What is my vision of teaching? Physical education while I was growing up was an experience that wasn’t always fun as it led to shaming and the varsity kids always leading the pack. it wasn’t until I started to become athletic and my propioception increased that I was able to start having fun and being included. However I look back and I wonder if all the other kids that didn’t find a way to fit in to the make it or break it style of teaching, what was their experience like.
Thus it leads me back to my original question of what is my vision? Well I hope that it will be fun and inclusive which would get away from the hall of shame style teaching and towards physical literacy. This hopefully would be a class where the kids learn to move at their own pace getting away from the competition and towards movement for the sake of moving towards a healthier lifestyle. A lifestyle that would incorporate a holistic meaning into their life where not only would the mental, spiritual and emotional be taken care of but the physical as well. Because the entirety of the circle or the holistic vision is reliant on all four components working together to form a fuller healthier human.
Your post allowed me to reflected back on my physical education elementary years and I too struggled to find myself initially during these classes. For me it was more about emotional control because before I would always take a game too seriously which looking back was very unfair for everyone else. Physical Education should be about having fun and allowing students to freely express themselves in a safe and friendly environment.
I too want to become a great teacher not just in P.E. but a well rounded one who continued to strive for improvement and not fall into the trap of going the easy way out. Its going to be a tough challenge ahead with technology advancing so quick but I believe that if we try our best to get more kids involved and active, there will eventually be a ripple effect and we will see more and more students becoming healthier and more physically literate individuals.
Hi Kenthen,
I feel that we both share the same vision. I also wonder how excluded and embarrassed some kids may have felt due to structure of certain games. For instance, in class today we discussed tag is now being banned or is banned from many school districts. However, putting a taboo on tag has made several parents upset. I feel this is the case because we all grew up believing it was an innocent game and did not relate to physical literacy as much. I believe physical literacy will open up doors for the students who felt they were not active because P.E. is not just a confined space between four walls of the gym. Physical literacy is a life-long journey to take care of our physical and mental health. As mentioned in your blog Kenthen, a holistic approach is very important for students to understand who they are in terms of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Although I do feel that time to time competitive edge to games can make the game fun, as long as the game does not get aggressive. I will ponder further upon this and maybe do an inquiry question on it! Nonetheless, great post Kenthen.