Physical Education outside the school walls

Today I had a high school female, junior, approach me and ask for more information concerning stability balls and medicine balls. She were not satisfied with her current workout and wanted a broader variety of information. I was able to give her two DVDs from Juan Carlos Santana on those specific topics. Isn't that exactly we want as teachers? Our students seeking us out for further information about a topic they have evaluated and determined isn't meeting their specific needs? I was floored and invigorated, I still am as I sit down and write this post some two hours later.

If a student can apply specific content knowledge outside of the classroom at a local fitness facility, does my class have to meet within the traditional school model/structure/walls? I don't think so. With the vast amount of information on the internet (we are a 1:1 school this year for our secondary students) and for a student to approach their teacher for guidance was amazing.

With things like wikispaces, ITunes U, UTube, etc. why couldn't a student take a physical education class at their local fitness facility? As a teacher I think you would provide them with what you would want to be covered and figure out an assessment for them to determine if it was completed or how it fits into their overall fitness goals.

Who have you impacted today? The girl who came to me for information concerning her personal physical fitness.

Setting the Stage

I am getting tired of hearing "can't we do anything fun?" during my morning physical education classes. I view it as a simple frame of mind. But obviously what I find fun isn't the same thing as my students. Never mind that overweight/obesity statistics have continued to rise and the prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes is increasing throughout the adolescent population. "Fun" is such a relative term. "Fun" to me, is a realization that one's life will drastically change after high school and team sports will falter to individualized workouts whenever they can be fit it between pizza and studying or working. As a secondary physical education teacher I believe that one must leave school with a wide variety of "tools" to utilize to prevent problems from arising. Stability balls, medicine balls, resistance bands, resistance training, circuit training creation, etc. are all things one can fall back on to meet the recommended daily workouts. Or if one's tools have gathered rust or broken, to be able to access valid information to better their livelihood. Who am I to think that in today's 4G world, kids have the patience to properly plan and participate in an approved individualized workout? To those who are, I thank you!

"Fun" to me is taking steps to prevent disease from setting in, instead of reacting to it once it rears its ugly head. Physical education has transformed since I was in high school, mid-late 1990s. Gone, or modified, are the traditional team sports and individualized personal fitness is king. Don't get me wrong, it is easy to play kickball and dodgeball and rationalize how it meets NASPE standards. Not much prep time there. It has been my mission to bring a non-traditional approach to my physical education classes, but it has been met with resistance.

In future posts I will share my thoughts on what I have been doing for the past five years, and where I believe my classroom should be headed by combining scientific research and best practices. It might mean that all I know to be is wrong. But until recently I have been scared to face that possibility. It is time to stop thinking I know a lot, what I do know and implement is backed by science, but is that enough to prevent one of my students from becominmg a statistic?

Who have I impacted lately? Those who have applied anything I have taught them, and for those who just might in the future.