Growing up I loved PE! I loved being active and I always noticed the difference in my energy post-PE class. In high school we had conditioning 11 and 12 and for PE we would work out in the school gym with programs by Level 10 Fitness which to me has high standards for program design. We learned not only about proper technique (i.e. how to do a dead lift) but also about hypertrophy training. It definitely gave me a boost of confidence when I went into my KIN degree.
But focusing a bit more on PE teaching and the future… I think there is no question that students should be physically active at least 5 days out of the week. I think it’s important for students to learn about why they are doing physical activity or why they are doing a certain activity and how being active is important both physically and psychologically. I think it’s important that we teach children some biological aspects with physical activity and bring in a small bit of biology to our class. Proper understanding of good nutrition is also very important and should be addressed to your students.
Having taught fitness for over 3 years I have acquired some teaching techniques which has definitely gained me some confidence in overcoming any fears of teaching activities to a group. I think it’s great that we all share our individual stories, as it will confirm that other people have similar thoughts and feelings and it will bring great ideas on how we can effectively teach PE.
PE is meant to get kids moving!! Not enough kids are getting up and getting their heart rates up. Other than the exercise aspect, it brings students together, decreases their stress levels and educates them about living healthy lifestyles.
Let’s change the way some teachers feel about teaching PE. Let’s knock away the fear of it and have FUN! 🙂