Physical Education, Safety and the law:

• Educators are held to a higher standard – must respect students and treat with care and prudence as if own child

The Law of Torts:

• The term tort is derived from the Latin word tortus, meaning twisted or crooked,Torts is constantly evolving.- centuries of creation, elaboration, and explanation

 

• Tort Law:

 

• Definition: civil wrong a person commits against another
• “The law of torts is concerned with the compensation of losses suffered by private individuals in their legally protected interests, through conduct of others which is regarded as socially unreasonable”
• Torts is either intentional or unintentional. Intentional tort involves an effort by someone to interfere with or cause harm to another person (i.e. assault, battery, false imprisonment, and mental languish).  Unintentional are usually referred to as negligence.

The Tort of Negligence:

1. Duty of Care
2. Breach of the Standard of Care
3. Damage resulting from a breach of the standard of care

Facilitating inclusion in educational gymnastics. Teaching Elementary Physical Education

• Techniques in teaching depends on the particular needs of students (e.g. age group, make-up of your class, availability of support staff, equipment, facilities)
• Adapt and modify instruction to meet various needs of students (promotes success across all ability levels)
• Instructional Techniques:
  • 1. Instructional Environment
  • 2. Peer Tutors
  • 3. Time and Duration
  • 4. Routines and Rituals
  • 5. Modification Criteria

Teaching within the law: Liability for physical harm and the need for proper risk management

• understanding one’s legal obligations and potential liability is critical for teachers’ self-preservation

• risk has 2 dimensions:1. relative chances of something bad occurring 2. the chances that this misfortune will be serious

Duty of Care to Students with Disabilities:

• 1. paying particular attention to an individual student’s characteristics in determining negligence
• 2. displayed the usual judicial reluctance to deviate from use of the careful-parent test

 

• Defense to Negligence Based on Student Responsibility: Passing the Risk?

• Question to ask: Are students ever responsible for their own injuries?

 

• Voluntary Assumption of Risk: it can be shown that the plaintiff voluntarily assumed the risk that caused his/her injuries
  • students are usually minors which makes the defence much more problematic
  • 1. Must convince court that the activity or the student’s actions giving rise to the injury were “voluntary”
  • 2. It is not enough that the physical risk of the activity be understood and voluntarily assumed → assumption of risk in law also includes the assumption of the legal risks
  • 3. Problem of proving components of consent
• Contributory Negligence:
  • students are rarely held responsible for their own actions and injuries

 

• Managing Risk:

 

• coordinated effort to protect an organization’s human, physical, and financial assets
• 1. Managing physical risk:
• 2. Managing legal risk

Critical Approaches to Pedagogy

• Relates to social justice, marginalized groups, inadequacies of power relationships, and influences that impact production of knowledge and teaching practices in schools
• Challenge status quo and defends ideals of democracy and empowerment of individuals

As educators:

• Be aware of political, social, cultural landscapes to promote social justice and adopt vision of education based on justice and equality

• Be critically engaged: speak up, ask reasonable and respectful questions about critical issues to educators and researchers

Cognition and Physical Activity benefits to physical Education

Content Specific Pedagogy for Educational Gymnastics

1. Establishing an Environment for learning
2. The Role of Intratask Development
3. Refining Skills
4. Demonstration
5. Questioning

Safety Tips:

Establish Protocols Safety Rolls Appropriate Clothing Maintaining Equipment

Handling and Moving Equipment Progressive Skill Development Providing Assistance Getting Ready

Monitoring Fatigue Level Controlling Access to Equipment Positive Press

Teaching within the Law (Gregory M. Dickinson Reading)

• Discrimination occurs when differential treatment is based on stereotypical assumptions about persons’ abilities or worth
• Safety (environment vs disability, physical e.g. head gear vs religion, emotional vs differences in sexuality/sexual orientation)

As educators:

• Promote respect and tolerance for all the diverse groups, as long as safety, respect, and tolerance – and core curricular requirements are not compromised
• Be sensible and respectful with diverse groups (e.g. disability, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, sexual orientation)

A respectful and Harassment-free learning Environment

• Under Canadian Law, students have to right to a learning environment free from discrimination.  
• Sexual harassment can be defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for favours, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature