Sydney’s Movement Journal – Sept 9

It felt so odd to be back in a gymnasium for Physical Education after years away. I stopped taking PE as soon as it became optional in high school because I absolutely hated the fitness tests (especially the 4 lap run) and how none of my friends ended up in my class. PE in elementary school was different though – in a good way. It was more about team work and having fun, while in high school it was more about developing specific skill sets and repeat practise of techniques. I think it’s important to keep a fun and encouraging atmosphere in Physical and Health Education. In my high school classes it wasn’t fun or encouraging; we were told to run around the track until the whistle blew. I had zero motivation to do so. When exercise is under the guise of an interactive and fast paced game, it is much easier to have an enthusiastic group that looks forward to PE class. I think the purpose of PE is to build interpersonal skills, communication skills, hand/eye/foot coordination, and to keep kids active. By sharing our personal experiences, we can take a step back and examine our stories with another perspective, possibly gaining more insight into why we had those experiences and how they will shape our teaching. We can recreate the positive experiences we had, and avoid recreating the negative ones for our students.

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