I always feel so sad when I watch the evolution of what youth ‘training’ has become. Led by adults who have forgotten/lost/never-had-the-chance-to play, we are applauding the work our kids do. We reward effort and discipline instead of creativity and… Read more ›
For those that might not know, Mr. Miyagi taught a teenage boy martial arts through a series of long-term tasks. He had him wax his cars, sand the floor, paint the house siding, and then paint the fence. Each one… Read more ›
The PE class I created was carefully called Games & Practice. The goal is to develop skills and then utilize those skills in a larger, faster context. Sometimes this means adding people, sometimes this means creating a more complex task,… Read more ›
Part One of this series looked at working with youth. My Dad is going to turn 78 this year. He is someone that I love and that I know loves me. Sometimes a close relationship can get in the… Read more ›
Whether you know what to do or don’t know what to do, these behaviors have been learned (and taught). The environment one finds themselves in caters to these patterns, and is socially accepted (and encouraged). Our habits define who we… Read more ›
At the very beginning of the pandemic, I posted and article that asked, “How does one know what to do?” In it, I used the example of Kevin McCallister (via Home Alone) mimicking ‘adulting’ after his initial indulgence into… Read more ›
At its core, this get together was a homage to Adarian Barr. It was about curious and capable mortals grasping at genius, and that genius laying out his latest findings and figurings in a simple yet thorough process of feeling and… Read more ›
Three simple steps towards a state of satisfaction: 1. Get hurt. Physically, this is a no brainer. That skill or peak performance will not seem as important as getting out of pain. Mental-emotionally, this might be even more obvious.… Read more ›
There is an assumption that young people are able-bodied. It is the gift of youth, the privilege of being newer to this world designed to break you down. It has become incredibly apparent, though, particularly in this last semester, that… Read more ›
To recap Part One: Create a sense of intrigue Provide multiple points of entry Establish pockets of safety Ask instead of assume This sh*t’s hard (which is why so few do it) After the weight shift lesson , three of… Read more ›
When planning a lesson that is skills based, you must account for multiple points of entry. In public education, everybody and every body must be able to find some success. You also must be able to do what you are… Read more ›
I am the only female in my high school PE department. It’s been this way for 20 years. The one time another female came in she tried to out-alpha the football coach and got removed from teaching PE and placed… Read more ›
Amongst other things, COVID-19 revealed how fragile the American educational system is, and how unadaptable it is to changing and evolving times. Designed to churn out compliant workers, it conflicts with the world around them — a burgeoning economy of… Read more ›
Part Four in a four-part series of relational examinations. Part One: Parents Part Two: Pets Part Three: Students The definition of peer that I most relate to is “looking at”. The people who were supposed to be ‘like… Read more ›
Part One in a four-part series of relational examinations. The family is your first introduction into relationships. They are the constant you are surrounded with, the base in which all other units are compared. The two people that set… Read more ›
Each of us resides in our own world. It may be one we created, one we filtered out from experience, or one that revolves around our investments in habit and attention. Once established and found comfortable, it becomes a prism… Read more ›
This is a question that requires more probing questions. Must there be a unifying variable of sameness? If so, what is it? The age of the people? The thematic subject? What actions are expected? How about the time of day? … Read more ›
As I start to look outward in my professional career, I keep running into this study about Meaningful Experiences in Physical Education and Youth Sport. In it, “five themes were identified as central influences to young people’s meaningful experiences in… Read more ›
[Part One can be found here.] “The Ghost’s of Chris’s Present” Individuals are my jam. They are complex in a singular way. It is easy to give them my undivided attention. It is easy to gather data points. Instead… Read more ›
Alternative title, “The Ghost of Chris’s Past” [Part One of a three part series to help me better understand and create community.] Being social has always been a function of sports. Teammates congregated for practice and games. I wanted… Read more ›
From the perspective of someone looking for you, you will be found more readily if you are specialized. A handy man might be able to fix your furnace, but a furnace guy definitely could (should?). And yet, if I needed… Read more ›
I write this still teetering on the edge of letting go of a belief that I thought defined me. I never wanted to be anyone but myself, and lived in accordance with that desire. And yet, if I try to… Read more ›
How do people know what to do when their structure of doing is removed? If they had choice and input to create the structure they lived within, and it served them well — fostering security and growth — they would… Read more ›
This hurts. The most common reaction is to stop using it or doing that. It’s even the advice of many medical professionals. Rest, it is assumed, is a cure all. But what happens when this magic pill doesn’t work? When… Read more ›
The following video drummed up tons of interest in Bal-A-Vis-X over the past year: It’s how I was made aware of it. I was tagged via facebook, twice. While certainly intriguing and catchy, these edits of action do not… Read more ›
Kids on a playground at recess choose their environment. They enjoy it because there are no expectations — nothing has to be done nor are they confined to a singular place. They can be around people or take space for… Read more ›
I really enjoy completing tasks. There is nothing too small or menial for the to-do list. Caring for my immediate environment involves constant problem seeking to avoid the need for large-scale problem solving. If I know what and where the… Read more ›
How does your ability to care for something affect how much you can enjoy it? When the yard is full of weeds you can’t pull and awry branches you can no longer trim, do you begin to despise the home… Read more ›
Knowing grounds us. It keeps us on firm footing, aligning our steps in certainty. We are familiar with the route and look at our phones along the way. This compass does not compel us. It is routine and habitual. Believing… Read more ›
Interest dictates pretty much everything. It is the neck that turns the head and keeps curious eyes fixed. At its most illuminating and significant, it attracts the onlooker into their own inner workings. Believe that you are both interesting and… Read more ›
The following is part two of my course notes and findings from Stress, Movement, and Pain. As practitioners seeking to help bio-psycho-social organisms, we have to be able to read, analyze, and gather information from all three dimensions. The… Read more ›
A system is a method of getting particular results. It needs individual interpretation and application, however, to keep it alive and viable. Without an infusion of self, both the system and the user remain static. Integrated, everything evolves. Value lies… Read more ›
If I learned one thing growing up in the Chicago suburbs, it’s that lazy people are really, really frowned upon. Being worth something meant you did something. You contributed; to the house, the team, the school, the community. Willingly making… Read more ›
The ego has many layers and interpretations. It can signify a sense of self, the definition of “I”, and/or the determination of esteem or importance. A psychoanalytical description fans this into, “the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious… Read more ›
Three months into the new school year, everything seems easier. As encouraging as my findings from the first year were, I wanted to further minimize my influence over their minds. To instigate thinking, one must ask provocative questions that the… Read more ›
There is a huge benefit to feeling like an outsider. You learn to trust yourself. Your different feels correct. You become excellent at observing and sifting, and finding your own truth. For a long time I mistook my almost constant… Read more ›
Being a public educator means you will never be without students. The caveat is that many won’t want to be there. Shaped by a past experience of dodgeballs to the face and timed miles and pacer tests, Physical Education was… Read more ›
Doing without knowing. Playing, creating, learning. Adjusting and adapting. Describing Fighting Monkey is an act in organizing verbs. Everything overlaps and intertwines and is a wonder. The only certainty you are left with is that you have experienced something good… Read more ›
“I’m going to explore the depths of the ocean.” “You’re gonna what?” “I’m going to get into this magical pressure suit, close myself off to the known world, and look for cool stuff.” “Why would you want to do… Read more ›
I live a charmed existence. I get to play with kids and problem solve painful movement with adults. Familiar with the importance of each, I also teach teens about pain and guide adults toward rediscovering play. I step between the… Read more ›
Before we are funneled into a certain way of being, we believe we can do anything. We want to try everything because we have no idea what we can’t do. We are confident without realizing or understanding what confident is.… Read more ›
You are willing to explore when you feel safe and confident. Safety comes from recognizing your limits and being able to measure and manipulate risk. Confidence comes from knowing what you’re doing and trusting in your ability to adapt. Experience… Read more ›
I’ve been teaching PE for thirteen years. When I entered, I did what those around me were doing. I had been an athlete. I had great fun and success through sport, and I wanted to share this experience with the… Read more ›
As practioners and coaches, teachers and students, we are constantly seeking out information to make us better at what we are trying to do. We stalk and search. If only we could see and know, then we could do. Despite… Read more ›
feature image photo credit: Alexander Yakoviev via freeyork.org “Re-creation develops the artistry of ‘finding the how’. Re-creation allows helpful acts to be reproduced. It infuses YOU into the creative process: solving problems, creating alternatives, and granting whatever time… Read more ›
“Translation allows for otherwise separate entities to synapse and communicate.” I have been a teacher for thirteen years and a movement therapist for five. As I toggle through the two professions, an unlikely blend has taken place. I find… Read more ›
“To enjoy the process you have to re-frame desired results.” Give a kid a list of tasks to do, and you’ll find yourself with one unhappy kid. Give an adult a checklist, and they transform into blissful busyness. One… Read more ›
Finding and being able to engage in what you’re passionate about is touted as the end all and be all of existence. Though loving what you do can lead to a love of self, it doesn’t quite translate into feeling… Read more ›
feature photo credit: telegraph.co.uk Work has always made me feel accomplished. I did stuff simply for the sake of getting it done. Checking off a box or crossing off a project was immensely satisfying. Afterwards, I waited anxiously, bouncing my… Read more ›
As a young athlete, I did whatever my coach told me without asking questions. I rewound video tape of Michael Jordan again and again to get the footwork right. As I aged, I accepted and attempted to perform summer programs… Read more ›
There are two ways to leave something — choosing or being forced. The decision to walk away from something is based on faith and competence. There are few things more empowering than making plans to leave and following through with… Read more ›
This is an ode to mothers everywhere. Your ability to give and withstand suffering makes you the most exceptional people on earth. The following is one daughter’s account of how her mother shaped her, and how knowing her story put… Read more ›
The dirt must have confidence. It’s capable of so many things! Even if no one notices and it doesn’t look like it’s working, it gets some pretty amazing stuff done. It holds up the entire world, grows plants, supplies food,… Read more ›
featured photo credit: jimmy nelson, beforethey.com Humans are hard-wired for connection. Brene Brown’s fantastic work continues to dig into this truth. The purpose of connection is not to simply fit in; it’s to belong. The difference is immense. Fitting in is… Read more ›
As anecdoted earlier, I am someone who likes to practice alone. I love the control it affords me. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, for as long as I want. I get to be at the center of… Read more ›
When I was in the sixth grade I tried out for the pom squad. I was never really girly, and this seemed to be what girls did, so I figured I’d give it a try. Perhaps this was something girly… Read more ›