You know we have an ongoing debate in our profession between the “busy, happy, good – I want them to be active” and the “teach students to master the standards” groups. I’m all about being active and having fun while learning in our gyms. However, we still must teach to the standards in order to make our students successful in leading physically active lifestyles. If a child doesn’t know how to throw a ball, what are the chances that they are going to participate in anything requiring throwing as they grow up? Slim to none. It is incumbent upon us as physical educators to teach students to the standards which are designed under the premise of what is necessary for them to know to become “physically educated” or “physically literate”. Are all students going to be perfect throwers? Of course not. But, we can make sure as they grow and mature students understand how to throw and the mechanics behind it. We can give them multiple opportunities to attempt and get better. Lead up game activities can provide chances to apply skills in a different setting. Assessments have to be a piece of the puzzle, too. In my opinion, it should be a mix of the skill component and the cognitive piece to best assess the learning outcomes.
My bottom line is that we must equip our students with the tools they need to lead physically active lifestyles long after they leave us. If a student consistently throws stepping with the wrong foot each time, we have to do everything we can to make sure we fix it. Does the math teacher not continually work with and assess a student who repeatedly makes errors in addition to get them to master the skill?
The young lady in the photo will start school one day soon. Will she have the same reaction to physical activity in 20 years? If she learns the skills she needs to be physically educated and physically literate I would imagine so!