| Author |
Message |
Terri Covey (Coveyte)
Moderator
Username: Coveyte
Post Number: 3
Registered: 1-2008
| | Posted on Monday, June 02, 2008 - 10:32 am: |       |
The pelinks4u June/July 2008 editorial is entitled "Tweaking Physical Education Teacher Education" Please post comments to the editorial in this thread.
August 2008 and later, the editorial will be archived and found at archives.
|
Cary Wolfgang (Carebear)
New member
Username: Carebear
Post Number: 1
Registered: 6-2008
| | Posted on Monday, June 16, 2008 - 12:20 pm: | |
We need proficient educators for our discipline. The time for only spending weeks on the sport you played in high school and college, or just rolling out the balls is over. If your a new teacher then learn as many skills as you can and teach. If you're an older teacher then get a refresher course, learn some new skills, and be a better teacher for it. |
Howard Weiss (Weissice)
Junior Member
Username: Weissice
Post Number: 11
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 1:24 pm: | |
Teaching sports units, widely practiced especially in middle and high school, is not a particularly good idea. This practice turns off students who do not like a particular sport, generally leads to the real game, which many students will not be ready for, and usually means that the units will be activities that the teacher favors or feels proficient in teaching. There are some situations where sports units are necessary. For more on this discussion, please visit weissice.com and check PE Views.
|
Steve Jefferies (Admin)
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 37
Registered: 1-2008
| | Posted on Friday, July 25, 2008 - 11:03 am: | |
(Steve Jefferies posted these comments for S. Alan Lephart. Alan is the author.)
Comments Regarding Dr. Siedentop's Editorial
By S. Alan Lephart, PhD.
Eastern New Mexico University
"Lephart, Alan" <alan.lephart@enmu.edu>
Dr. Siedentop makes a number of excellent points regarding teacher preparation in physical education. I would like to add the following observations:
1. The concern about the lack of content is well stated. However it is hardly surprising. As we learn more and more about biomechanics, exercise physiology and other sports science disciplines, those people specializing in those areas become eager to share this knowledge with their students. The teaching of activity content may seem mundane to such specialists and does not provide sufficient interest to them as professionals. Our discipline is not unique in this respect. English teachers do not want to teach spelling and grammar because they see more elegance and beauty in the great masterpieces of literature and prefer to expose their students to these works. Consequently we have students at the masters level who can't write complete sentences and have no idea of the difference between an adjective and an adverb. My own graduates don't know the difference between "affect" and "effect" and many cannot differentiate between the use of "there" and "their". Art teachers may not want to teach simple drawing techniques when their real enjoyment comes from exposing their students to the great works of the masters. Music teachers may wish to teach the appreciation of the classics rather than teaching scales on the piano. Even the physics teacher may want to expose his students to the mysteries of the universe or the atom rather than talk about everyday things such a work, momentum, Newton's laws of motion, etc. As the fields of study expand it is quite predictable that those at the forefront of the field want to pass this knowledge on the students and become bored with those things that are "old hat" even though they form the fundamental concepts of the discipline. Ask yourself this question: Why would anyone who can perform a triple twisting forward one-and-one-half somersault in diving feel satisfaction in teaching a novice to do a forward dive of the edge of the pool? Along with almost every other discipline, this is one of the problems we face.
2. The boundaries of education are expanding exponentially. We learn more every year in every field but we do not increase the time available for youngsters to learn. Consequently we try to teach more and more in every discipline each year and the competition for time is fierce. Mathematics, physics, chemistry, psychology…all are competing with physical education for time in the classroom. As much as we are concerned with the health and fitness of our population, so are we encouraged to be more successful in competing with other countries for better scientists in every field. Without an overall increase in time, how can physical education claim greater importance than the other disciplines? This has lead to more and more reductions or eliminations in programs of required physical education to make more time for other disciplines. Despite the fact that some efforts are being made to bolster the cause of physical education, the competition for time is severe and ever increasing.
3. The entire culture of the USA will need to change in order to reduce our continuing increase in obesity, lack of fitness and tendency toward a sedentary existence. We place so much emphasis on elite performance that the vast sums of money spent in fielding university and professional teams is staggering! The resulting (or perhaps it is the cause) television coverage and its attendant advertising has made us a nation of "watchers" instead of "doers". If a person lives sport vicariously through college and/or professional athletics, where is the incentive for activity after the terminal age of high school and college competition has been reached? When I asked my students to plan a recreational experience for a group of youngsters the answers I got were:
A. Take them to watch the Nuggets play basketball.
B. Take them to see a professional soccer match.
C. Take them to see the Green Bay vs. Chicago football game.
D. One student actually suggested a father/son pizza night to watch the Super Bowl!
This is an enormous problem and one to which no solution can easily be seen. (Dr. Siedentop's own [The] Ohio State University made $106 million through its Athletic Department last year and who is going to argue that any university should forego such an amount simply because it makes people watch instead of participate. By the way, OSU is also my alma mater and I met Dr. Siedentop when I was a grad student there in 1970 so I'm not taking a swing at the Buckeyes).
4. In my many years of teaching, it has become apparent to me that the vast majority of people exercise not because they want to be fit but because they have found an activity they enjoy. There are some who will never exercise because they don't like it and there are some who exercise because they like the feeling of working out, but for most people to exercise they must enjoy the experience. Those who play racquetball, badminton, handball, squash or tennis do so because they like the competition or the company. Those who cycle like to take to the bike tracks with their families, friends or cycle groups to enjoy the open air and natural scenery, as do those who kayak, sail or canoe. Those who play slow-pitch softball, horseshoes, bowling, golf like to try to excel at the skills involved. Many physical education teachers make the assumption that because exercise is healthful most people will be happy to pedal a stationary bike, run on a treadmill or exercise on a stepping machine. My experience has always been that these activities are pursued for a brief period (often when prescribed by a physician for rehabilitation) after which the person either quits altogether or finds some other more enjoyable activity to pursue. We as physical educators need to recognize that for us to sell activity it must be enjoyable to the participant. We should, in my view, advocate enjoyment in the activity and let the values of exercise be secondary and incidental.
Please understand that I do not make these comments as criticisms of Dr. Siedentop's editorial but rather as observations after a lifetime as a physical educator. I do not propose that I have answers to the problems faced by our profession in preparing teachers. Indeed, the situation is far more complex than most of us can imagine and may not have a solution that will be palatable to our profession. But we live in hope…
(Message edited by admin on July 28, 2008) |
steve acree (Stephenpe)
Senior Member
Username: Stephenpe
Post Number: 102
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 1:09 pm: | |
Excellent points, Steve. Get em moving and having fun and you did your job. I try as many things as possible to find each kid his "thing" to excel in. |
Karen Renaud (Wonderwoman)
Junior Member
Username: Wonderwoman
Post Number: 2
Registered: 5-2012
| | Posted on Friday, June 01, 2012 - 9:44 am: | |
Regarding the comments made by Alan Lephart, I agree. One of the most important things we can do for our students is to help them find the joy in movement. One of my top priorities in class is having FUN. I feel that if my students leave my class feeling better than they did when they came in, there is a good chance that they will start making that link between moving and feeling good.
It is my job to expose them to as many forms of movement and exercise as possible and help them find those things that will inspire them to continue exercising outside of a required course. |
steve acree (Stephenpe)
Junior Member
Username: Stephenpe
Post Number: 7
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, June 02, 2012 - 5:55 pm: | |
You are on target, Karen. If they are not having fun then you will lose them. If you cannot make PE fun you are in the wrong business. |
|
