Student Teacher Charlotte Rollett shares her experience during her practicum assignment working at Patrick Airlie School
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I am just over two weeks into my practicum at Patrick Airlie
School and I already feel as though my idea of what Physical Education is
has entirely transformed. Coming into this experience I was extremely excited
to find out I would be teaching Physical Education for my second
practicum. I have always valued Physical Education, as it was my favourite
class as a student and I am an advocate for leading an active lifestyle.
However, I must admit that a large part of me thought Physical Education was
simply a time for students to move around and release some of their extra
energy. I never thought there was much more to it. Indeed, I have grown up in a
society in which Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies are
viewed as much more important than Physical Education. Before this experience
began, I was blind to the fact that Physical Education should be viewed as
equally as important in a student’s learning journey.
I learned very quickly from observation and conversations with my
cooperating teacher that Physical Education should not be overlooked or
neglected, as it has so much value. I have also become familiar with the
Alberta Program of Studies and in doing so, it has opened my eyes to all
the things that Physical Education intends to offer. Indeed, there are
important life skills woven into the curriculum. An example of this would be
the unit plan I am working on. I am currently designing and teaching a
unit on cooperation. I have learned throughout the creation and execution of
this unit that I am not just teaching the rules to a series of mini-games,
but rather attempting to teach the fact that without cooperation, there can be
no success. My unit aims to teach students about effective communication,
the importance of teamwork, the benefits of leadership, and the value in
playing fairly. The Alberta Program of Studies for Physical Education aims
to teach students skills of communication, teamwork, fair play, and leadership
so that they may not only demonstrate them in Physical Education class,
but also transfer them into other important aspects of their lives.
My job as a future teacher is to make sure these important aspects
of the curriculum are not ignored. Certainly, my hope moving forward is
that Physical Education becomes more valued throughout the teaching
community. Physical Education – like Math, Science, Language Arts, and
Social Studies – should just be another opportunity for students to learn
the skills that will help set them up for success. I have seen very clearly
some of the ways in which the importance of Physical Education is evident in my
practicum school. In fact, I noticed that my cooperating teacher makes a
point to refer to it as “Physical Education”, rather than the more commonly used
term, “Gym”. To some people this might seem like a small detail, but for me it
is representative of what we as teachers should be attempting to do -
educate. Of course, I will give my students the chance to be physical, but
in doing so I will make sure I do not overlook the education part.
