“As a student-athlete, there are three main areas of life: 1) academics, 2) athletics, and 3) social life. But, you can only really do two of those three areas well! Which two do you think are most important?” I heard this stated by an NCAA Division 1 athlete guest speaker as I attended a cross …
Continue reading Technology and Life Balance: The Case of Esports
Joy. Providing students with meaningful experiences during physical education it's been a goal of mine this year. I have been learning, reading, and trying different ways to do that for the past few years, and one of the things that stuck out to me was to bring joyful experiences. I would like to thank the …
Continue reading The Power of Meaningful and Joyful Experiences
For the last twenty years I’ve focused my professional life on pedagogical change. First, mine and now other peoples and mine. For the last twelve years (or four thousand, six hundred and twenty-three consecutive days to be precise [as of 3rd May 2022]) I’ve reflectively journaled on that change. The key thing I think I’ve …
I’m walking on my Peloton treadmill in another class by an instructor that I’ve grown to like. He is young, energetic, engaging, and very humorous. He speaks with real honesty and seems very down to earth. His expressions, and mannerisms exude such warmth making our warmup less of a warmup and more like a simple …
I want to start out by sharing that I am by no means an expert on the topic of sketchnotes and visual note-taking. However, if you are anything like me and are constantly looking for new strategies to try with your students then sketchnotes might be worth a try. For several years I’ve tried to …
In my health classes I teach about stress relief. After having 3 children of my own, I realized that I needed to practice what I preach. I needed something for me, something to help relief stress. The first thing I started doing was origami. I did teach this practice in my health classes. It was …
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my former student, Jackson, for giving me the nudge I needed to start opening up my eyes. But first, let’s go back 20 some odd years in time. My principal had just returned from an administrative retreat. She called a meeting with the faculty to let …
I recently read a tweet where someone held the belief that period blood could be held in, just like urine. It reminded me that often if it’s not something you personally deal with, a person doesn’t get taught a lot about how menstruation works. Period education is for everyone. Regardless of your gender, regardless of …
On June 1, 2020, I woke up to the room spinning, with a headache that made me feel like my head was going to burst at the seams and a brain fog that clouded both my thoughts and memory. I didn’t think too much of it at that exact moment, so I put on my …
Launched in 2020, over 100 educators and authors have joined in with the last two #microblog events here on slowchathealth.com and they have been a huge success, lasting a full month and featuring voices from across the globe. Sharing bite-sized blog posts of approximately 500 words, there have been submissions from experienced bloggers, first-time writers, …
At the beginning of the pandemic, my wife and I were preparing for our son Owen to have open heart surgery at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital to repair a heart defect. Owen was born in October and spent the first month of his life in the NICU after having surgery to create an …
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 …
I probably don’t need to point out 2020 has been a challenge for all, or the 20-21 school year didn’t quite live up to hopes and expectations. A timeline of adapting to digital teaching, fast forward professional development to keep the head above water, and remaining in an unsatisfactory state of fluidity could top the …
