Children and youth are full of potential. They’re fun, creative, inspired, curious, and playful. It is this spirit that is essential to learning, yet as adults we don’t encourage these things at all. Play is considered wasted time, and kids younger and younger are being introduced to academia without first discovering how wonderful learning can be (Walker, 2015). Instead of them growing up being told what they can’t do, I want to create a space where they believe they have limitless possibilities.
I believe that creating an inclusive, fun, engaging, motivating environment will foster kids growth and development in the most positive and effective way possible. The negative conceptualization of physical education for many students is something that I really hope to change moving forward. I want to eliminate the stigma that athletic people are “just jocks” and educate students on the importance of knowing their body, movements and being active instead. I want students to walk out of my class with the confidence to try new sports or activities with friends or alone because they feel they have the physical competency to move in a wide variety of environments and settings. I want students to understand that there is more to physical education than just sport and that being active has so many meanings (Breckon & Capel, 2006). Students should be able to have a say in their learning, and I hope to always find trends in physical education and student’s learning throughout my career. In teaching both physical education and home economics, I hope to preach healthy living and lifestyles that will translate into happier and healthier students.
In my opinion, society is starting to create people with skills and abilities in a digital world, but then neglecting the physical environment around them. Consequently, we are emphasizing creating a strong brain for very technical subjects and forgetting the importance of the creative. To that end, I believe that all teachers, but specifically those in both Home Economics and Physical Education have “a responsibility to critique scientific and technological advancements and to ensure that any talk around these topics involves discussion of their advancement at the expense of the human spirit” (McGregr & Chesworth, 2005, p 39). In fitness, allowing for adequate rest prior to working out will allow muscles to fully recover and in turn be stronger and healthier, or most resilient. It has been said that exercising one part of the brain without simultaneously strengthening other parts will have negative implications in the long run. It is simply not enough to strengthen STEM subjects in the same way that “it isn’t enough to look after the body without caring for the soul” (McGregor & Chesworth, 2015, p 33). It is my hope to be able to change the minds of both students and adults to realize the importance of creative and physical learning.
To me, sport is one of the most effective vehicles in for social, physical, cognitive, and emotional development. As such, I find pride in taking responsibility for providing the most appropriate and effective learning environment for children. I believe that skill acquisition and perfection can occur in a learning atmosphere that is fun. Especially at a younger age, children should be exposed to sport in a way that is enjoyable and pressure-free so they can master fundamental skills that will have lifelong benefits for them (Breckon & Capel, 2006). As a teacher, I will ensure that my class is safe at all times. In my eyes, safety includes both emotional and physical security. Having said that, sport is inherently dangerous and there is possibility for injury, however I will do my best to make sure that each of my students is appropriately tended to in the case this happens. With respect to class time, I expect my students to be on time and ready to work at all every class. In order to help students achieve their highest potential, I need focus and punctuality in all of my classes. I understand that unforeseeable circumstances happen, and expect to be notified immediately as soon as possible if someone will be absent for class. For the benefit of the child, it is imperative that they attend as much classes as possible so we can showcase and improve upon our strengths and coherency in terms of physical literacy and movement. When it comes to technical knowledge of games, strategies, rules, concepts and educational standards I will keep my knowledge current. Success for my class will be measured by much more than winning and losing or the ability to execute a skill (Capel & Whitehead, 2012). As such, success will be measured differently from student to student, as everyone will have different starting points and learning changes based on the individual. Individual success will range from obtaining a certain skill, to overcoming an obstacle or achieving a goal. I hope that class successes will be broad in comparison, for example, successfully executing a certain play together or learning an abstract movement concept.

Because sport inherently requires human interaction, I expect my students to be respectful of any other students, teachers, or others involved in their learning. As well, the use of the spaces and equipment needed are a privilege and need to be respected. Moreover, it is my belief that going against the rules and regulations disrespects sport as well as everyone who has put in their time and efforts to make the class successful, so my rules are not meant to be broken. Cheating is absolutely not allowed under my jurisdiction. Expectations and rules for the class will be laid out at the start of the year. I think it’s important for the class to feel welcome and safe in my care so I lay out enough rules to cover this. Sometimes I will collaborate with the class to come up with a fair set of rules, but I will have the final say in setting these rules in place.
I want to create a learning environment that is fun, inclusive, engaging, developmentally appropriate, and safe for my students, and intend to do so by touching on topics like social justice and other cross-curricular material. Part of the reason I am interested in Home Economics is both because it has roots in women’s rights and also because it is a subject that can highlight gender differences and privilege and provide a bridge for changing the way these are perceived. Both of my subject areas will provide different challenges in creating this sort of environment, but I look forward to taking these challenges head on. I believe that the subject matter taught in Home Economics is important because these are skills that students may not learn anywhere else and are fundamental skills for every day life. Additionally, in any subject I teach, I hope to inspire students to pursue that field further whether that be in culinary arts, textiles, or physical activity in some capacity. Among all of the STEM subjects that students will be exposed to, I think that Home Ec and Phys Ed are two subjects that can offer a creative outlet for pent up stress. I also think that both of these subjects are just as important as the more science based counterparts because creativity is such a huge portion of human development that is imperative in developing new technologies.
The idea of creating a culture of reciprocating inspiration is what motivates me to do what I do. I want to design an environment in which kids are entitled to inspire, help and teach their peers, and to have their peers reciprocate these actions. I hope to achieve this by role modeling techniques to support each other, but also to give assignments in which students take on different roles in the classroom community. Building on this, I believe that creating a school environment that is inclusive, innovate and inspiring is something that will catapult students into craving knowledge and learning. By providing some autonomy and authority and by giving students some responsibility for their learning, I think the face of education could change for the better.

References:

Breckon, P., Capel, S. (2006). The Nature of Physical Education. A Practical Guide To Teaching Physical Education in the Secondary School.

Capel, S., Whitehead, M. (2012). Debates in Physical Education. Retrieved Oct 23, 2015 from http://www.eblib.com

McGregor, S., Chesworth, N. (2005). Positioning human spirituality in home economics. Journal of the Home Economics Institute of Australia, 12(3), 27-44.

Walker, T. (2015). The Joyful, Illiterate Kindergartners of Finland. The Atlantic. Retrieved Oct 24, 2015 from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/the-joyful-illiterate-kindergartners-of-finland/408325/#article-comments