The Osmanthus fragrans, which is also called the fragrant tea olives, is a native species in Asia. Its individual flowers are tiny but blooms are in clusters. The color of its flower ranges from creamy yellow, golden, to orange. My hometown is known for having the greatest variety of different species of osmanthus fragrans in China. 

I found a picture of osmanthus fragrans from Pixobay, and I used a drawing app on my laptop to represent osmanthus fragrans. However, it could barely capture its main characteristic, which is its scent. Osmanthus fragrans is usually recognized by its strong and long lasting flower fragrance.

I identify myself with the osmanthus fragrans for multiple reasons. First of all, I was born during the peak of osmanthus fragrans blooming season. The entire city had a strong scent of osmanthus fragrans, and my grandfather almost named me after the flower. Furthermore, osmanthus fragrans are easy to take care of. I consider myself independent for being away from my family and taking care of myself since a young age. Last but not least, osmanthus fragrans and its evergreen leathery leaves blend in with the environment most of the time. This makes me think of myself, who usually does not stand out in a group setting.

It was exciting to go back to my practicum school after the break. The students just started school this week, and they were slowly getting back to their school routines. Today I closely observed gym class with some questions and wonders in my mind. I was interested in answering the following questions:

• What did you learn about physical and health education and/ or outdoor education from your school?
• What did you notice about how teachers conducted Physical Health Education (PHE)?
• How was the class organized?
• What topics does the classroom teacher teach in PHE?
• What did you observe about the ways in which gender plays out in the PHE spaces?
• Do students like to work in groups or alone?

The first thing that I noticed was that the class was called “gym”. I used to grow up calling it “gym” instead of “PE” and never thought that would be a problem. Now, after learning more about physical and health education, I am aware that the term “gym” does not fully represent the concept of physical and health education. The word “gym” ignores the fact that physical activities should not be limited to one fixed space. Moreover, this term tends to ignore the health literacy aspect, such as healthy eating, mental health, and outdoor education etc.

Their gym time is usually grouped up with their buddy class, and each class has about 20 students. Today’s class started with some fundamental movement practices to warm up. It started with two feet hopping and switched to one foot hopping later on. The students were also asked to go clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Once the teacher gave a signal, everyone needed to stop, sit, and listen. The teachers would ask the students to listen to the instructions carefully many times during the class. Meanwhile, students were also invited to explain rules of certain games. Through these activities, the students’ listening and speaking skills in English literacy were reinforced. Moreover, the teacher asked the students to stop and check heart rate once during an activity. Science literacy was also applied here. I see evidence of multiliteracies.

All games would involve everyone in the class, and the games that were played indicate great practices of sportsmanship. Although different genders were in the same space and doing the same activity, students liked to group up with the same gender for activities. Occasionally, the teacher would ask one gender to find a partner with the opposite gender.