Physical Education: Learn to move. Move to learn.
Welcome!
Dear Parent/Guardian,
My name is Krista Turner, many people also know me as, "Mrs. Sunshine," and I am the Physical Educator. I am excited about this school year and being able to teach and work with your student(s), as it is my 11th year of teaching.Please take a few moments to read and review the following letter regarding the Central Elementary Physical Education program.
In this Physical Education program, the students will learn basic and complex skills for their grade level, which will be presented via skills and activities, that in turn are fun, positive, challenging, and educational by design. The students will be covering all four of the domains necessary in a Physical Education curriculum, which are Cognitive (Intellectual), Psychomotor (Fine and Gross Motor Skills), Fitness (Cardiovascular Endurance, Muscular Strength, Muscular Endurance, and Flexibility), as well as Affective (Social Skills, Teamwork, Sportsmanship, Behavior, etc.). The activities that will be included into the program range from traditional and non-traditional sport skill development, life-long activities, as well as fitness activities and exercises. All students will be given an equal opportunity to be involved in various activities that not only educate the student through movement (definition of PE), but also through interactions with peers and the application of information learned in the classroom setting.
Many of you parents and guardians grew-up notoriously calling the PE teacher the dreaded, "Gym Teacher." In enumerable ways I am glad that generation of PE teacher had a different title or term of endearment! Those teachers, as you may remember came in to the gym, rolled out the ball, and said "Alright now y'all have fun now, get busy, and be good!" Then they would put their feet up on a desk, sip on their coffee, and read the paper all the while not paying any attention to the students learning or should I say the students at all. Whew. Let me let you in on a secret, that is not the modern day Physical Education class, or at least I should speak for myself...it is most definitely not an illustration of my PE class. There are too many innovative teaching strategies out there for PE teachers to incorporate, which produce a better overall educational experience for the students. Overall, I try to find methods to get our students moving and learning simultaneously. My main drive is to find activities and skills that students can carry on throughout their lives, because at this stage in the game much of our society is sedentary and does not get up and move as much as they had in the past. In the program I try to steer clear of the competitive stuff (winning and losing), and emphasize personal development and growth, teamwork, sportsmanship, and each student's individual best.
In the best interest and safety of all students it is suggested that each student be dressed for class in clothes appropriate for movement and activity. Students may wear their normal school attire with the exception of improper footwear (boots, high-heeled shoes, flip-flops, etc.). Tennis shoes are required to participate as they allow students to be safe while active. I am not implying that students are required to purchase shoes just for physical education classes. However, I simply encourage parents to make efforts to make the physical education experiences of their student(s) as enjoyable as possible by allowing them to participate and be safe while in class.
Thank you for your support ahead of time,
Krista Turner, MAT in Physical Education
PE Philosophy
Back in the day, physical education assessed student learning solely based off of the notion of “busy, happy, good.” Today physical education has evolved from the “roll out the ball” approach to a school curriculum that is designed to generate lifetime physically active individuals. Physical education class is not only for the students' physical activity for the day, but also to provide the students the knowledge to become and remain healthy, informed, and active individuals. A quality physical education program consists of the development of skills (psychomotor), fitness, cognitive concepts (knowledge), and affective behavior (sportsmanship, character, cooperation, etc.).
At Central Elementary, each student's development of skills, affective behavior, fitness, and cognitive concepts are all practiced and encouraged.
· The development of basic motor skills is the first step in the physical education program for elementary students, which will allow them to progress to more complex skills and activities. The introduction of sport to young students will be a more natural evolution when students have a strong base of skills to draw from.
· Affective behavior is of the upmost importance mainly due to the fact that it ties hand in hand with everyday life at the present and future. Some of the most basic concepts include:
o Finding partners
o Working with people that may not be their “best friend”
o Having a good attitude (Never say I CAN’T, Always say I’ll TRY)
o Encouraging words
o Displaying good character (honesty, integrity, sportsmanship)
· Fitness is an area of concentration due to the increasing numbers of adults and students who are overweight and obese. Introducing fitness at a young age gives these students a jumpstart in establishing lifelong healthy habits, which is based on knowledge and firsthand experience.
Consequently, my passion is for each student to leave the classroom with a new found knowledge and appreciation of the concept of being physically active. Physical education must provide a safe learning environment, which is conducive not only for optimal learning of all students, but also one that allows students the freedom of self expression and self actualization.
Elliot Eisner once stated, “How we teach is ultimately a reflection of why we teach.” In essence I teach to share my passion and to provide students with the opportunity to challenge and experience for themselves the foundations of which physical education has been established. By setting a high standard I have found that the best philosophy in becoming an effective teacher is in reflecting on what I do, how I do it and then converting that information into the necessary changes to be made in the activity, skill, or program. Thus, an educator must be a lifelong learner through attending professional conferences, reading scholarly journal articles, refining old lessons for new and up to date lessons, finding new and better methods of teaching each student at his or her appropriate skill and/age level, and ultimately becoming involved in the community.
As a physical educator, I believe that physical education should equip students with the tools necessary to make healthy individual choices by providing an environment which adds value, meaning, and an understanding of a physically educated person through the implementation of activities and curriculums beyond the norm.