Environment is something that I strongly value. I am absolutely focused on creating a physical environment that matches the mood and vibe I want in my house, my bedroom, and maybe most importantly my classroom. I have spent the last 3 years putting together the classroom of my dreams. What started as an active seating …
Humans come in all shapes and sizes and in the interest of keeping our self-esteem high we sometimes accept or embrace our physical state even if it is decidedly unhealthy. How as educators do we address this conflict of accepting who you are physically vs. being mindful of the negative health effects that acceptance can …
Continue reading Does Body Acceptance Promote Health Indifference?
I just came back from a walk and was inspired to sit down and participate in this micro-blog activity. I am going to share a tradition that my father, Thomas L. Brophy, Jr. started in 2004. It was to start writing letters to the important people in his life and tell them what they meant …
Right now we are all navigating a period in our careers that may be a little scary, slightly uncertain and very different. No one is an expert, which is, in my opinion, the variable that has brought our community of health and physical education teachers even closer together. I can not put into words how …
Inspired by this tweet: https://twitter.com/MissMoPE1/status/1245000181013270529 About this time of year, eight years ago I was at my desk at work, with five piles of assignments to mark. I looked at the clock and it read 19:05. I thought it was time to go home and get some dinner. This was a normal occurrence. My job …
It’s 8 am and I’m rolling out of bed, listening to the sound of my sons discussing which colour plate is the best. My husband handles goalie duty, while simultaneously making coffee and eating his breakfast standing up. My entrance on the scene is like a well-orchestrated dance where he rolls out and hands me …
“Where our attention goes, our energy flows.” This statement comes from my favorite yoga teacher. I love it for this blog post because we want our teaching energy to go into the good stuff, but our attention often goes to the not-so-good stuff. If we change our attention, our energy will change, too. So, be …
Inspired Creativity When kids create their own play they aren't just engaging in activity that helps them move and get outside and get some exercise. They are also growing up, maturing and making calculated decisions. By creating games with friends, they are thinking outside the box and getting their innovative juices flowing. Not only are …
If ever there was a time to take a closer look at our students and their ability to differentiate between “real” and “fake” news, this is it. We are in the midst of constant dissemination of information from thousands of sources as we face one of the most unprecedented and unbelievably stressful times in our …
Continue reading Differentiating Between “Real” and “Fake” News in the Media
It goes without saying that health and physical educators (HPE) are accustomed to change and change on the fly. It is inevitable that there will be an assessment, assembly, drill of some sort- that you may or may not have been given notice to ahead of time- at multiple points during the school year. We …
“If he can find his authentic swing” Bagger Vance says to Hardy Greaves in the excellent film “Legend of Bagger Vance”. He’s talking about whether or not the main character, played by Matt Damon can rise up to his former greatness after a great set back. A must watch, but what does that have …
In health education we rightly focus on the personal. We emphasize ways to enhance individual health and well-being. In a world that is learning first-hand the limits of individualism, maybe it’s time to adjust our curriculum to recognize that personal health is directly tied to public health. And public health is all about our environmental, …
Amongst the litany of topics that came to mind at the outset of this writing, the lingering question I continuously returned to was, “What professional goal have I set for myself recently?” Skills-based health education brings into focus the adaptability and functionality of knowledge, with which we as educators attempt to pass on to our …
If you’re anything like me, you’ve heard of skills-based health education, you seem intrigued by skills-based health education, but you just don’t know where to start when designing a skills-based health education curriculum. When I was first introduced to skills-based health education, I thought “this seems so fun!”, “my students will love this!”, “I will …
Continue reading The Beginners Guide to Skills-Based Health Education
Cheerleader. Champion. Supporter. Advocate. I want to invite you -- yes, you -- to put one of these words next to your name, like this: “ __________ (your name) is a champion.” Feels good, right? Now imagine if it said “__________ (your name) is a champion for comprehensive sexuality education.” How does that feel? Is …
My strongest memory of sex education at school was watching a water birth video. It was terrifying and didn’t really set up a good environment for learning about sex. I remember leaving the class with so many unanswered questions. Sexuality and relationship education plays an important role in developing a healthy relationship with sex. I …
Continue reading 5 Things I Wish Had Been Covered in Sex Education
I’m an independent sex educator. I work with kids from kindergarten through college and the adults who take care of them. I meet with at least 100 different groups in any given school year and usually have pretty limited time to create a safe and welcoming learning environment before it’s time to really dig into …
Continue reading Getting #SexuallySmarter One Classroom Word at a Time
“Where are my students?”, you wonder, as the bell rings for fifth period. After a call to the office, you realize that you were left off the staff e-mail (again) alerting you to the assembly in the gym during fifth period. Ah, another case of “The Forgotten Health Teacher”. We are “non-essential” in the world …
Continue reading The Renaissance of Health Education in 2020
When you tell a group of 8th graders that they will be required to...actually, I tell them that they “get to” but they read between the lines...read a book, an ENTIRE book, for health class, the moans and groans are quite abundant. Then come “This isn’t English class,” and “I hate reading.” The occasional, “YES!” …
Any parent who has initiated “the talk” with their child has experienced qualms about what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. It would be awesome to channel a sex-pert during these talks and merely let the words flow succinctly, accurately, and in a manner that eliminates the inevitable eyeball …
Continue reading It’s Not Funny – Or is it? Using Humor to Tackle the Talk
#slowchathealth 