I was already looking forward to P.E. class before going last Friday, but my excitement grew when I arrived at the door and saw that everyone was shooting hoops, kicking a soccer ball, running around with foam and ribbons and things that I was not even sure the name of. I was excited to jump right in. I always looked forward to P.E. growing up because I loved being active for one, but it was also so enjoyable to me to just get out of the classroom and move! I would say from that, that my experiences of P.E. were primarily positive. I do know however, that this is not the case for everyone and often P.E. is thought to be only for “athletic” children. I think in the past, that P.E. class was tailored towards children with a natural athletic ability and therefore provided a negative experience to others. In talking to each other and learning about our own experiences of P.E., I think we can better understand how to avoid these negative experiences in the future. In my opinion, the purpose of P.E. should be to promote a healthy active lifestyle in everyone. As such it should incorporate a diversity of activities that would cater to a wide range of abilities and, just like in the classroom, take into account a variety of learning styles. I am looking forward to learning what the P.E. curriculum looks like now, and how it has changed and evolved since I was in elementary school.
2 thoughts on “Movement Journal #1”
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I couldn’t agree more. I wrote something very similar to your comments, in that I had only positive experiences with PE. It’s really encouraging to see that today’s curriculum is less “conventional” and really considers the student experience. It’s less about a child’s physical ability, but more their ability to make improvements and build an appreciation for physical activity. In today’s sedentary lifestyle, where kids (and adults) spend more hours facing a screen then they will outside per week, it’s important that as educators we nurture that love or appreciation so in adulthood physical activity becomes imbedded in their every day life. To avoid previous consensus, we want students to have a positive experience of PE when they think back on their education.
I think it’s also important that physical education is all-inclusive not just in its practice but in its content. Particularly coming from the IB cohort, global mindedness is a main focus of the teaching philosophy. I think it’s important we explore activities outside the sport stereotype, for example exploring only team based sports such as soccer, basketball and baseball in the gym. I think being culturally minded and integrating unconventional physical activities such as Bhangra dancing, hiking, Capoeira, yoga, tai chi etc. that are less focused on team building but rather individual growth is important to develop the physical abilities of those students’ who aren’t particularly as physically competitive but are just as physically able. The inclusion of these types of physical activities I think will greatly reflect that that in the curriculum.
I agree with you Megan! The feelings around going to P.E were always easier for those who were more athletic than others. Much like you, I quite enjoyed P.E. as I was always athletic and played every extracurricular sport I could at school. I am also interested to see how the curriculum has changed since I was in school and now we are starting to get a glimpse into what our P.E. classes might be like when we become teachers. Though there are always negative experiences for everyone in P.E. class I never liked running. I think you are correct that living an active lifestyle should be a part of P.E. considering how inactive some children are becoming. There are so many other types of activities that can help kids be active and this is the place for them to learn about all different kinds of activities, not just your typical soccer, volleyball, basketball, or football.