Coach Devore's Physical Education Page

#PhysEd Lessons Learned and Forging Ahead from COVID-19

4/30/2020

Early in March, I was at SHAPE America’s Speak Out Day in Washington DC when the first texts and emails started to arrive.

“Schools may be closed.”

“We may be out of school a long time.”

“They told us our spring break is going to be extended.”

Little did we know how long schools would be closed and the impact it would have on our teaching for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. Now that we are close to the end of the school year, there is still a ton of uncertainty what the start of next school year will look like.

Reflection is an important component of being a leader and teacher. Recently, I thought a lot about this whole experience of virtual or digital or online or distance learning. Since I have experience with teaching physical education K-12 and high school online learning, the whole situation has intrigued me from the start. Additionally, I was able to gather thoughts of teacher friends and my own children who are living the experience. I broke my thoughts down into observations regarding administrators and physical education teachers and what needs to be done if this continues into the fall.

Administration

Being a school administrator is hard. I get it. But I really feel like many fell short this spring from superintendents to building level administrators. Many had no guidelines for teachers or students. Many districts waived grading at the start of the experience and when it was extended through the school year there was no way to go back and say that now grades count. My own kids’ school district gave students the option to take the grade they had on the last face-to-face meeting. If you are a 16-year-old kid with an A in March, why would you do any more work? This cannot be an accepted practice moving to the fall. There need to be some clear expectations and accountability measures communicated to students, parents, and teachers regarding grades and schoolwork.
One of the obstacles for districts was the technology divide among students. This probably played a role into the expectations for spring, but plans need to be developed to address it for fall. Simply telling parents that they can get internet access from a company is not enough. Take the resources you are saving and invest. Equip buses with portable WiFi and park them in neighborhoods so families can have access. Remember all those iPad carts and Chromebooks your school purchased that are sitting in a closet locked up at school? Get them in the hands of students at home. It’s unacceptable to expect a family of 4 to fight over one device in a home when all may be working or in school. Yes, some may get lost or damaged. But the greater percentage will be appreciative and able to access they tools they need to complete their schoolwork.
Stop disrespecting the “specials” classes like physical education, art, music, etc. This spring, these classes were not included in learning plans or deemed as “extra” or teachers were told not to post any content in many districts. This not only sends a negative message to the teacher, but also a poor message to the school community those teachers serve. I even heard of one administrator who told the physical educator they were only focusing on core classes. That went out with No Child Left Behind a few years ago. All our “specials” are part of a well-rounded education and need to hold equal value. Not to mention, many of these teachers are creating some of the most innovative lessons in the school!

Physical Education Teachers

Start thinking about how you are going to start a new school year with new students. There’s a new bunch of kindergarten, middle school, and high school students who have never been to your building or seen your school! There may not be any “sneak a peeks” or open houses due to distancing regulations. What digital platforms can you utilize to introduce yourself, your program, or your facility? Did you use anything in distance learning that can help? If you start the year with virtual physical education, how will you get your students started?
Be prepared to teach ALL the standards in a virtual environment. Consider what we just experienced a test drive. If the school year starts with online learning, there will have to be more rigor involved in the courses. This spring, there was a huge concentration on fitness, physical activity, and social and emotional learning (National Standards 3, 4, and 5). There needs to be integration of National Standards 1 and 2 into more lessons in order to fully address our content.
Take time to reflect on how you are going to utilize technology moving forward. I’ve seen people create incredible resources for their students during this virtual experience. Physical educators are utilizing education technology like never before since it has been “forced” upon them. Where do we go now? If we are face to face with students, are we going to resort to the “same old same old”? Or will our lessons move to the next level and fully integrate technology into our gymnasiums?

In closing, watching this experience unfold has filled me with hope for physical education. Teachers across the nation have been forced into a growth experience never seen previously. Veteran educators were forced to learn technology in order to do their jobs effectively. New educators will carry this event forward and remember how difficult it was. In my opinion, relationships with students will move to a level that has never been seen before and we all know that will positively impact learning. And maybe, despite the horrible deaths, stress, and loss of income, we might grow in ways never anticipated.

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The Transition to Online Physical Education

3/14/2020

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We are certainly in some unique times. Suddenly, thousands of teachers and millions of students have been thrust into the world of online education. As the Health and Physical Education Content Specialist at Cobb Virtual Academy in Marietta, GA for three years, I oversaw the instructors and over 1000 HPE students annually in the courses. One thing I learned quickly is that teaching online is vastly different than teaching face-to-face. In fact, many fantastic face-to-face teachers struggle in the online world and vice versa. Most teacher preparation programs provide little to no instruction on best practices for teaching online. With the extraordinary circumstances putting many teachers in an uncomfortable position, I will share some tips I gathered along my journey.

Have a central hub for learning – Students will not be showing up to your gym each day. Without a classroom, you will need to create your virtual classroom! Whether it is your school’s platform, your district’s learning management system, or creating your own website, make sure you have a “place” for your students to go. There are many simple and free website builders to choose. In this situation, don’t stress about the “glitz”. Make sure it is functional and easy for students and parents to navigate.

Communication is critical – Communication will be key because students won’t be able to hear the tone of your voice or read your body language when you communicate. Create a method for students and parents to reach you. Options would include email, phone, Remind, or other learning tool. Be concise and to the point with your communications. If you direct students or parents to a resource, provide “click by click” instructions rather than saying “look on the website”. A communication with students/parents should come from you at least every other day.

Have a face – Create a way to communicate with students at least once a week via video. It could be live or a brief recorded message. This puts a “face” to the teacher in a strictly online course, but for our students who know us it gives them a sense of comfort and normalcy. Consider utilizing a platform like Flipgrid that allows students to submit recorded messages to interact with you and classmates. There are safeguards so teachers can preview messages before they are posted. Tools like Anchor allow teachers to create audio messages that are accessible by clicking a link. FreeConferenceCall.com and Google Hangouts allow for live video conferencing with recording, too.

Keep “office hours” – Your students now have flexibility and won’t come to you at 9:05 AM every day. Be ready to answer questions all the time and check your communication tool often. They may work on your class at 8:00 PM at night and have a question. Setting office hours, such as 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM each day gives them a time that they know you will be available. It also provides some normalcy to your day! Additionally, set hours that you are NOT available. For example, you may not be available between 9:00 PM and 8:00 AM. This gives you the opportunity for “down” time.

Learn some tech support – Some students/parents will gravitate to the online environment easily and others will struggle. Just like we can’t give up on them in our physical classrooms, we must support them in this new setting. Familiarize yourself with any online tools that you utilize so you can provide solutions. “Googling” the issue is a wonderful way to troubleshoot problems. However, telling a student/parent to “figure it out” is not an option. Some of the tools listed in “Have a face” above have options for screen sharing which can be very valuable in solving tech issues. Flexibility will be paramount since our students did not sign up for an online class. Be prepared to figure out solutions to tech issues that students may have. Also, remember not all students have reliable internet or device access.

These are just a few of the adjustments teachers will need to make over the coming weeks to transition to online learning. In the scramble to provide lessons to our students, many teachers have posted content online to share. Remember to vet this content thoroughly to make sure it is grade level appropriate, based on standards and learning outcomes, and best teaching practices. Finally, feel free to contact me with any questions so I can assist you moving into the online teaching environment!

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We've Fallen and We Can't Get Up...….

11/14/2019

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Recently, a social media post asked SHAPE America to identify the three key ideas to re-invent physical education. It really made me think in my own mind as to what our issues are and potential solutions to each. With over 30 years’ experience working in physical education, another 16+ as a student, and visiting with teachers and students across countless states, I’m confident that I’ve seen plenty of the good, bad, and ugly in physical education. While identifying my three issues, I was astounded. These are the same issues that we were battling in my first year of teaching in 1989! So, in 30 years, we have basically remained stagnant overall with the exception of a few bright spots of success. Let’s take a closer look.

Issue #1 - Poor teaching practices – This was a problem when I was a student, teacher, and administrator. Yes, physical education teachers still “roll out the ball” and this practice continues daily across the country. Teachers use exercise as punishment, have their kids “walk the track” for class, and grade on students dressing out or wear correct shoes. Thanks to social media, we not only see the brilliance of the physical education world, but also the complete and utter disregard for quality physical education using best practices. One recent post bemoaned a principal asking the teacher to no longer play “pin ball” or “battleship” and the teacher complained that eliminating these two activities cost her “half of my curriculum”. I’m thinking there are bigger issues than that in that gym.
Fix #1 – Educate administrators on what a quality physical education learning environment looks like. I’m talking a full-scale educational assault. A few years back, SHAPE America began to present at Principals’ Conferences in some states and districts showing their Administrator’s Checklist. I utilized this as an HPE District Administrator to educate new principals in how to evaluate physical education teachers. Astonishingly, they really had no idea how to effectively evaluate teachers in a dynamic classroom setting. Additionally, they were thankful for receiving a tool that could help with teacher evaluations. Through educating these administrators, the potential outcome is for them to eliminate the sub-par teachers from the work force.

Issue #2 – Lack of Funding – Lack of funding and budgets continue to be a major problem for physical education programs nationwide. A typical school physical education budget is about $750 according to some data. Thus, we have a limited amount of resources to purchase equipment and other teaching and learning tools. Think about it in this regard…many of our schools get less than $1 per student for physical education budgets. The state of Georgia spends over $10,000 per student according to census data and they are only ranked 34th in spending. How can our programs receive less than $1 per student? I was excited as anyone to be included in ESSA funding. However, this funding has not been the “magic bullet” to infusing resources for physical education. The Title funds, particularly Title IV, is not reaching the physical education classrooms and teachers that it is meant to assist. Instead, these funds have been spent on special projects for board members or other administrators. The “needs assessment” portion of ESSA funding has been virtually absent according to the teachers I speak with across the nation.
Fix #2 – The first step is to make sure teachers are teaching to their standards. Poor teaching methods, lack of curriculum, and ineffective planning cannot be prevalent. When these are solved (see Fix #1), physical education teachers can be more vocal about budgets at the district level. Rather than bickering amongst ourselves, it is time to go to principals and school board meetings to layout the facts about our lack of resources. Furthermore, I feel SHAPE America should address the lack of targeted Title IV funds for health and physical education at the 2020 SPEAK Out Day. We have no idea if we need more Title IV until our programs get access to funding. It seems many of the processes are not being followed to disperse the funds to the variety of programs it is meant to serve. Creating targeted funding will ensure that we can address needs in our content areas.

Issue #3 – Lack of Professional Development – Physical education teachers are starving for professional development. While there are many great options for school districts, there are many poor ones, too. “60 Games in 60 Minutes” and similar options don’t seem to really integrate best practices and professional learning. At face value, they simply throw a bunch of games at teachers without connecting to standards or research-based teaching tools. However, many districts, continue to bring in presenters to deliver this type of session. In my opinion, it’s probably since there is a lack of true health and physical education coordinators across the country. Since the masses don’t have the proper background in our content fields and have physical education added on to other duties, they don’t understand that we have standards to teach and should not simply play “busy, happy, good” activities with our students. Another part of this is providing adequate funding and leave for teachers to attend conferences at the state and national levels.
Fix #3 – Once again, a precise and well-thought campaign to administrators can be one venue to raise the bar for professional development. Information needs to be communicated regarding our standards and the mission to help students gain more physical literacy. Additionally, guidelines for what quality physical education professional development should provide can be helpful to administrators not familiar with our physical education classrooms.

For the last 30 years, physical education has remained virtually stagnant with these three issues. (And these are just the tip of the iceberg as I didn’t even broach the issues of grading on dressing out or participation, emphasizing coaching over teaching, or using exercise as punishment in class!) At this point, I think WE as the physical education community are incapable of fixing ourselves. We’ve had 30 years and have not really dented the issues. In my opinion, it is time to reach outside our community to solicit assistance to “fix” ourselves. Perhaps administrators cracking down on poor teaching practices is the answer to creating quality physical education in schools. Maybe it is more or targeted Title IV funding. However, it is clear we haven’t been successful at cleaning up our own mess and need to look for a new strategy.

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Putting the Physical Back in Physical Education - Have We Gone Too Far with SEL?

6/5/2019

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There is a tremendous push within the physical education world to align ourselves with the current social and emotional learning (SEL) concepts driving educational change today and with good reason. After all, our students need it, educators and administrators want it, and it is in our standards. In today’s world when you can order your groceries and pick them up without talking to a single person, we all need to make sure we are all working on skills related to cooperation, interpersonal skills, teamwork, sportsmanship, and understanding people from diverse backgrounds. The education landscape is littered with grant and funding opportunities that scream SEL. Personally, I have presented several times on the topic and find it to be extremely pertinent to student populations nationally.

But are we swinging too far on SEL?

Don’t get me wrong here. I believe in SEL. It needs to be integrated into physical education classes without fail and most of us teach it without realizing it every single day. It is a part of almost every set of state standards and of course the SHAPE America National Standards. Health and physical education leaders across the country have asked me to come in and work with their staffs to teach them about SEL. We have an entire conference devoted to SEL in Sioux Falls this summer.

However, are we hanging our hat on it too much?

SEL is only a part of what we do. There are five National Standards. SEL is a single component of what we must make sure our students develop as they work toward becoming physically literate. I get excited to see students working on interpersonal skills, cooperation, and teamwork and many great social media posts get me fired up about SEL. The countless posts regarding SEL have been engaging and important. I enjoy seeing teachers guide their students to make the “right decisions” and take care of themselves and their peers.

But what happened to the physical part of physical education?

With the countless posts regarding SEL, my concern is we are losing track of all the other standards and missing the physical component to physical education. Whether it is fitness, learning motor skills and movement patterns, or applying movement concepts and principles, we cannot forget the physical component of physical education. SEL is certainly important for daily life after K-12 schooling just like skill acquisition and movement concepts are integral parts to an active lifetime.

Where does the SEL fit into physical education?

SEL fits into everything we teach! But just like utilizing technology in physical education, teachers need to make sure there is a natural fit with the SEL component we are teaching and our lessons for class that day. Attempting to jam a round SEL peg into a square physical education hole is not going to be successful. Rather, all components should sync and flow together throughout each unit. For example, any time a new skill is introduced, there should be a connection made to self-awareness and the creation of a growth mindset within your students. Learning those types of SEL skills will serve students not only in physical education, but any time in life when they are challenged to learn something new. Want to see how SEL can flow seamlessly into a standards-based physical education class and unit of instruction? Attend my session Ultimate Disc, Ultimate SEL at SHAPE America’s Professional Learning Institute Exploring the Mind-Body Connection Social and Emotional Learning in HPE in Sioux Falls, SD August 1 at 2:15 PM. I’ll show you how to make those SEL connections with your students and then transfer them to other activities you teach throughout the school year.

As teachers begin to wind down this school year, I am sure there will be discussions at the school and district levels regarding physical education and SEL. Without question, physical educators should jump at the opportunity to brag about what we do with SEL and make sure it is integrated into our classrooms. But as you have those discussions and begin to plan for next year, my plea to you is not to forget all the “other stuff” that we teach that leads to physical literacy. When SEL and physical education are intertwined in a cohesive plan, our students can learn skills for a lifetime from both content areas! That connection is what makes our content well-rounded and develops the whole child in a way no other content area can deliver.

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Help Wanted - Advocacy 101

2/28/2019

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This week, I had the opportunity to renew an old friendship with Mark Foellmer of Illinois at the New Jersey AHPERD Convention. Afterward, I paused to reflect on our initial meeting which occurred a few years ago during Speak Out Day in Washington, DC. I had attended an event or two in the past and this was Mark’s first experience on Capitol Hill. Appropriately enough, our paths crossed in the hotel workout room. After initial introductions, we discussed Speak Out Day and what he could expect from our afternoon meeting with SHAPE America staff, as well as the day ahead on Capitol Hill. Like me, Clayton Ellis, Jamie Sparks, and Roger Jackson, Mark caught the “Speak Out Day Bug” and since then has continued to make the annual trek to Washington, DC. Also, he has become a respected advocacy leader in his state.

Next week, I will descend on Washington DC with these close friends and many others to advocate for health and physical education as part of SHAPE America’s Speak Out Day. This annual event brings in representatives from nearly every state to speak with their legislators on Capitol Hill about any issues facing our fields. This year, thanks to OPEN and US Games, I will get the opportunity to join others from Georgia in visiting with our elected leaders.

As we prepare to head to Speak Out Day, I encourage all our returning advocates reminisce back to their first experience. Remember the angst, nervousness, and uncertainty of what you were about to do? Look for those “lost faces” on March 5-6 and offer your assistance and guidance to help our first timers so they have a fantastic experience at the event. If you are a first-time attendee, do not hesitate to reach out to some of the veterans who you recognize from previous Speak Out Days! We are here to help, and no question is too simple. You need to feel comfortable and confident heading into your first meeting on Wednesday morning!

While you may not be fortunate enough to join us in person this week, you can still have an impact on the Speak Out Day events March 6th. Tune into social media and be ready to post, re-post, or comment on meetings representatives from your state may have with elected officials. Your communications can make a difference! Check in with your state organization to see if you can find out who is attending (click here for hot links to each state’s website). Make sure you comment on their posts and share your personal stories to assist in our advocacy campaign. Our voices need to be heard and with your help, we can initiate positive change in our fields. More info on Speak Out Day can be found on the SHAPE America Advocacy website, too!

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It Starts With Us

2/6/2019

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The recent article by Alia Wong titled “Gym Class Is So Bad, Kids Are Skipping School to Avoid It” has generated a huge response from within the #physed world including perspectives, opinions, and platforms touting more emphasis on this and less emphasis on that. You can insert anything from skill theme, assessment, social emotional learning, whole child education, fitness testing, and more for “this” or “that”. Before we get our whistle lanyards in a knot, let’s look at a few of things I know to be true:

Kids skip classes. All classes. Yes, even math, language arts, social studies, and more. They skip them in all grade levels (much less at elementary of course), but they skip them.
It’s not necessarily the content or what they are doing in class that makes them skip. Or even fitness testing.
There are bullies in all classes. Not just in PE as the article focuses on. There are bullies everywhere including going to the grocery store when you are 53 years old.

So what do we do to solve this? Let our students run the class? Stop giving grades? No more assessments? Throw out the standards? Quit teaching fitness? Only allow students to explore for fun?

The answer is none of the above.

In my opinion, we as physical educators must work on class culture. If you’ve seen my social and emotional learning keynote, I reference the CASEL SEL Competencies. The SEL concepts and how they are implemented have changed drastically over my 30 years. The inner circle used to be the home and then the concepts would make their way out into the classrooms and schools. Now, the classrooms and schools are relied upon to cultivate these concepts and get them into the homes. How does that tie to class culture? We as teachers must create a positive culture within our classes each day. It is incumbent upon us to make sure the following happens in our class with all our students:

It is OK to make a mistake or not be successful at a skill, behavior or assessment.
Our success depends on the cooperation of everyone in the room (teamwork).
Helping each other is an expectation.
“Caring” about students is the norm.
High expectations are standard.
Each person is treated with respect despite any differences.
Goals are set (by student with teacher guidance) and re-examined periodically.
Safety for everyone is paramount.

All of these can be done within the confines of a PE program that still teaches standards and skills, utilizes assessments, and has a focus on fitness concepts. Those curricular components of a PE course cannot be discarded. However, we can embed the critical class culture components within all our lessons that legitimately teach our content. Integrating these culture components will not only teach our content and important SEL concepts, but it will also create a generation of physically literate students who love physical education, physical activity, and fitness.

It starts with us.

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Time to End This Outdated #PhysEd Practice

1/2/2019

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This post also appears as a guest blog at www.newphysicaleducator.com!

It is time to rethink this outdated and antiquated policy. While I agree that student safety should always be the first consideration, it is not acceptable for a student to be excluded from learning. If a student forgets to bring paper/pencil to class, does the classroom teacher tell them to put their head on the desk all day? Obviously, if a student is in flip flops and the activity is PACER a safety issue is involved. However, a student wearing shoes that protect their feet and allow them to move freely needs to be able to learn and move during physical education (PE). Certainly, riding a scooter board, pushing a student on the board, or running with beanbags should not present a direct hazard to a student in boots. Students can participate at recess in any shoes they wear to school that day without penalty. I would argue that a recess environment is not even close to the safe environment a PE class.

My local school district policy states that “Attire for participation in physical education activities at all grade levels should permit freedom of movement, safe participation, and will not damage equipment or facilities.” It does not state that tennis shoes are required. I certainly can understand that there are considerations to protecting floors from damage. However, there are many non-athletic shoes with rubber soles that would be perfectly safe for students to participate in most PE activities. While they may not be able to perform their best, it is a great learning opportunity to revisit standards and outcomes related to safety and responsible personal behavior.

Perhaps the largest issue centers on the social and emotional component that revolves around sitting a student out of PE because of incorrect shoes. We as physical educators are not fostering a love of activity or PE when a student’s memory of elementary PE is sitting out of class crying because they did not have the correct shoes on. I am sure there are students who spend many classes sitting rather than learning. What do you think their memory is of elementary PE as they conclude elementary school? Or their feelings towards PE and physical activity?

Penalizing a student’s grade for not having tennis shoes is tremendously flawed. A kindergarten student really has no control over what they wear to school. Some fifth graders don’t. Again, does a student get to fail math because they show up without paper and pencil? There are multiple reasons that a student may not have tennis shoes in PE. While by fifth grade more responsibility relies on the student. But each case is worth investigating to find out the cause. For example, consider the following reasons I have received in the past as a PE teacher:

My mom and dad are divorced and I left them at my dad’s house.
I played outside after school yesterday and my shoes are all muddy.
My shoes are too small and my parents don’t get paid until the end of the month.

A tremendously unscientific Twitter poll yielded some interesting results. Over 90% of the 300+ responses were in favor of allowing students to participate despite no tennis shoes if the activity was safe. There were multiple posts of photos that showed closets or containers of shoes students could borrow for class, if needed. Some shared that the PTA or local shoe store incorporated a program to donate tennis shoes for students whose family could not afford them. The remaining 10% who said students must sit is the group that bothers me.

Sitting the student out of the activity (unless severe safety or facility concerns) and making grade deductions is not acceptable. Doing assessments on skills or cues, academic language, or other elements critical to standards is how grades should be assigned.

We are already past a critical juncture towards childhood obesity. There is an abundance of research available to show that physical activity helps students learn better. Thus, there is no reason to continue this archaic policy that does more harm than good.

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The Power of Play

7/23/2018

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Let me set the scene for you. It is Wednesday morning at the James Madison University Health and Physical Activity Institute in Virginia this July. I’m scheduled for the morning keynote on Social and Emotional Learning at 8:30 AM and the alarm buzzes at 6:00 AM. Ready to change the world, I bounced myself out of the dormitory bunk bed, but suddenly stop.

A personal physical inventory was immediately necessary. My roommate Rich Wiles uttered “Dude, are you ok?”

As I exited my bunk, I immediately felt my legs buckle. My lower back torqued beyond belief. Ankles and knees? Oh, they were creaking and crunching at the mere shift of my body weight.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be OK,” I managed say without grimacing. Too much. And sure enough I was OK as the day went on. But the problem? I’m glad you asked!

The previous evening, conference attendees had the opportunity to visit the JMU University Recreation Center. This state of the art facility for students to be active and healthy was set up with a smorgasbord of activities for us to participate in. Badminton, basketball, weights, treadmills, bikes, rock wall, pickleball, yoga----you name it and we could do it! I felt like this would be a great experience and an opportunity to burn off some stress before the next morning’s event. I started with some “low risk” activities like badminton (thanks for the beating Chad and Victor) as well as some pickleball. After an hour of play, I met up with Aaron Hart and Ron Malm interested in shooting some basketball. Joined by Doug Hallberg and Nick Kline, we set our sights on finding a basket and a ball. Finding a sixth person, we opted for a friendly game of 3 on 3. Little did I know what we were embarking on.

The next 30 minutes seemed like a marathon, but it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a long time. This North Carolinian couldn’t remember the last time he played a game of basketball, but there we were working the court like nobody’s business. Of course, we were all a step slower (maybe two or three?) than in the past. The best comment made was “my mind said go to the ball, but my body never responded”. Playing with the reckless abandon of my youth, I hit the floor once and had five people immediately rush over to check on my status. I’m sure all of us were scanning the walls looking for the AED location at some point as well.

When we completed the game with handshakes all around and headed back to the dorm it dawned on me. The six of us just experienced the greatest social and emotional experience that sports and games can provide. We were most concerned with the being able to play and enjoy physical activity at our own pace. Yes, we kept score, and of course everyone was trying to win. However, we all found sheer joy in being on the court, playing, and the comradery that went with it all. We managed ourselves, had great social awareness, and our relationship skills between each other were unsurpassed. And we all survived without the use of an AED!

Listening to others on the way back to the dorm, there were similar stories. People finding pleasure and joy in all the different activities. One participant tried rock climbing after first experiencing lacrosse earlier in the day. “There’s a rock climbing place near where I live and I’m going to have to check it out now,” she remarked. My other friends discussed the fun they had with badminton and just getting their workouts in, which is always a task during conferences.

I was finally able to get my body together that next morning and head to breakfast. While there, I encountered several other people moving mighty gingerly as they stepped up to the scrambled eggs in the cafeteria. “What did you play?” “Are your ok?” Those were the topics of conversation over breakfast. I even opened the keynote discussing the activities the night before as I sensed the audience was in a similar body experience as me. I encountered Ron later Wednesday and he informed me he was playing with a previous injury and happy to be out on the court. The emotional draw of playing with his peers was too great for him to ignore. Fortunately, none of us worsened his condition.

On the flight home, I pondered many things. But the greatest was the joy and emotional release we all had playing, competing, or participating in physical activity at our own levels. The smiles on faces from people 18-58 and beyond were contagious. Our endorphins were overflowing. And finally, I thought about how healthy it was for all these teachers of young movers to get out and play. After all, that’s how a lot of us got involved in teaching physical education. This school year, take time to focus on some self-care and get out and play. The social and emotional benefits will keep you fresh and energized the entire school year!

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One Simple Question......

6/26/2018

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Last month I had the opportunity to speak with some health and PE administrators in Texas. Our topic was related to tools within OPEN that can assist teachers to be successful with the T-TESS evaluation system. To keep the presentation moving along, we had some poll questions based on the content. The room stopped on one simple question:

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.

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Building Through Relationships

5/8/2018

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I was inspired to write this blog from a quote by Justin Tarte – “Teachers who put relationships first don’t just have students for one year. They have students who view them as ‘their’ teacher for life.”

One of the joys of inching towards 30 years in education is the opportunity to see the fruits of your labor in a variety of ways. Recently, I had the chance to reconnect with a former student and it caused me to reflect on how you get to see your students come full circle sometimes. Luckily for me, I have stayed in the same geographical region for most of my teaching career. Thus, I’ve been fortunate enough to keep connected to many former students over the years whether it be in person or via social media.

If you know anything about me, it is the fact that I always bleed Tar Heel blue from my alma mater, especially during basketball season. Some have even tabbed it “Brian Blue” since I can be seen in that color so often! While visiting family in North Carolina in April, I went over to Chapel Hill to meet a former student for lunch. Brandon Robinson, just finishing his sophomore year at UNC, was kind enough to take time from his schedule to meet with me for lunch. I had the fortune of teaching Brandon and his brother at Mountain View Elementary back in the day. My “work wife” at Mountain View, Nancy Janas, told me on my first day there that Brandon was special and had some basketball talent. I guess she should be a scout because Brandon’s talent, hard work, and perseverance turned him into a Division 1 player. We would tease him about UNC daily as his goal at the time was to play at Georgia Tech!

As I waited outside Sutton’s Drug Store, I did start to get a little nervous for some reason. We only communicated off and on over the years so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But my tensions eased when I realized now we were both part of the Carolina Family. My thoughts were interrupted by Brandon jumping out of a car and bounding towards me. The last time we saw each other in person, he was in middle school and just a shade taller than me. Now, here comes this towering “kid” just as excited as I was to reconnect. For the next hour eating lunch, time stood still.

We talked about everything. First and foremost, we caught up on his wonderful family who should be so proud of the person they molded him into growing up. I was delighted to hear that they get the chance to see him play so often and how connected he is with them. I saw their influence, and hopefully some of all his teachers, as he addressed everyone with a “ma’am” or “sir” and had impeccable etiquette. I’m sure it would be easy to get caught up in the “big time” of collegiate athletics, but this young man was just like the one who left Mountain View years ago.

There were so many questions I had for him as we ate. At length, we discussed things like the toughest place to play, his biggest adjustment from high school both on the court and academically, the Tar Heel basketball family, Final Four experiences, and so much more. Brandon’s answers were thoughtful, concise, and riveting. More than anything, he was so grateful for the opportunity that academics and basketball provided him to travel the world and do what he enjoys. In turn, Brandon inquired about me and my life happenings, Mrs. Janas, and the new Mountain View school building. As we concluded our lunch and discussion, I let him know how proud I was of him and all his life accomplishments thus far. We left lunch and headed our own ways afterward but are always connected as a teacher-student and now part of the Carolina Family. As I sauntered down Franklin Street, I reflected upon the experience and how incredible it is as a teacher to see your students grow up.

The biggest message I can share with you is to take advantage of the relationships you build with students and continue as ‘their’ teacher for life when the opportunity presents itself. I’ve been fortunate enough to remain connected with past students in many outstanding ways. Some help watch after my son away at college, others simply remind me of times in the classroom. I’ve even taught some of their children on occasion! The connections are not always great. Some were arrested for various offenses or found their way into unfortunate circumstances. Each of those leaves me with a little pain or guilt wondering “could I have done more?” Even those were students who I managed to build a positive relationship with in the classroom. As we all prepare for summer vacation this year, plan to connect with a former student and become ‘their’ teacher again. You might just have the chance to see things come full circle like I did.

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