Teaching is often treated as a problem to be solved. Pick the activity. Link it to a standard(s). Sequence the lesson. Measure performance.

In physical education, this can show up as perfectly timed lessons, detailed progressions, and tightly structured plans … everything mapped out in advance: the day, the week, the month, the year … all ready to go. And to be clear, that work matters. Intentional planning is NOT optional—it is essential. Our depth of content knowledge, our understanding of development, and our knowledge of our students all shape the experiences we design. This is what allows us to teach with purpose.

But what if the tension we feel isn’t because we haven’t planned enough—but because we’re trying to solve the wrong kind of problem? Drawing on ideas from Arthur Brooks’ recent book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness (2026), there is a distinction between what is complicated and what is complex.

Complicated problems can be solved. They have clear steps, eventual outcomes, and once you figure them out, you have the answer and can often replicate the solution.

Complex problems are different. They are dynamic, relational, contextual, and constantly changing. They cannot be reduced to a formula because the conditions are never exactly the same. A formula or strategy certainly helps, but it often gives us a false sense of control. As soon as we think we have it figured out, something changes, immediately showing that we don’t.

Teaching is not complicated. It is complex. We can plan a lesson for tomorrow, grounded in everything we know about our students. We can design tasks, anticipate challenges, and think carefully about what might support meaningful experiences.

Intentionality and purposeful planning are critical. But we don’t plan, so we have certainty. We plan to clarify our purpose because we don’t yet know what our students will need when they walk into the space. We don’t know how they will feel, how they will respond, what will resonate, and what will fall flat. And yet, when we treat the plan as something to deliver, we risk missing what is actually happening in front of us.

In Meaningful Physical Education, the goal is not to execute a perfect plan. It is to plan intentionally so that we are prepared to respond. We plan with care—so we can notice more. So, we can interpret what we’re seeing. So, we can make decisions in the moment that are grounded in something deeper than instinct alone.

We design. And then we give it a try. We observe. We ask questions. We listen. Not to confirm our assumptions—but to understand what students are actually experiencing. And then we respond. Sometimes that means extending a task. Sometimes it means changing it. Sometimes it means letting go of what we planned altogether.

This is the work. Not solving teaching. Not arriving at a place where we finally have it all figured out. But learning to live in the complexity of it. To be deeply intentional in our planning and genuinely responsive in our teaching. To be confident in what we know—and aware of when we don’t. Because we will never solve the “teaching problem.” And that’s not a failure. That’s what makes it meaningful.

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. Kristi Mally, the author of this post. Kristi is a Professor at Winona State University where she “learns and grows with the most amazing future professionals)” 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:

Intersectionality in Health Education: Leading with Love and Equity by Dr. Cara Grant

Intentional Intentions by Dr. Kristi Mally

Maybe Hacky Sack Is Peak Meaningful PE by Andy Milne