- Increase in overall health
- Ability to stay more focused and on task inside and outside of class
- Ability to develop various physical skills (i.e., manipulative, locomotor, etc...)
- Opportunity to interact with fellow classmates outside of the classroom environment
- Opportunity to challenge the brain in fun, and creative ways that involve movement
- Opportunity to learn lifelong activities that promote a healthy lifestyle
As a physical education teacher, I feel it is my responsibility to create healthy, active lifelong learners who understand why physical activity is important now, but also for the rest of there life. I also feel that I need to promote what I teach. The more I can promote physical education, the more I can make a difference. There are a few different ways I try to promote physical education within the school and community both for students and parents.
P/T Conferences:
I recently had parent/teacher conferences, and those of you who are P.E. teachers typically know that many parents do not feel the need to attend a p/t conference with the physical education teacher. I fortunately did not have the same experience this quarter, many parents were very interested in what their child was doing in P.E., which was great for me. Having the opportunity to talk with parents about how their child is doing in class and at the same time promoting physical education allows parents to be more aware of how important physical education is.
P/T Conferences:
I recently had parent/teacher conferences, and those of you who are P.E. teachers typically know that many parents do not feel the need to attend a p/t conference with the physical education teacher. I fortunately did not have the same experience this quarter, many parents were very interested in what their child was doing in P.E., which was great for me. Having the opportunity to talk with parents about how their child is doing in class and at the same time promoting physical education allows parents to be more aware of how important physical education is.
Fundraisers w/in School or Community
Fundraisers within your school of community can be a great way to promote physical activity and physical education, as well as raise money for your own department or local community organizations. Last spring I along with another physical education teacher organized a Skipathon to raise money for a local school that primarily dealt with special needs students. A month before we had the skipathon I presented a key note presentation for all the students to watch, and discussed the goal of trying to raise money to purchase various fitness equipment for the school. The skipathon allowed our P.E. department to do the following things:
Fundraisers within your school of community can be a great way to promote physical activity and physical education, as well as raise money for your own department or local community organizations. Last spring I along with another physical education teacher organized a Skipathon to raise money for a local school that primarily dealt with special needs students. A month before we had the skipathon I presented a key note presentation for all the students to watch, and discussed the goal of trying to raise money to purchase various fitness equipment for the school. The skipathon allowed our P.E. department to do the following things:
- Present students with an opportunity to help another school within the community.
- Present students with a goal to try and raise as much money as possible to help out another school.
- Challenge students to practice their skipping skills to prepare for the skipathon
- Promote healthy activity at school and within the community
- Take part in helping another school within the community
Offering Extracurricular Activities
A teachers job never ends when the bell rings at the end of the day, and much of the time physical education teachers are involved in coaching various sports throughout the year. If you have the time, offering extracurricular activities to students can be a great way to keep students active as well as develop a relationship with them that you might not in class.
Working with your Physical Education Department to Secure Grants
Obtaining grants for your department can be an extremely beneficial opportunity for your physical education department, school, or district to effectively promote physical activity within your school and community. PEP Grants (also known as the Carol M. White Physical Education Program) are probably the most influential grants geared directly toward physical education. The main goal of this grant is to "to initiate, expand, or enhance physical education programs, including after-school-programs, for students in kindergarten through 12th grade."
(retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/whitephysed/index.html). There are many other different grants that you can apply for and if you are not sure where to find information on grants, go online and search. There are a lot of different grants and any money you can bring in for your department will benefit the students. I have include links to different websites that offer information on physical education grants for you to check out. I have also included a link to tips on how to effectively write a grant proposal. Grants may seem like a daunting task, but if you work with fellow educators to write up a proposal, a little work can go a long way in helping to change your physical education department.
If you have any insights on what you have done to help promote physical education within your community or school please share your ideas on my blog. I am always looking to hear from other educators about what they effectively do within their classroom to promote physical education.
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