Reflections in this section of the blog represent both personal thoughts and the completion of an assignment for EDUC 533 Dynamics of Change. The topics will range from Meaningful PE to the Change process and in the end connect the two together as I look to change my teaching practice to focus more explicitly on Meaningful Experiences in PE.
For a long time the feeling of marginalization has been experienced by Physical Educators. Both educators and the course itself have suffered from the misunderstanding of what is really happening in the gymnasium. Granted movies and TV have done nothing to help this narrative of the Gym Class and Gym Teacher. My group presented on marginalization of physical education as a subject and the effect it has on teachers. For my portion of the presentation follow this link - Changing Attitudes about Physical Education. When creating the presentation the section that I really reflected on was the barriers causing PE to be marginalized and how each could be addressed or broken. The four imperatives from Overcoming Marginalization of PE in America's Schools with PLCs (link below) really spoke to how I had personally worked to turn around the culture at my school over the first few years I was there. My first couple of years it was clear that PE was seen as prep time and treated that way by most people. When teachers missed a class due to assemblies or other reasons they would request it be made up at another time, "so they could get their prep". Of course my answer was almost always no. Another recurring event was being told at the last minute that the gymnasium was being used for something other than my PE classes - assemblies, presentations... whatever, was consistently booked without any consideration for my PE program. In order to gain more respect for myself and the PE program I embarked on a 2-3 year long operation, that coincidently addressed the four imperatives. First, I believe that my program has always been of high quality and my curriculum knowledge and understanding is excellent. Second, I began to make high quality assessment a focus of my professional goals that were annually reviewed by the administration. The third and fourth imperatives took a little more time and effort. As a means of addressing effective professional development I formed a Physical Education PLC group that would meet as often as possible throughout the year. This allowed us as a group to share what was working, what wasn't working, new initiatives we attempted and other aspects of the PE program relevant to us. The fourth imperative, advocacy, took time. To address PE as a subject I began involving parents in what was happening through a facebook PE page, a periodic newsletter, and after school programs which they were invited to attend with their children. To address my status within the school I spent 6 years on the School Improvement Lead Team as the Math and Technology Leader. I also sat on the School Advisory Committee for 4 years as a staff representative. Over all this time my efforts in areas outside the gymnasium combined with an influx of younger staff really helped to change my status from "prep provider" to valuable staff member. I believe that any PE teacher facing marginalization within their school needs to address it. My plan worked for me, others may take a different route to acceptance in their schools. Whatever way it is approached the four imperatives described by Beddoes, Prusak and Hall in their 2014 article provide an ideal framework from which to operate. As a final note on this topic, and I may not be popular with this one, gym class doesn't bother me that much. I view it as simply an abbreviation used in the school cultures. Efforts can be made to have people say phys. ed. or physical education or PE, but I feel I have bigger things to worry about and focus my energy on. I use the proper terms, make jokes like "who's gym?" and all that. But at the end of the day.... whats the real difference? Attached below is some research on marginalization of PE.
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