TeachingPhysiology

Physicaleducation,bydefinition,istheinstructioninphysicalexerciseandgamestoyouth,
especiallyinschools(Webster,2016).Ibelievehowever,thatitismuchmorethanthat.Asfuture
physicaleducatorswearetaughtthatourgoalistogiveourstudentstheknowledgeanddispositionto
bephysicallyactiveforalifetime.Ifullyplanondoingjustthat,witheachandeveryoneofmy
students,butIbelievethatthekeytogettingstudentstotrulybelieveinwhatyouaretellingthem,they
firsthavetohaveavoiceforthemselves.Iplanondoingthisbyfirstteachingmystudentstohave
personalandsocialresponsibility.Ifeelasthoughifstudentscanembracethetruemeaningofvalue
andrespect,thentheywillbeabletotransformthatintotakingtherightstepstolivinglonghealthy
lives.Iknowthatthisisgoingtobeadifficulttasktocomplete,butifIamnotwillingtostepoutside
ofmycomfortzoneandpushmyself,thenhowcanIexpectmystudentsto?
Thecurrentviewonphysicaleducationfromtheoutsidelookinginisthatitisjustapartofthe
dayforstudentstogetupoutoftheirseatsforalittlewhileandmaybeplayagameofsomesort.
Someteachersassumethatitsokayforstudentstobepulledoutofphysicaleducationclassfor
remediationinotherclasses.Accordingtothisview,mostofsocietyseesphysicaleducationasan
unstructuredclassperiodwheretheathleticstudentshavefunandthenonathleticstudentsare
miserable(Spencer,1998).Eventhestudentswhoareinphysicaleducationclassseeitinthesame
waysocietydoes.Iwantmystudentstonotonlybeabletoenjoyphysicaleducationclass,butbeable
torelaythatenjoymentandinformationbacktothecommunity.SHAPE2014,theSocietyofHealth
andPhysicalEducators,Standard4statesthatthephysicallyliterateindividualexhibitsresponsible
personalandsocialbehaviorthatrespectsselfandothers.Accordingtoauthors,helpingyoungpeople
learntotakeresponsibilityfortheirownbehaviorandlearningwhilecomingtoappreciateandrespect

themselvesandothersisakeyroleofeducation(Lund&Tannehill,2015);andIcouldntagreewith
themmore.
Ibelievethatbeingpersonallyandsociallyresponsibleforoneselfisanaspectofthestandards
thatIstronglyvalue.Ifeelasthoughthroughthisstandard,eachoftheotherstandardscanbe
achievedatahigherlevelthanifonedoesnothavepersonalorsocialresponsibility.Throughahigh
qualityphysicaleducationprogramstudentsshouldachieveallofthestandardsineveryaspectbythe
timetheygraduatefromhighschool.Thestudentshouldbeabletopreformphysicalactivityinall
typesofsituations,whilebeingabletoshowsportsmanshipandrespecttoeveryonesurroundingthem.
NotonlydoIwantthemtounderstandvalueandrespect,butwhenastudentleavesmyphysical
educationprogramIwantthemtobeabletopickupanypieceofequipmentfromanysportandfeel
confidentenoughtoparticipateinafriendlybackyardversionofthegame.Iwanttobeaphysical
educationteacherfirst,andacoachsecond.Everyoneinthisworldhastheopportunitytobe
physicallyactive,butnoteveryonehastheopportunitytobecomeaprofessionalathlete.IfIhave
studentsthatexcelincertainsports,Iwouldneverholdthatstudentback,butitismyjobtomakesure
allofthoseotherstudentsdontgetleftbehind.
Inordertodeliverthisformofprogramtomystudents,Iwouldfirstandforemostsetapolicy
ondayonethatlistseverythingIexpectfromthem.Anexampleofthiswouldbe,inthisgymwe:1.
Respectourselves/eachother,2.Give100%efforteveryday,and3.Nevergiveup.Iwantmystudents
torealizethatIamnotheretomakethemmiserable.Ifeellikethatswheresomanyteachersgo
wrong,eventhoughsometimestheydontevenrealizetheyaredoingit.Iwantastudenttocomeinto
classeverydayreadyandexcitedtolearn.
Toformabetterunderstanding,Iwilluseapersonalexample;whenIwasinschool,Ihada
teacher,shewasntaP.E.teacher,butthewaythatshepresentedthematerialinclass,andthewaythat

sherelatedtoherstudents,wassobrillianttome.SheistothisdaythereasonthatIaminschooltobe
ateacher.ShetaughtmesomanythingsaboutmyselfthatIdidntevenknowIhadthecapabilityto
doing.Wearenowveryclosefriendsandwetalkalmosteveryday.Shehasalwaysbeenandalways
willbemybiggestrolemodel,andifIcantrytobethatpersonforallofmystudents,thenIfeelas
thoughIhavedonemyjob.Ifateacherseemsmorerelatableandupfrontwiththeirexpectationsto
theirstudents,thenthestudentswillbemoresusceptibletothem.Ibelievethatsettinganexampleis
thebestwaytorelaymyphilosophytobothmystudentsandadministrators.
Iwanttodevelopacurriculumthatfollowsallofthenormaldevelopmentalmilestoneswhile
implementingthepersonalandsocialresponsibilitycurriculumineachlessonateachgradelevel.For
instance,ifmylessonswereimplementedatanelementarylevel,thestudentscouldlearnhowtohave
socialresponsibilitybylearningaboutpersonalspace,andhelpingoutoneanother.Inmiddleschool,I
wouldhavesomesortofteambuildingandsportsmanshipactivitysetforthefirstfewweeksofschool,
becauseteamsportwouldbemyfocus.Thenfinally,inhighschoolIwantmystudentstounderstand
howtorespectandvaluethemselves,andtheycandothatfortherestoftheirlivesthroughphysical
activity;whichiswhereindividualandlifetimeactivitywouldcomein.
Myhopeisthatwhenstudentsleavemyprogram,theywillbegood,healthy,understanding
people.Iplanonimplementingthepersonalandsocialresponsibilitycurriculummodelnomatterthe
gradelevelthatIteach,andinthelongterm,Ihopetoimplementsomesortofpositivebehavior
incentivetothewholeschool,verymuchlikethePBIS(PositiveBehavioralInterventionsand
Supports)whichisanapproachtohelpstudentsimprovetheirdifficultbehavior.It'sbasedonan
understandingthatteachersdon'tcontrolstudents,butinsteadseektosupportthemintheirown
behaviorchangeprocess(IdeasThatWork,U.S.DepartmentofSpecialEducationPrograms).

Hopefullythroughallofthis,physicaleducationwillreceiveavoiceineducationjustasthecore
subjectsdo,andeveryonecanseehowbeneficialphysicaleducationcanbe.

ReferenceList:

Lund,Jacalyn.&Tannehill,Deborah.(2015).StandardsBasedPhysicalEducationCurriculum
Development(3rded.).Burlington,MA:Jones&BartlettLearning.
NationalPEStandards.(n.d.).RetrievedSeptember25,2016,from
http://www.shapeamerica.org/standards/pe/
TeachingToleranceDiversity,EquityandJustice.(n.d.).RetrievedSeptember25,2016,from
http://www.tolerance.org/
PhysicalEducationDefinition.RetrievedSeptember25,2016,fromhttp://www.merriam
webster.com/dictionary/physicaleducation
Specner,A.(1998).Physicaleducator:Rolemodelorrolltheballout?.JournalofPhysical
Education,recreation&Dance,69,58.