.  Take only as much chemical as you need.

26. Never return unused chemicals to their original container.

27. Never remove chemicals or other materials from the laboratory area.

28. Never handle broken glass with your bare hands.  Use a brush and dustpan to clean up broken glass.  Place broken glass in the designated glass disposal container.

29. Examine glassware before each use.  Never use chipped, cracked, or dirty glassware.

30. If you do not understand how to use a piece of equipment, ASK THE TEACHER FOR HELP!

31. Do not immerse hot glassware in cold water.  The glassware may shatter.

32. Do not operate a hot plate by yourself.  Take care that hair, clothing, and hands are a safe distance from the hot plate at all times.  Use of hot plate is only allowed in the presence of the teacher.

           

33. Heated glassware remains very hot for a long time.  They should be set aside in a designated place to cool, and picked up with caution.  Use tongs or heat protective gloves if necessary.

34. Never look into a container that is being heated.

35. Do not place hot apparatus directly on the laboratory desk.  Always use an insulated pad.  Allow plenty of time for hot apparatus to cool before touching it.

[Reaction] The Baby In The Bottle

             Life is full of ups and downs, twist and turns. “Change is the only constant thing on earth,” as they say. Also, in every stages of our life, there is always a challenge to surpass. Problems are inevitable reality of life. Whether or not you can solve these problems, it greatly depends on how you will face it.

            The story of the baby in the bottle is indeed very tragic. It is an almost happily-ever-after for the married couple, until their first baby died. Everything has changed since then. It was as if their dream to have a happy family will never be true. Instead of moving on, the scar in their hearts, especially in the mother, never really healed. They mourned so much for the loss of their child. The man has already decided to start over but his wife is still living in the past. They did not bury the baby; they preserved and carry his or her remains which even intensified their grief and frustrations. It may really be hard to loss a precious child but holding on to false hopes would not help. They had been so overwhelmed with their sadness and forget to look on the brighter side. They never attained peace simply because they let their past haunt them. They could have thought that even how long they mourn for the loss of their child; they can never turn back time.  Going on with their lives does not mean that they do not love the unborn baby, but, they love him or her so much that they are willing to give him or her peace. Everything could have been better if and only they let go of the bitter memories and tried to start over and go on with their lives.

            For me, the most important thing that the couple forgets is to become optimistic. Being optimistic is not always being happy but showing to the world that whatever your problem is, it can never bring you down. Losing a love one is indeed a heart-breaking incident, however, overreacting is not the remedy. People should know how to gain strength in their troubles. There are many things in life that we have to let go.

[Reaction] The Wedding Dance

    ‘Wedding Dance’ written by Amador Daguio is a story about Awiyao and Lumnay, a long married couple. They’ve been married for seven harvest periods yet the couple weren’t able to produce any child. Awiyao, who in spite of being in love with his wife, Lumnay, feels the need to marry another woman in order to have a son. Awiyao couldn’t bare the sadness seen in Lumnay’s face anymore. He has to decide between himself and his beliefs or culture. On the other hand, Lumnay was very sad because of the situation they’re in. She doesn’t want Awiyao to left her. But later in the story, as Awiyao have decided to marry another woman just to have a child, leaving Lumnay behind; Lumnay also decided to let go of him. Even though it’s painful for her part, Lumnay sets him “free” because she loves him.

    On reading the story, I felt pity for Lumnay. I think it’s not right for Awiyao to leave Lumnay just for the sake of having a child. But in Awiyao’s part, he just can’t do anything so he just did the ‘right’ thing- to follow his beliefs and culture, so he could redeem himself and have a child. It is indeed a complicated thing. Since the culture of the characters shows that a man should have a child of his bloodline for the society to accept him and recognize him. But really, Lumnay is the most affected in the story. She was left by her husband thus she returns again to her parents. Just letting Awiyao to follow what he has decided. Because in her heart, she will still love Awiyao.

[Reaction] How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife

   How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife by Manuel Arguilla is a story about a man named Leon bringing his future wife home to meet his parents. The story shows Maria, who have to overcome different tests to become the wife of Leon.

    Leon arrived with Maria at the rural place of Nagrebcan. Maria met Baldo, Leon’s brother and Labang, the bull that Baldo considers as his pet. One of the tests she experienced is that even though Maria is scared of Labang and hesitated at first, she came and touch Labang’s forehead very daintily. She also experienced riding in a cart, which is a new experience to her since she grew up in a big city. Then they took a surprising route home for Leon, but it was meant as a test for Maria to see if she could endure the sacrifices she made and meet her new family. Maria was a patient, caring and loving wife to Leon. Maria has fears but also shows that it won’t stop her to become Leon’s wife. She managed to overcome the different tests, which clearly showed that Maria will endure anything and is worthy for Leon. Later in the story, it is revealed that Leon’s father was the one who made an ingenious way to find out if Maria is really worthy to live in a rural place and become Leon’s wife.

    The story’s moral is showing love by overcoming any trials just for that special person. No matter what it could be, how difficult the problem is, if you really love someone, you are willing to take risks for that person.

Short Reflective Prank Story

   I played a prank on my mother because I thought it would be funny to see her reaction. The result was that she screamed because of shock when she thought there was a huge rat inside her shoes. I learned that pranks are funny but sometimes we have to be careful on choosing who will be our target person to prank on. Because there are people that can be easily scared, may have a heart attack or high blood pressure and develop trauma due to the shock. And pranks must only be taken as a ‘joke’ or else, it would lead to misunderstanding.  

History of "Pork Barrel"

   "Pork Barrel" involves funding for government programs whose economic or service benefits are concentrated in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers. Public works projects, certain national defense spending projects, and agricultural subsidies are the most commonly cited examples.

Citizens Against Government Waste outlines seven criteria by which spending can be classified as "pork":

1.     Requested by only one chamber of Congress

2.     Not specifically authorized

3.     Not competitively awarded

4.     Not requested by the President

5.     Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding

6.     Not the subject of Congressional hearings

7.     Serves only a local or special interest.

   The term pork barrel politics usually refers to spending which is intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support, either in the form of campaign contributions or votes. In the popular 1863 story "The Children of the Public", Edward Everett Hale used the term pork barrel as a homely metaphor for any form of public spending to the citizenry. After the American Civil War, however, the term came to be used in a derogatory sense. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the modern sense of the term from 1873. By the 1870s, references to "pork" were common in Congress, and the term was further popularized by a 1919 article by Chester Collins Maxey in the National Municipal Review, which reported on certain legislative acts known to members of Congress as "pork barrel bills". He claimed that the phrase originated in a pre-Civil War practice of giving slaves a barrel of salt pork as a reward and requiring them to compete among themselves to get their share of the handout. More generally, a barrel of salt pork was a common larder item in 19th century households, and could be used as a measure of the family's financial well-being. For example, in his 1845 novel The Chainbearer, James Fenimore Cooper wrote, "I hold a family to be in a desperate way, when the mother can see the bottom of the pork barrel." 

[OPINION] Arranged Marriage

      I felt weird when I first learned about “arranged marriage”. I had this awkward feeling because I got the idea of it is an act of being “forced” to marry someone whom you may or may not even know very well yet. Such are commenced by the parents, sometimes an elderly in the family or a trusted third-party. But mostly, it is arranged by the parents. During my research, I have read some articles about “Arranged Marriage”. And I found out that there are some good and bad points in an “arranged marriage”.

   One of the advantages of an arranged marriage is that the parents might have chosen a perfect spouse for you. With arranged marriages, chances are the person is perfect and fault-free because the family and relatives know what they are like and they are revealed right away and that is completely required. Some say that arrange marriage is good for the parents who favoured arranged marriages believe that they are more experienced and objective than their children. They will be able to make better, less impulsive choices regarding a compatible and often financially supportive mate than their child will. It is also said that couples that are in arranged marriages have more extended periods of being in love than partners who choose their own mates. Therefore some parents insist on to arranging marriage for their child.

     But then, where are our voices? Our rights? That’s one of the questions of some people who learned and know about arranged marriage. In essence, an arranged marriage only serves to take these things away from us. The child should really like the person he/she is going to marry and not just the ideal of what someone else wants them to have. They have their own right to choose who they want to marry.

“Arranged marriages are a very sad part of life. How can you get into a thing called marriage without understanding who you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

   My opinion about this is that parents should let their children choose their own partner. Despite all of this argumentative, I think the child have rights to think of their own. Parents should only be guiding them and not be forcing the child to marry someone they don’t like or know. And I do believe that it is the responsibility of the parents to teach their child on how they should choose properly on whom to marry. Everything just reflects on how the parents taught their children. Isn't it also taught in school? It is in the form of a subject called ‘Values Education’ where it tackles about the correct way of thinking and acting in accord to the people around us. The subject is an academic term used to refer to the process of instilling values to students. It is just a matter of common sense! But in some cases, or like in other countries; if both parents and the child agree on to this, then it is okay to do so. Sometimes, it all depends on the people anyway.