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 ›
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 ›
I define performance for the purpose of this article as, “the peak execution of a skill at a particular point in time.” Though sometimes cooperative, there is most often an element of competition involved. For most athletes and artists, the… 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 ›
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 ›
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 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 ›
It has become wildly apparent that neglect leads to destruction. The planet, the houseless, bodies, trauma, young people. ( I could add the elderly or just ‘people’ there as well, but older people tend to have and want to keep,… 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 ›
Feature photo caption: “A picture of my brother in PE class today.” I wonder how many people within the work can admit it isn’t working. Kids can say it. Parents can say it. Academics who perhaps used to teach… Read more ›
This piece serves as a follow up to “The Problem with Meaningful Phys Ed“. Amidst a pandemic, the question that kept driving what we did and how we did it was, “What matters?” Weirdly, and almost embarrassingly, this did… 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 ›
From October 17th, 2020, a month into the school year and six months into the COVID pandemic. SLIDESHOW PDF
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 ›
Typically, when I write, I try to give an overview of a completed loop of learning: this is where I started, this is where I went, and this is what I found. As a public educator in the midst the… Read more ›
I received an email from Daniela Welzel, whom I do not know. It was obviously of the bulk variety, not even a name in the greeting, and it touted its magnitude and asked if I was interested. I didn’t know… 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 ›
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 ›
Three years in the making, I became clear on the name for my class and what I hoped it could offer students. Up until this time, I got the same kind of kid – ones who prioritized learning and understanding… Read more ›
For a very long time, I blunted my sensitivity. It left me open to being hurt. I had to learn not to be responsive to being receptive. I adjusted my interactions with the world to protect me from it. My… Read more ›
For many reasons and convergences of fate, I recently took on the assignment of coaching high school volleyball. It was a sport I knew very little about and had the least experience coaching and playing. It was also a position… Read more ›
It’s wretched. Absolutely awful. Carrying a heavy pack for miles and miles and never being quite sure when the end will come. I never notice my environment. I am fixated on the trail, the next step, and the necessity to… Read more ›
The nature of hurt is a protective hardening. It heeds and is hypersensitive to perceived warnings of “don’t”, so much so that it often re-wires them as “can’t”. Doubt barricades them into safe worlds where they are capable and can… 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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Being interested lets a concept captivate you. It makes learning effortless. The desire to know is sought out. It involves the curious in an unconditioned quest for more. Something. Anything other than what currently is. Doing becomes a compelling deed,… 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 ›
Information is a tease that lures you to attach yourself with a particular paradigm. The consequence of consuming the free tastes is that you are left deficient. Once sampled, you’re not entirely sure what you just had, but you do… 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 ›
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 ›
“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 ›
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 ›
Movement is communication. It is the giving and receiving of signals, of input and outputs. When you watch someone move, whether it be dancing or jogging or getting out of a chair, the manner in which they carry themselves and… Read more ›
featured photo credit: theindianschool.in I’ve had the good fortune to work at an arts school the last eight years. The students, many disenfranchised with Physical Education in the past, were open and willing to trying different things. I’m not… 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 ›
My father takes pride in being a worker. He grew up poor in Italy and emigrated to the U.S. when he was 16. He had $20 in his pocket and no grasp of the English language. Somehow, though, like so… 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 ›
feature photo credit, Moshe Feldenkrais and Magic Johnson: feldenkraismethod.com People want to be self-sufficient. There is an immense satisfaction in being able to pinpoint what is wrong and develop a strategy in how to fix it. The process of correction… Read more ›
For a very long time, my ability to do work was my defining feature. I needed to get stuff done to prove myself capable and worthwhile. When I was younger my Mom made us chores lists. She wrote them on… Read more ›
Dear high school athletes, Sport can teach you a lot of things. It can help you understand self-belief and show you how to contribute to a group. It can make you feel as if you belong. It can provide you… Read more ›
Losing weight won’t make you a hero. It’ll trap you in a way. To keep it off or keep up the facade that because you’re thin everything’s great. If you’re assuming that reaching that body weight goal is going to… Read more ›
It’s become very apparent that there is a lack of ‘want’ in our younger generation. I don’t dare say they’re not dreamers, but is seems they are content to live in a world of dreams while their reality is steeped in… Read more ›
You’ve done it. You completed all the necessary requirements and have finished. You. Are. A graduate. photo credit: govloop.com Now what? There’s a looming elephant in the room that nobody seems to be talking about. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO… Read more ›
When I was thirteen I had a poster of Michael Jordan on my wall. I left him to go practice often. I didn’t see him as the icon the world made him out to be. He was just a guy… Read more ›
Athletes all have the same goal. It’s handed to them the first day of little league or church basketball practice. Get better at this. They’re given a coach, schedule, space, and playmates. All they have to do is show up.… Read more ›
There are a lot of camps in the fitness world. There are the lifters, the runners, the yogis, the crossfitters, the athletes, the extreme ethusiasts, etc. etc. etc. Generally speaking, each tribe believes their method of training is superior. That’s… Read more ›
In an age where fitness has become it’s own competitive sport, are we treating our bodies as a way of marketing our worth? The internet is riddled with ripped physiques and feats of strength and speed and power. But why… Read more ›
When you look around, you’d guess that the desire to be attractive drives all human motivation. It goes well beyond looking good. It’s becoming what you think other people want you to be. It’s harboring secrets so intensely that the… Read more ›
To get yourself out of a rut you have to want something. You have to want that something enough to elicit a change. This is no easy task. Truth be told, people get comfortable staying where they are, even if… Read more ›
People who train regularly like to measure things. A LOT of things. They have a plan and they have to make sure the plan is working. They need proof they’re getting better. The objective is to set as many personal… 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 ›