Jake Elliott Dr.

Woods Kinesiology 364 12/17 /10 Physical Education Philosophy Statement Physical Education class is as, if not more important to the growth of our society than the core subjects of Math, English, Social Studies, and Science. School districts all over the United States are dropping Physical Education classes to make more time for students to study the core subjects that they are being tested on. If this trend continues, our country is at risk for failure. As a future Physical Educator I want to help the children of our nation develop a desire to participate in physical activity. The main purpose and goal of Physical Education is to have children develop a life long desire to participate in physical activity. Physical inactivity levels are increasing at alarming rates in the country. Obesity rates are also rising and becoming a serious problem. Physical Education class is not just about throwing some balls out and letting the children run around aimlessly. It is not only weight training and cardiovascular endurance, but also the development and participation in leisure activities and team sports. I want to develop a curriculum where students can not only enhance their physical levels, but mesh other subjects into the curriculum to make it more a more wellrounded learning environment.

All students learn in a variety of ways. Students can learn from a teacher, a peer,

visually, verbally, through demonstrations, and from many other pieces of technology. There is not only a single way that a student would learn. I plan to utilize many different techniques of teaching, in order to better reach each of my students. I believe that I have a positive and well-rounded teaching style that is based on mutual respect, which makes children interested in learning. Through my teaching strategies, I plan on teaching in all three of the domains of psychomotor, cognitive, and affective. Physical Education cannot just be taught in one domain alone. It takes all three domains to keep the classroomlearning environment stable. All children grow at different rates. One child in the class might be able to do a flip, while one student might not be able to do a forward roll. Accommodations need to be made so all the students can participate at their highest potential. Teachers need to plan ahead and have extensions for each activity so the students do not become disinterested and partake in off-task behavior. I plan on teaching to the students needs. I want all my students to feel comfortable and welcome everyday in my class. I will also want to integrate all other subjects into my teaching. All games and sports require the knowledge of other subjects. Language, Math, and Science are the bases of all the tasks involved in Physical Education. Without these subjects, Physical Education would not be around. Along with relationships between the subjects, students will need to develop relationships between each other. Social relationships are developed through sport activities.

A Physical Education teacher, as well as all teachers, play many different roles. My main role as a Physical Educator is to help children develop a desire to participate in physical activity throughout their lifetime. I am a role model to all my students. My actions in the classroom will transcend to all of my students. I need to keep a positive, well-mannered attitude towards all situations. If I am negative it will open the door for students to act out. Furthermore, I am a teacher. I am responsible for all my students. I am there to guide their development, not only as athletes, but as people. All sport activities are related to social matters. Students in my classes will learn to become respectable citizens of the community. For my classes to succeed I need to ensure the students have the ability, accountability, equipment, intelligence, and the social development to participate. All of these items will be needed in my class. They all start with myself. I need to plan my curriculum around the equipment I have. If I am unable to have all my students participate with the equipment granted to me, I need to come up with activities to utilize the equipment I do have. I need to ensure that my students have the abilities to perform the tasks that I have developed for them. I am attempting to make other peoples lives better. I need to make sure my students feel that they are held accountable for their actions and have the intelligence and social ability to talk through their problems and not resort to violence. Through these actions, I am attempting to make my students realize their potential and translate that to all of their endeavors in life. I want my students to be

functioning citizens in the community. In all the core subjects, grades are given by how many points the students receive on each assignment. In a class like Physical Education, the grading process is a bit more difficult. In most cases the grading process in Physical Education classes can be unfair. Some teachers just base their students' grades on how they perceive the students' physical ability. Even if a student is trying hard for their own standards, they might not meet up to the Physical Educators standards. I believe that all Physical Education grades should be determined on an individual bases. All students should not be graded on the same scale. The varsity athletes are always going to be able to dominate the lessons. We need to make sure that we are not placing them as the highest achievers and giving everyone else an unfair grade. Observation is just one way of grading. The use of technology in the classroom will help future teachers in determining how hard the students are actually working. It will also eliminate some of the guesswork that Physical Educators make. It is important to assess all three of the domains. Physical Education is not just physical. Students can also be assessed on their knowledge of the rules and regulations, their conduct while participating in the activities, and their ability to work with others. Physical Education needs to be an important piece of our society. Without Physical Education, students may never be introduced to some sort of physical activity that they enjoy participating in. If children, and people, do not find enjoyment in something, then they are less likely to participate in the activity. For our society to grow,

we need to make Physical Education as important as the core subjects. Along with installing Physical Education into our schools, we have to make sure that the content knowledge, participation, and assessment are of the highest quality.