Imagine you get to be the person that helps someone affirm their calling into a particular profession. Imagine that profession has impacts on each and every one of the 50 million students in today’s K-12 Schools. Yes, Health Education and Physical Education Teacher Education Faculty have the best jobs in the world, but we are not the only ones. You too can be an Agent of Enthusiasm for those still finding their way no matter what your role is within the field from future professional to retiree.

Future Professionals – As future professionals you have the opportunity to share your passion in a number of different venues. Your spheres of influence are first on college campuses and then out in the K-12 schools. As an ambassador for the profession each time you share about your goals, the program you are in that is helping you to achieve those goals it has the potential to activate a peer or one of your students. Going that extra mile and giving them a NUDGE of encouragement to take their talents into the best profession around can help put them on track to going to college and declaring Health Education and/or Physical Education as a major. I have seen this happen several times here at Southern Connecticut State University. One example was from one of our majors who was the captain of the Ultimate Frisbee Team. One of his teammates, an education major, was struggling in his classes, and the physical education major nudged him to think about staying in education but switching his focus from English to Physical Education. Now a couple months later the new physical education major in the accelerated pathway to a School Health Master’s Degree has declared his calling and is thriving.

Early Career Teacher – At each phase of your career we can be the bridge. Like in the last example, early career teachers can reach back to their alma mater to help those in Health Education and Physical Education Teacher Education Programs affirm their calling. “They are already in teacher preparation programs, why do they need to affirm their calling? They already made the choice.”, you ask. Well, not everyone who has declared a major has affirmed their calling. Some students find their way to the major for less than altruistic reasoning. Seeing the next phase of life embodied in an energetic early career teacher like you helps them to see what the next phase of life could look like. A life of purpose and meaning with potential for major impacts on students, schools, and communities. Consider your role as a recent graduate as perhaps the most import link in the chain as you show the next generation the next step. Your points of contact our visits to classes, special events and awards ceremonies, as well as at state and national conferences. But don’t just show up….SHINE Bright. We can’t always see the next landing of the staircase, but it starts with the next step.

Seasoned Teachers – Let’s face it, sometimes seasoned teachers are our own worst enemy in fostering the future. Many burnt out, tired of the public school system, marginalized and beat up teachers become advocates for not entering the profession. I am not saying it isn’t warranted. Are their horrible parts of the US school system? Yes. Do we need change? Yes. With that said we have a choice; we can choose to be part of that future and build it together or move on. For some, you’re calling is somewhere else and you are ready to move on. For those in the classroom your role in inspiring a calling lies in who you are and like the future professionals the opportunities to nudge abound. I know you know what I am talking about. When a student “gets it”. When you have that student who is a leader in your classes that fosters a positive approach amongst not just their friend group, but the whole class. They have that energy that spills over into their peers and helps create a positive, fun, productive and meaningful experience. The other student who is advocating for healthy school environments, with access to active spaces, healthy food options and vegetable gardens. It is you as their role model that can speak to their future as an educator. It is you that can inspire a dream and CALL OUT Their Calling.

Finally, it’s cliche but FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS – Sometimes, we sacrifice our professional aspirations for other legitimate dreams in our family and community lives. Life has its ebbs and flows and sometimes it is a boomerang of sorts. For some of you, at these varying phases of your physical education career you want to be that person that gives them that nudge. For some of you, you have wanted to be the one at the university to be there in those moments as future professionals affirm their calling, but you have put it off. If this is you, I ask you to consider if it’s time to tend to that dream once again or is your role exactly where you need to be right now?

Is your Calling…..Calling?

My hope is that this MicroBlog has helped you reaffirm your commitments to your students and our field. We are each stewards of the field, if we so choose to take on this responsibility. As we continue to stoke the fire to have health education and physical education teachers and classes assume their rightful places in our society, I hope you too will consider taking on the identity of an ambassador for our field and its future. Thank you for all you do in the moments of your daily life that help our field fulfil its full potential and as we head into the summer it is my wish that you receive the rest, recreation, and relaxation you so truly deserve.

PS: Your calling may not be to pursue a doctorate that puts you into position to work with future professionals, but maybe it is? If so, here is some great information to get you started https://petedoctoralprograms.weebly.com/ . Not ready to make that big of a jump? There are also other opportunities to foster the future that can be done while maintaining your current role, so please feel free to reach out to me, even though I do not work at a PETE Doctorate granting university, I am always open to help people understand the options and the process, as well as connect them with others in the field that can help them continue down the rabbit hole. Kniper1@southernct.edu

This microblog post was a featured post in #slowchathealth’s #microblogmonth event. You can search for all of the featured posts here. Please do follow each of the outstanding contributors on social media (including Dr. Bob Knipe, the author of this post) and consider writing a microblog post of your own to be shared with the global audience of slowchathealth.com

Pair this post with the following:

Who Owns the Magical Moments? by  Dr. Bob Knipe

Advocate like a Physical Education Teacher by Lisa Paulson

B.A.M. An Educational Journey of Empowerment by Cindie Cortinas-Vogt

Have you read the latest Book of the Month recommendation?