The thought of returning to the classroom full time, after 18 months of remote and hybrid teaching filled me with both excitement and anxiety. I'm ALWAYS excited to return to school after a summer of family time, self-care, reading, and personal professional development. The anxiety? That was something new. Not knowing how the school community …
Like many during the pandemic school year, I found myself teaching from multiple rooms in my house and unable to visit my local gym, or generally workout freely and effectively. Also like many, I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Peloton bike, and I haven't looked back ever since. I am now more …
Continue reading 5 Reasons Why Working Out With Peloton Makes me a Better Teacher
In advance of a new school year, is your classroom environment set, with behavioral expectations and social contracts laminated and proudly displayed so that students know exactly what they need to do in order to meet your pre-set expectations? Has your 'classroom cathedral' already been built, ready for new inhabitants? No, mine neither. I don't …
Continue reading The Importance of Creating a Full Value Contract with Your Students
The return to school means that I no longer have the lazy summer, self-care focused morning routine that has helped me recover from the toughest year of my career. My typical summer morning involved cooking oatmeal the 15 minute old-fashioned way, working my way through an entire carafe of coffee(!), and reading. When I'm not …
Teaching is nothing without relationships. That might not sound particularly groundbreaking..but it took me quite a few years before I realized that. It took me even longer to realize that relationships with ALL students were important and that without being 100% there for 100% of my students, I wasn't as good a teacher as I …
With only three states explicitly including youth with disabilities within their sex education requirements, one can't help but be concerned that we have made little progress since Waxman (1994) stated that "No group in this country faces the sort of sexual and reproductive restrictions disabled people do; we are frequently [prevented from] learning about sexuality, …
Continue reading Teaching Sex Education to Young People With Disabilities
Health data is all around us, perhaps more so than at any other time in my teaching career. The never-ending stream of coronavirus data became addictive early in the pandemic but soon became a ghoulish fixation before I had to intentionally stop pouring over the numbers. However, with information on vaccination rates, plus news articles …
Whether I'm teaching health, or physical education, one thing is certain...my students want to learn more about mental health. The pandemic has tested their mental and emotional skills in the same way that it has for us as educators, and it's important that we address this situation. This blog post considers the role that schools …
This week's blog post is the first in a series of three posts from health educators working with Candor Health Education, an Illinois-based nonprofit organization that educates students, their trusted adults and communities on the topics of drug and sex education. I think you'll enjoy what Sandi Metcalfe has to say about the role that …
As women's sports advocate for greater recognition and support from mainstream media I have recently become more aware of powerful voices from female athletes and their allies than ever before. With the Tokyo Olympics almost upon us, our media feed runs the risk of once again being flooded with the quadrennial acknowledgement of women's sporting …
After a school year that challenged me more than any other, and brought me close to exhaustion, I closed my laptop (shed a tear) and turned my attention towards a summer of self-care. In addition to quality family time, listening to music, and riding my Peloton, reading is one of my favorite acts of self-care, …
As P.E. teachers and other K-12 school P.A. leaders head off for a well-deserved summer break and prepare to refresh and restore their craft for the “more normal” school year ahead, there are at least three opportunities for you to have a positive impact on kids in the fall. Some of the best P.E. leaders …
Continue reading 3 Crucial Jobs for P.E. Teachers that Aren’t in the Job Description
https://youtu.be/jMtC_7jkMRc To the Teacher Class of 2020/2021, Through the months of this pandemic, I have seen Health and Physical Education Teachers, Administrators, Association Boards, Lecturers, Professors come together like never before. Perhaps this shared common dilemma of meeting this historical moment with a combined mission of responding to a crises while maintaining a relevant learning …
What does it take to be and stay healthy? This past year has tested us all. It has taken the subject of health and made it a topic of discussion all day, every day.Yet many school districts have not seen health education as a top priority. The importance of Social and Emotional Learning has been …
Continue reading If Health Is a Priority, Then Health Ed Must Be a Priority
It all started in March 2020, my wife had to fly from our home in Hanoi to Bangkok for surgery. Due to covid, we knew we would not see each other again until at least the summer months. I was to be on my own throughout online learning for the rest of the year and …
People often look for new sources of health-related information, which are often aimed at behavior change. As you probably know, apps (i.e., applications) are software that can run on mobile devices. With increasing smartphone ownership, many users actively seek health information and app developers have responded by producing thousands of health-related apps. Nearly all smartphone …
Continue reading Health-related App Analysis Assignment through the Lens of Behavior Change Theories
April 1, 2021 The Well Family, 333 Panacea Avenue, PANGEA. WLD. 001 Re: Your children- Well, Ness (Grade 10A) and Well, Being (Grade 10B) Dear Well family, I write to advise the conclusion of investigations into the conduct of your children, Ness and Being. As advised in previous communications, these investigations were commenced in response …
Continue reading The Provocative Ponderings of a Perpetual Pessimist
As health teachers, we often feel like we are defending our subject matter because we are constantly advocating to help develop the whole child and their overall health. And, up until recently I felt the same thing. However, back in November I noticed a shift in my colleagues thought process because of the increased level …
Ask any teacher what their least favorite part of teaching is and the likely answer is “grading.” I know that’s my answer. I hate grading. Hate It! Hate It! Hate It! I used to spend hours writing lengthy comments only to learn that my students couldn’t read cursive handwriting. Then I worked to create specific …
While I sit in my covid bubble reflecting on Shape Up Illinois week 2021 and the ‘state of Physical Education and Health Education’ in the age of a pandemic, I am totally convinced that the time to become a Physical Education and Health Education advocate is now. I would venture to guess that the physical …
