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Thought of the Day: Wednesday, October 16th

10/15/2013

1 Comment

 

What we can learn from these incredible Kenyan High Jumpers

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If you have already seen the video below, I am sure that you were as amazed as I was at the incredible athleticism shown by the Kenyan high jumpers. Although their styles are very unorthodox in nature, watching the video sparked in me a need to reflect on the way that we teach specific techniques related to sport. Is there only the technically perfect way to teach a skill or do we allow for these overtly unorthodox styles from time to time? 

At what point do we let go and allow our students the freedom to learn skills in a way that best suits them? Provided that they are safe and the techniques in which they use do not put themselves at risk or others around them in danger, is there any merit to letting them learn in ways that may be unorthodox in nature? If a student is able to fully participate in the activities that they do in PE and truly enjoy them, is there a need to step in and change up the style in which they execute certain skills, even if these skills are unorthodox in nature? 

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that we should still strive to teach proper technique, but if the goal that we have for our students is to be able to participate in and enjoy sport for a lifetime, should the focus of our instruction shift to allow more flexibility in the way that our students learn technical skills related to sport? I believe it an absolute necessity to step in and correct glaringly obvious ineffective techniques in sport, but once again, when the student is able to participate in and find joy in the physical activities and games that we do in class, I think that this speaks volumes for the teaching and learning environment that we have set in our programs. 


I am not implying that all physical educators are iron fisted in the way that they teach their classes, but at minimum I think that it is critical to reflect on how we teach skills and what is truly important for students to walk away from our programs with if they are to enjoy sport and fitness for a lifetime? 


1 Comment
Jo Bailey
10/16/2013 03:08:45 am

I normally teach both - learn the most efficient way to perform a skill but feel free to also put your own stamp on it, experiment and have fun. There are so many sporting examples of individuals who broke the mould and did something different - Dick Fosbury springs to mind given the video. When I first started teaching I was quite a stickler for rules but now I actively encourage experimenting (safely!), making up new games/ rules etc. If you haven't read any of the Elephant and Piggie's books these have great examples that are wonderfully relevant to PE (in fact I am writing a blog post on them) "Elephant's can't dance" and "Watch me throw the ball" both highlight personal expression and fun through activity. Great books for elementary level kids.

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Helping Kids to Achieve Their Best
  • Welcome
  • 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