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REASONS WHY WE MUST BE GOOD ROLE MODELS
Teaching Virtues by Walking the Walk!
Written by Cathrine Himbergs, professor at California
State University at Chico
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The ideal outcome of physical education
is a physically educated person, which
includes being active and fit. I believe
most physical educators, their university
professors, and the public would agree
with this statement, and it is expressed
through the NASPE standards. The arguments
start when the “how” questions
are asked. How do we guide students
in the process of becoming physically
active and healthy for life? How do
we help students develop the skills,
knowledge, and dispositions they need
to enjoy physical activity now and when
they exit our programs? How do we help
students become physically educated
people who have the skills, know the
“stuff,” do participate
regularly in physical activity, are
physically fit, and value physical activity
for its contributions to health, well-being,
and enjoyment of life?
Hundreds of articles, books, presentations,
and workshops, have answered these “HOWs”
in different ways. In this editorial
I present my point of view on one aspect
of the “how” that I believe
is crucial: being a positive role model
by being physically active and fit according
to health-related criteria. I present
this view not only as an educator with
some K-12 teaching experience, but also
as a parent and advocate for quality
physical education. I will end with
a few ideas for how we can avoid making
excuses and hold each other accountable
for being physically active and fit
teachers, teacher educators, and future
teachers.
Being a positive role model means different
things to different people, but for
physical educators it must include modeling
the virtues that are vital to developing
and staying with a healthy, active lifestyle.
Schools and teachers have a tougher
job than ever helping students develop
desirable human virtues because divorce
and two working parents result in little
time for the important details of raising
children. Virtues such as honesty, integrity,
commitment, diligence, dignity, enthusiasm,
excellence, moderation, perseverance,
reliability, respect, responsibility,
self-control, sincerity, and truthfulness
are not always being taught at home.
Physical education is an ideal place
to teach these virtues, and many of
them are crucial pieces that help make
up the physically-educated-person puzzle.
Before I go on, it might be a good
idea that I admit to some of my biases:
- It is the responsibility
of all teachers, regardless of the
subject they teach, to be good role
models for their students.
- There is
NO excuse for being a physical educator
who does not participate regularly
in physical activity, sufficient for
development of health-related fitness
(modified, of course, for injuries
and disabilities). Too many people
focus on what they cannot do rather
than what they can do. If my student
who is a paraplegic can meet health-related
fitness criteria and be a skilled
wakeboarding athlete, I can get out
and go for a brisk walk even if it
rains. If my student who is morbidly
obese can face this fact and start
the journey toward lifelong activity
and fitness, I can go to yoga when
my back is tired. No excuses accepted!
- Being active
and fit does not automatically make
you a good teacher. I know fit and
active physical education teachers
that I would not want to teach my
children. Likewise, I know overweight,
inactive teachers who teach quality,
standards-based physical education.
If I had to choose, I would pick the
latter over the fit and active drill
sergeant-types for my children. Developmentally
appropriate practices trump all, but
why should we have to choose the lesser
of two “evils?"
- I believe
it is tougher for the “boot-camp”
style fitness freak to become a teacher
of quality physical education than
it would be for the overweight and
unfit physical education teacher,
who is otherwise committed to quality
physical education, to become active
and fit.
- Fitness
development is only one of six NASPE
standards, and I do not believe it
is the one to focus on in
our classes if we want to help children
become active for life. We are not
personal trainers. We are educators.
Our classes should be teaching students
how to develop the self-management
skills, and supporting virtues that
help them develop activity habits
that last. We should build confidence
in students’ abilities, and
we should make sure physical education
and activity are enjoyable, meaningful
experiences. The hope is that lifelong
physical activity habits that promote
fitness will be the result. It’s
a little like the “teaching
the hungry how to fish instead
of just feeding them fish” argument.
- Too many
physical education professionals focus
(for themselves) on one or two components
of physical fitness and leave out
the rest. The definition of health-related
physical fitness includes cardiovascular
endurance, muscular strength and endurance,
flexibility and body composition.
Physical education professionals should
be able to find the specific age-related
standards for themselves, and they
should possess the knowledge to be
able to modify these as needed if
injuries or disabilities are present.
They should be able to do this for
each of the fitness components.
Now that you are aware of some of my
biases you can read on with a smile,
knowing that we come from the same “place,"
or curiously dissect all that I have
to say to formulate your argument against
my point of view. As long as you read
on and discuss this with at least one
colleague, you will have made the hours
I spent writing this editorial worthwhile.
So let me present to you my 4 reasons
why physical education teachers must
be active and fit:
• Hypocrisy is not a virtue.
• Role-modeling is powerful.
• Image Problems Sabotage our
Message.
• Respect is earned.
Alright, so these are all related.
But I’ll break them down one by
one anyway. I apologize in advance if
I sound preachy. I know that this will
be read mostly by the “choir,"
but I also know that even some of our
“choir members” need to
get their butts off the couch a little
more often.
Hypocrisy is not a virtue.
We don’t want to be seen
as hypocrites. The NASPE standards communicate
our “message” for quality
physical education. Teaching units and
lessons that address the NASPE standards
ensures that the message is communicated
to our students. The main message is:
We want you to develop the skills, knowledge,
and dispositions needed to enjoy being
active now and for the rest of your
life. If we fail to communicate that
we believe in and live according to
our own message, we become hypocrites.
And who do we think we are fooling?
Students know if we are just “talking
the talk” and it does not inspire
them. Who are we to encourage our students
to be active, give effort, and exercise
outside of school if we don’t
do it ourselves? If we don’t buy
our own message, how can we sell it
to our students? These questions are
not just for the K-12 teachers, but
also for the teacher education professors.
Being too busy, the most popular excuse
for all ages, is not a valid one for
physical education teachers or professors.
As we teach our students time management,
a self-management skill crucial in developing
lifelong physical activity habits, we
must be able to model good time management,
and find time for physical activity
in our own lives. Discussing our own
barriers and obstacles, and how we problem-solve
to get around them makes us positive
role models.
Role-modeling is powerful.
Research and common sense tells us that
being a positive role model is important
if we want to change behaviors. As you
read this, NASPE members have just discussed
and perhaps voted on the revised version
of the position paper on “Physical
Activity and Fitness Recommendations
for Physical Activity Professionals”
at the AAHPERD conference in Tampa,
Florida. The 2002 version of this position
paper was quite clear. My hope is that
the 2009 version will state just as
strongly that physical activity professionals
are powerful role models, and as such
they should be physically active and
fit according to age appropriate health-related
criteria. The paper summarizes the research
on role-modeling in our field, and emphasizes
how important this part of our charge
is as physical educators.
The common sense side of this issue
is easy to understand if you have ever
talked to children about their teachers.
My own children would be polite, but
puzzled whenever they would come home
from school and tell me about their
overweight and unfit teachers (and coaches)
who would have them run, do push-ups,
etc. The teachers who earned my children’s
respect were the ones that were good
role models by “walking the walk,"
not necessarily during class, but before
or after. The kids who see you at the
gym, jogging in the park, on the tennis
court on the weekend, or playing in
the hockey league at night, talk to
their classmates…
Being a positive role model includes
sharing with the students what you do
to stay active and healthy. For teachers
who carry a few extra pounds, this is
especially important because it may
not be so obvious. For the overweight
teachers out there, your message can
be quite powerful if you share your
commitment to yourself and your health
by becoming physically active enough
to produce health-related fitness. I
cannot imagine a more powerful role
model than one who has had to go through
some of the same struggles as those
facing our students, and has succeeded
in accomplishing short and long-term
goals.
As a positive role model it is also effective
to discuss with your students that becoming
physically active and fit is a lifelong
journey. Teaching by example how this
truly is a lifelong commitment becomes
an important part of your curriculum.
And this is where virtues such as integrity,
commitment, diligence, dignity, honesty,
enthusiasm, excellence, moderation,
perseverance, reliability, respect,
responsibility, reverence, self-control,
sincerity, thankfulness, and truthfulness,
find a natural home in physical education.
Having students keep journals in which
they reflect on these virtues in light
of their own journey to become or stay
physically active and fit is a fun and
effective way to monitor their progress,
thoughts, and learning.
Image Problems Sabotage our
Message. If you ever watch
movies or TV shows, you probably join
me in my cringing as our professionals
are so often portrayed as either “fat
and lazy” or “fit and cruel."
From the 80s with "Ferris Bueller’s
Day Off" to the last few years’
"Mr. Woodcock" and "Gym
Teacher: The Movie" these are the
typical images, only interrupted by
the “fit and stupid” image
(which, by the way, is reflected in
personal trainer depictions as well,
a recent example is brilliantly portrayed
by Brad Pitt in “Burn After Reading”).
There is no time to lose. I frequently
tell my students who are going to be
physical education teachers that they
carry a heavy burden. We know that we
teach the most important subject there
is. What good is a sound brain in a
neglected body? But the image problem
is hurting our profession, and it can
only be solved by us: All of us. Not
only do we have to promote the great
things we do to provide quality physical
education for our students, but we must
also be great images ourselves by being
physically active and reaching health-related
fitness criteria! Our students can learn
through our examples that fit and healthy
bodies come in different shapes and
sizes, and not all fit people make the
cover of SELF or Men’s Health
Magazine. Image is more than skin deep.
A positive image of physical education
and physical educators is created by
our actions in the classroom as well
as promoting an active lifestyle as
we lead by example.
Respect is earned!
If we are to be respected as a profession,
we, the professionals must act professionally.
That includes taking our national standards
(NASPE) seriously enough that we ourselves
meet them. This makes sense to the public
as well. A few years ago, as a project
in one of my graduate courses, we surveyed
500 parents about a variety of physical
education related issues. When we asked
the parents to indicate their agreement
with the following statements: “Physical
education teachers should be good role
models by being physically active,"
and “Physical education teachers
should be good role models by being
physically fit," 95% and 94% respectively
agreed!
I have had conversations with scores
of fellow parents about the lack of
self-respect demonstrated by inactive
and unfit physical education teachers
(and coaches). Respect is earned, and
so is self-respect. In order to earn
both, we have to “walk the walk."
So What? (or “practical
implications”):
What can we do about this problem of
too much talking and too little walking?
If you read this, chances are good that
you fall into one of the following categories:
K-12 physical education teacher, physical
education teacher education (PETE) professor,
or future physical education teacher.
Here are my ideas for what each of us
can do to help make sure more of us
“walk the walk."
K-12
Physical Education Teachers (and Future
Teachers)
- Find time in your life to be physically
active. Consider it a key part of
your very important job. When you
carve out time for exercise, it is
contributing positively to your teaching.
- Share with
your students what you do to stay
active and fit. If you don’t
have the physique that makes you look
like you are a regular at the gym
or in the park, the students may not
know that you are active and fit.
Don’t keep your physical activity
a secret!
- Projects
that you give students should reflect
the importance of physical activity.
Include the virtues discussed earlier
(integrity, honesty, diligence, etc.)
in these assignments. Make sure they
are meaningful and that they focus
on self-management skills such as
goal-setting and building confidence.
- Take the
REAL Teacher’s Pledge on the
CASPER’s website (supportREAL
teachers.org). By committing publicly
to being the best teacher you can
be, including being a positive role
model, it may help you hold yourself
accountable. Here’s the link
- http://www.csuchico.edu/casper/recognition/pledge.html
Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) Professors
- Find time in your life to be physically
active. Consider it a key part of
your very important job. I have heard
PETE professors talk about their lack
of time to exercise as they prepare
their classes where the importance
of physical activity is the central
message. It just does not compute
in the students’ minds…
PETE professors must also be positive
role models. I have met overweight
and obese PETE professors who talk
about the importance of physical activity
as if it is an abstract concept. It
is not, and the PETE students are
bright enough to see right through
us! If we don’t buy our own
message, how can we sell it to them?
- Create projects
for your students that emphasize virtues
such as honesty, diligence, responsibility
and integrity as they learn important
skills and concepts related to physical
activity and fitness promotion. A
few years ago I started a personal
activity/fitness project in my High
School Curriculum course here at California
State University, Chico. The project
was inspired by the lack of physical
fitness I saw in my students as they
administered the Fitnessgram to each
other in my assessment course. Not
only did more than half of my students
fall short in flexibility, the often-neglected
stepchild of the fitness components,
but many did not come close to meeting
health related fitness criteria for
muscular strength and/or endurance,
cardiovascular endurance, or body
composition.
When
I asked my students one-on-one about
their physical activity levels,
I discovered, as expected, that
about half did not meet the recommendations
for physical activity for adults.
They were often former athletes
who just did not know what to do
once they were done with school
sports. They had not learned the
skills, concepts and dispositions
needed to be active and fit adults.
I decided to implement the personal
fitness project to shine a light
on this issue. And we are now in
the process of expanding and implementing
pieces of this personal activity
and fitness project throughout our
PETE major, focusing along the way
on the self-management skills and
the virtues so important in the
journey of lifelong activity and
fitness.
- Some PETE
programs around the country will test
their students’ fitness to determine
whether they can continue in the program.
Even though this is an option, I don’t
believe it is the most effective.
We are choosing to take a different
route in our program. We do believe
it is VERY important that physical
education teachers are physically
active and fit, but we do not want
to close the door to someone who may
be open to the message, who is inspired
to become an excellent teacher, but
who needs to change some personal
habits to get there. Being active
and staying active enough to meet
health-related fitness criteria takes
an internal commitment. Being motivated
by having to pass an imposed test
will probably not translate into intrinsic
motivation that stays with you. And,
just as with our K-12 students, the
intrinsic motivation is what we are
aiming for because it is the one that
will last.
KINE
484 Personal Fitness Project
So, in conclusion: Let’s hold
each other accountable! Let’s
help each other develop active and healthy
lifestyles, as we would help the students
in our classes. Let’s make it
the norm that we see exercise as an
important part of being a physical education
professional. Let’s be aware of
the virtues that we model for our students
when we are honest with each other and
don’t accept excuses, when we
help each other recognize when we do
and don’t have integrity, when
we stay committed and work diligently
to stay on that path of lifelong activity
and fitness, and when we show appreciation
and thankfulness that we are able to
use our bodies in ways that are joyful
and bring health and wellness. Let’s
respect ourselves and our fellow professionals
enough to make sure we walk the walk,
show self-control in our eating and
activity habits, and express sincerity,
responsibility and reverence in taking
care of our bodies. And let’s
strive for excellence in all of our
professional endeavors, including being
the role models our students deserve.
National Association for Sport and
Physical Education. (2002). Physical
activity and fitness recommendations
for physical activity professionals
[Position paper]. Reston, VA: Author.
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