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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Habits and attitudes. At its core, this is what teaching comes down to. Do you know how to break them? Do you know how to build them? How do you feel about the things you do every day? Are they… 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 ›
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 ›
To belong implies a selection was made. There was a choice and options. In my rugby years, making the Select Side was a sign of being elite. You were one of the best in your region. You were chosen from… 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 Three in a four-part series of relational examinations. Part One: Parents Part Two: Pets I never had any aspirations to be a teacher. I’d planned on becoming a physical therapist, but when it became clear that the training… Read more ›
Part Two in a four-part series of relational examinations. Part One: Parents I can think of no purer love than that of a dog for its person. They just want to be with, and play, and interact, and protect,… 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 ›
Physical Education classes have gotten bigger over the course of the pandemic. The powers that be have knowingly placed too many kids within too small an area. Like athletics, it seems to have a separate set of rules that allow… 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 ›
About 9p, while I was more than halfway to sleep, the power went out. I didn’t think much of it. It goes out every now and then, and it always comes back on within reason. When I woke, I peeked… Read more ›
Part One. Part Two. At a friend’s 40th birthday party, a question was asked of the four ladies in attendance. “If you had 72 hours left to live, how would you spend it?” I immediately knew my answer, but… 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 ›
The last several weeks of Quarter One had assignments based on defining care, creating change, and challenging accepted truths. If our beliefs shape behavior, then either place can act as a starting point to disturb or disrupt the other. Conversations… Read more ›
This is the third in a series of real-time, as it happens articles about leading online Physical Education. [Part one can be found here. Part Two can be found here.] We ended the last segment with a knowing need… Read more ›
Some quick context about the current teaching/ learning parameters of Distance Learning for the district I work for. 1. Block classes meet four times per week. There are four total classes per day, and teachers teach three of these sections… 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 ›
Thematic teaching offers an umbrella students can return to to make their own connections. It provides a constant amidst the chaos to formulate conclusions and test variables against. Stepping back and trying to see the bigger picture of my classes,… 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 ›
Matan Levkowich is a dancer, choreographer, and martial artist. Another of the incredible Israeli movers, he is able to pluck out threads from all the worlds he has immersed himself in and deliver them in practical form. He first blipped… 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 ›
I enjoy writing this blog. It helps me make sense of things. I can connect the dots and string the pieces together, ultimately braiding them into a larger understanding. I try to communicate as if I was asked what I… 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 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 ›
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 ›
The magic of the internet is that it can connect strangers through a virtual world. Search boxes help find commonality and mutual interests. What is even more encouraging is that people are interacting. There is far less fear in speaking… 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 ›
I’ve come across a lot of tag lines lately encouraging people to be winners. I wonder how motivating that is to most people. What does winning even mean? Does it mean you get the spoils? I’m not sure I want… Read more ›
I am a thirty-five year old Health and PE teacher at a high school in Oregon. Ten years ago I was that girl who played rugby. The time in between is when I seemed to figure everything out. I didn’t… Read more ›
Athletes are inherently selfish. They are constantly looking for that edge, for that workout or supplement that will keep their head bobbed among their peers. They want to be able to do more, so that by the law of 10,000… Read more ›