Sept 23 Movement Journal- Sydney

Wednesday’s group teach lesson taught me that I am much worse at badminton than I remember! I would not consider myself “physically literate” in badminton, but there are definitely sports where I would be more confident saying that I am. Growing up, I was a very over-programmed kid going to a huge variety of active classes like ballet, Taekwondo, kung fu, and gymnastics. These are not the areas that I would consider myself physically literate in, but I do think that having experienced all of them contributed to my over all physical literacy that I can then apply to other activities. I loved playing ultimate frisbee and volleyball in elementary and high school, and I attribute my hand-eye coordination to my martial arts training where I sparred and broke boards. That being said, I absolutely hate running and avoid it at all costs, even during a game of ultimate. I don’t think that takes away from my ability to play since I throw and catch well enough to make up for that deficit, and I understand the rules of the game, so I do consider myself literate in that aspect.

I found a TED Talk that was an interesting and informative watch. An astounding fact stated was that the current generation of children will be the first to have lower life expectancies than their parents! There is a distinct correlation between our health and technology. As our world becomes more technologically savvy, health declines and obesity levels increase. He has a great definition of Physical Literacy that emphasizes the importance of creating a FUN environment where children can learn how to engage with physical activity.  Take a look!

One thought on “Sept 23 Movement Journal- Sydney”

  1. Thanks for sharing this Sydney! It’s so relevant to this weeks discussion as he basically talks of all the consequences of not having a physically literate society. I am shocked to hear that 1/3 of Canadian children are overweight or obese! If parents/guardians are the number one role model for children, essentially this means that a third of our society are failing their own children. Being fortunate enough to come from a physically fit family (my parents can get up the Grouse Grind quicker than I can!), it’s really hard to imagine so many people out there being OK with not promoting a healthy lifestyle to their children. But all this means is that we as teachers have a much bigger job to do. After parents/guardians, teachers are who children are going to see and model after. We have a duty to inspire these children to lead healthier, happier lives through our delivery of physical education. I’ve noticed that a couple of people have commented on how they are enjoying our P.E. class despite having bad experiences in school, which is really great. Hopefully we can take this forward and acknowledge how important this class is for society as a whole, instead of just seeing it as a chance for kids to run around and play games. And as we’ve seen in our discussion on physically literacy, for our cohort especially, its a great place to be working on those Learner Profile traits!

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