How would you qualify most of your teachers in the domain of instruction?
- They deliver instruction based on standards and student achievement.
- They are more like physical activity leaders focusing more on playing games rather than instruction.
The room stopped for two reasons. First, the Wi-Fi in the hotel went down so the wireless polling was gone. Having a back up plan ready I said, “if your answer is A, just stand up and if it is B remain seated”.
I paused.
I paused some more.
I took a sip of water.
No one stood.
I repeated the directions just to make sure everyone heard.
Finally, someone in the room uttered, “They are standing. It’s nobody.”
I felt a lump in my throat. They say everything is bigger in Texas and this lump was not contradicting that statement.
Finally, I regained my composure and figured I would look to the audience for more information. I followed up with “What do you think about that as health and PE administrators?” The initial response was “It’s sad.” Some administrators contributed reasons for the answer such as teachers more focused on coaching or an increase in teachers “testing in” to get their PE certification and not really understanding how to teach PE.
We finished the rest of the session without a hitch. However, my mind quickly went back to that question afterward. While I expected the number of “A” answers to be small, I never expected zero. In talking with administrators from across the country and drawing on my own experiences, the “zero” made me reflect on how hard many are working to improve our profession. We have professional organizations, quality free curriculum resources like OPEN, a bevy of costly curriculums, and hours of professional development delivered each year. Yet, what is the outcome for our teachers and most importantly our students?
SHAPE America President Judy LoBianco often talks about having the moral courage to stand up for what is right in our profession. If that “zero” number sticks in your side the way it sticks in mine, it may be time for you to have some courageous conversations about what it means to be a PE teacher and our responsibilities. To be respected, we are going to have to go above and beyond the current expectations. Let’s not be satisfied with being physical activity leaders. Instead, it is time to focus on giving students the movement skills and competencies to be lifelong participants in sport and activity. Our profession and the health of a generation not expected to outlive their parents may depend on our actions.