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LEADERSHIP, LEARNING, &  PErsonal Growth

Thought of the Day: Friday, November 21st, 2014

11/20/2014

10 Comments

 

Keep fighting the good fight, come on PE teachers! 

Just this week, I was engaged in a Twitter chat with Dr. Doug Gleddie and I'm Sporticus (this is his Twitter handle, click on his name to connect). I'm Sporticus holds a director of sport position in education in the UK and blogs at http://drowningintheshallow.wordpress.com/. I'm Sporticus ( I think his name is Alex), wrote up a very thought provoking blog post that focused on the stigma attached to PE. To get an idea of his message, here is a short excerpt taken directly from his blog post. I highly suggest you read the blog post to get a clear perspective on the powerful message he wrote about. 
I feel the message being sent at the moment tells children this; mind at the top, and body at the bottom. That success in life is equated to a career and this in turn is only possible by studying Maths, Science, Engineering and Technology. The study of a subject for enjoyments sake is no longer important. It distracts from the pursuit of grades and even has the potential to corrupt your ability to achieve this, as my academic colleagues insist when they require pupils to no longer attend extra-curricular clubs but join them in ‘interventions’. This gives the impression that work and education is solely of the mind. That a professional life is one that is chiefly a mental and not a physical one. That success is due to the character of the mind and that our bodies contribution to that success is diminished.
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A bunch of teachers got involved in the chat to express their opinions about I'm Sporticus' blog post which was good to see. It left me thinking about our subject area and what needs to be done, here and now, to begin to put a huge dent in the negative perceptions that so many people hold about PE. 

To continue this story forward, just last night my 9-year old son, Tai, came up to me at home and said, "Hey Pops, what is the name of that PE network that you belong to? ". I asked him why he is asking me this and he said that in the book he is reading Lunch Lady, there are a bunch of really bad PE teachers. He then goes on to say how many of the characters in the book hate PE because of bad experiences they have had. A bit curious and intrigued, I asked my son to show me those parts in the book which he immediately did.


As I read the parts of the book that were hammering PE, I explained to my son that many people have had bad experiences in PE in the past. I then told him that myself and lots of other PE teachers/researchers on Twitter are working really hard to change people's thinking about PE. I told him that one of the main reasons I blog and share my work is that I want people to know how much I love teaching PE and that when I train PE teachers to be better at what they do, it is all about giving students the best experiences possible. It's about helping them to understand that being physically active is not only a joy, but can enhance their learning, increase their confidence, and bring them so many other benefits in their lives. 

Have a look at a few of the pages from his book below. Although meant to be humorous in nature, there is a very negative message about PE which is being delivered to young people. If the subject area that we are all so passionate about is being ripped apart in children's books, it is just another sign that we need to continue to step up our games and be the change makers needed to force decision makers to see the great stuff that is happening out there. How are we going to ensure that our quality work in PE is reaching the right people? What else can we do besides blogging and being active on Twitter? 

I am so proud to lead workshops and give presentations that show how much I care about physical education and its rightful place in a school's curriculum. One of my favorite things is to work with schools one on one getting to know their PE team and helping them make already good programs better. It is my firm belief that teaching is the greatest job in the world because we impact the future. When I look at all of the amazing practice of teachers in the PE network that I belong to, it is truly inspiring, but I am left wondering how we are going to keep spreading our message in order to have maximum impact.


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Twitter has helped to showcase the quality work taking place in physical education. There is no doubt about it. However, we have all seen PE teachers who have no idea what quality learning is about. We have heard stories of these teachers and may even know a few. It's easy to tip toe around these teachers and not address how shit they are, but in tip toeing, we are ultimately doing an injustice to the students under their care. 

I have a friend who works at another international school that once told me the PE teacher he works with in elementary essentially plays two different games in class. He either has the kids play dodgeball or when in a good mood, he will bring them out to the field and kick rugby balls non-stop, one after the other, and have them chase and retrieve them. What a thoughtful and caring guy!!

I was seriously shocked when I heard this. I know this is an extreme example of horrendous teaching and am not implying that this happens on a routine basis in schools. However, I am sure that there are similar versions of these types of stories taking place in many schools albeit on a smaller scale. Are there ways to proactively address situations like this in an effort to create long lasting positive change in our subject area? 

What ideas do you have? Instead of throwing our hands up in the air and saying there is nothing that can be done, let's hear your ideas. Let's collectively act on these ideas in order to have the greatest impact possible. To any researchers/lecturers reading this blog post, your input is absolutely essential! Please comment! For other teachers reading, your comments have equal importance. As for me, I know I am doing my share, but there is still so much I can be doing and I will. 
10 Comments
Eric link
11/21/2014 02:46:11 am

I agree with your comments that something needs to be done. I have been thinking about this for years. I was just unsure what to do. In CA physical education doesn't get much respect. I believe because we do not play a role in how schools are ranked/scored. Not that I am 100% for that, because if we are included into how the school is scored then I believe that teacher in our subject area would be like those in others and only teach to the test. Though this would give us a little more respect and viability. I wonder if the problem with poor quality teachers goes back to their professional education or if they are just lazy. How can we influence colleges/universities to teach pre-service teachers things like TGfU and SBG? I know I didn't learn either of these in college. I think since most of us were taught to teach through the sports model and we are comfortable with it it is hard to change. So we have to get the colleges to change their methods. I love the idea with working with school's physical education departments. I believe that there are a lot of teachers who would like to change, but just don't know how. There are so many good things out there it's like where do I start. I guess from my point of view it comes to the training of the teachers. If they are taught how to teach correctly and mentored for a certain amount of time we could see a lot of change. Hope this helps.

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Mark Ricketts link
11/21/2014 11:19:08 am

i have written some children's picture stories on Amazon kindle that are about two gym socks, socco and Slurpie, who have adventures. All the stories are about things we work on in PE. They show physical activity in a positive light. Hopefully I can get them published some day to put the other side of the PE story out there. Check them out at www.soccoandslurpie.com

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Mary Driemeyer
11/21/2014 07:13:45 pm

Love your books!

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Ron link
11/22/2014 04:32:09 am

Thank you for writing the blog and asking for input. I believe the following to be fact: Perception is reality and PE is perceived by many outside of our profession as non-essential.

This rest are my opinions and I have a lot of them: As a former PE teacher and current facilitator of QPE professional development, I agree that we have a serious problem on multiple fronts. I believe that we have many professionals who have passions in certain areas (e.g. TGFU, Sports-Based Model, Health/Fitness Emphasis, etc..) and that gives many PE teachers paralysis by analysis. They do not know where to invest their energy. It is awesome that we all have passions that are unique. This very fact allows us to refine best teaching practices and strategies, but teachers need to look at their standards and ensure that their teaching is meeting them. Standards direct our work and if our work (teaching) does not hit ALL the standards then there should be reflection and accountability.

Administrators need to hold PE teachers accountable for teaching to standards and utilizing proven teaching strategies. I am fully aware that many Administrators do know what QPE is and therefore cannot evaluate QPE effectively. A solution for teachers might be, to lead by example, so administrators SEE the difference. Teachers can also verbally share with their administrators what QPE looks like. They can provide administrators with tools (documents) so they know what to look for when evaluating QPE. Teachers need to stand up at staff meetings and educate their peers as to what they do. Teachers could also have hard conversations with their peers about why they do what they do and why they believe it is important.

PE Coordinators could seek out relevant professional development opportunities that move programs forward. QPE facilitators could show PE teachers how they can modify their existing program, style, activities, etc.. to meet ALL standards of learning. Universities could better prepare PE teachers by bringing QPE teachers and PD facilitators in to explain to prospective teachers what is expected and universities need to work harder to weed out the people who only want to coach. In my opinion, this is a huge problem in the states. While there are similarities between coaching and teaching, they are different and to be effective at either they require dedication and time. Parents could demand quality, this will expose the QPE teachers who will be held up as models of what QPE looks like. Administrators will start hiring teachers instead of coaches and universities will be forced to produce graduates who are versed in QPE. Maybe we could call this the "Circle of QPE".

In the end, it will take energy from all stakeholders to change the perception of PE. I understand that with words it seems simple and in "real life" it isn't, but sometimes I believe we make it way harder than it needs to be. QPE is a dream of mine as well and I plan to keep doing what I can to change the perception of physical education and make it a reality. Thank you again for providing an opportunity for this discussion to continue.

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Ash Casey link
11/23/2014 11:33:46 pm

The way people remember their PE has a profound effect on the way PE is treated today. We need to change that message so that the messages kids receive next generation is different to one they have received for generations. It is a sad fact that PE has been pigeon holed and many forms of media do little if anything to break that myth. But why would they? We (as a profession) seem to perpetuate the rumour that we are about giving kids poor experiences or at least the same experiences. In a paper I just published with Mikael Quennerstedt we asked kids about their memories of PE and when their memories were good then their outlook changed. We need to do more to understand the impact of the present day on the future of our subject and keep fighting the good fight…right will out in the end. Thanks for sharing Andy. Always great to read your thoughts.

Reply
Dean Dudley
11/24/2014 05:49:25 pm

I think we carry a tremendous chip on our shoulder as a profession that we need to move past. The days of thinking that a PE teacher is simply an athletic 'has been' or 'never was' are long past. I also believe that there seems to be an increasing number of research papers whereby inactive people want to blame their school experiences on their current lifestyle choices but I think that it is irresponsible to lay this solely at the feet of a teacher. Its like blaming science teachers for people not taking action on climate change, but because our subject deals with something much more personal i.e. the immediate self, we seem to have been labelled (in the wider academic research mind you) as anti-intellectual, sexist, and bullies (I can cite several 'prominent' academics in our field that label the teachers as such).

The solution! Call the BS when you see it! Edmund Burke said "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" Every time you witness acts which Andy discusses so well here you need to call people out on it. The only way we overcome this chip on our shoulder is to starve those of oxygen who would seek to use it against us (Media, academics, and most importantly, the students!).

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kaswerte link
6/29/2024 02:13:47 am

Your encouragement is like finding the perfect puzzle piece, making your writing better and helping you improve!

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YE7 link
6/29/2024 02:19:05 am

Creating engaging and approachable writing is akin to extending a warm invitation and kindling interest effortlessly.

Reply
kaswerteye7 link
6/29/2024 02:25:03 am

Your appreciation means a lot! It's like putting together a puzzle—finding the perfect word is like finding that missing piece that completes the picture of your writing. Keep practicing, and you'll definitely see progress!

Reply
Ye7 link
6/29/2024 02:34:48 am

You make it look easy, and I admire how you've organized it. I can tell you've put a lot of effort into this

Reply



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  • Welcome
  • All Things Teaching and Learning
  • The Aligned Leader Blog
  • Consulting and Coaching Opportunities
  • My TED X Talk
  • My Leadership Blog
  • Run Your Life Podcast Series
  • How PYP PE with Andy Has Helped Others
  • Good Teaching is L.I.F.E
  • The Sportfolio
  • Example Assessment Tasks
  • PYP Attitude Posters (printable)
  • Publications