Philosophy: Self Discovery

 

People are naturally curious, we are always asking questions and seeking answers; therefore, I believe that education should be much more than what is on paper and instead it should veer more towards how students understand and can relate or incorporate what they have learned into daily life. I firmly believe that when students want to learn, there are not others can do to stop them, but how do we get them to that stage?

 

As each individual is uniquely different, the learning process of each student is also uniquely different. Some students learn best in a lecture atmosphere whereas others may be motivated by discussions, readings, and reflections, kinesthetically or one of many other multiple intelligences. All these individual differences along with the classroom atmosphere play a massive role in developing a positive or negative environment that has the ability to either foster learning or impede progression.

 

As an instructor, my job is to create an environment that stimulates learning, that gets students thinking and gets them asking various meaningful questions in the process of gaining a better understanding of not only the topic but also its potential influences. In doing so, I seek for students to ask more of the “why” and “how” questions rather than just the “what” questions in the desire of gaining an understanding rather than memorization of facts. As I have experienced personally throughout the many years, the most memorable tasks, assignments, or classes were ones that had some emotional stimuli attached to a lesson or event. For example, the theory of aerodynamics initially taught in late elementary is an event that always holds a place within me; not necessarily because it was an interesting unit but rather the personal involvement within the unit. It is simple to read a definition and develop some hypotheses on it, but in this class, we learned through trial and error in various hand-made airplane races. We would design our own planes, race them, then study them and describe the reason for some of the results. I believe that this type of inclusive education is the path we as educators need to pursue. The more we can introduce student-centered learning and its’ ability to promote positive stimuli will not only help students in gaining a greater understanding of the material, it will also have the potential of transferring what is taught in various other settings.

 

To me, a physical education teacher should focus on educating the whole person, not just physically but also mentally. To provide opportunities for students in various domains from developing positive attitudes towards active living to promoting personal, social, cultural, and environmental growth and application. In addition to this, along with having students gradually gain self-confidence as skillful movers, we need to help students build a foundation for a balanced (healthy) life. I think the best example of this that I have experienced was grade six gym class. To this day, the teacher I had remains with me as the best example of the expectation to meet. He not only cared about personal problems students and others had but also insisted on helping regardless of the topic. When it was time to be serious, he had a cue that informed the class that it was a strong twenty-minute silent work session where we knew that in that time limit, we (the students) knew exactly what was expected of us. When it was time for P.E., the routine and expectations were simple and clear. Each person had a role, whether that be to lead the class to the gym, open/close doors, or equipment manager. I think that this form of individual responsibility was one big factor to the success and enjoyment to the entirety of my grade six year. Regardless of the class, topic, or activity, students or groups had a role that not only helped the teacher but also gave a sense of involvement and pride when something was achieved or acknowledged.

 

Though in theory, this would be a dream environment in all classes at all grade levels, reality states that this is not always plausible and therefore modifications and adaptations need to occur for the best interest of that class. In a physical education environment, the theory in itself can still be adopted with giving groups a certain role in the set-up and take-down of equipment and other roles such as positive motivators, encourages warm-up leader and so on. The list can be as long as imaginable and plausible within that particular environment but at the root of it, I believe that when students have a specific role and some form of attachment or responsibility, it will make the class run much more smoothly and effectively in achieving the goals set for that day, unit, and/or year.  

 

The tough part as an educator is to somehow provide an environment that does not single out anyone or any one group and that seeks maximal participation and enjoyment. And it is in this that I study and strive to familiarise myself with various teaching techniques that suit the needs of various students, whether that be introducing a musical component for auditory learners or the formation of videos and/or pictures for visuals learners by bringing technology into the gym. In all, the big picture consists of a few things, participation, cooperation, confidence, and commitment. This PC3 model is one that I like to follow and implement and I think it can produce the most success if students are also willing to buy into this model. 

 

 

I think Piaget said it best, “The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.”

 

 

 

 

 

As networking has now more than ever become a crucial asset into seeking and obtaining  goals, going alone has become more and more difficult, therefore on this journey I will not be tackling this alone but instead my very close compatriot and I that signed up together in this journey will complete this together and in full support of one another, because at the end of the day, if you do not have the people that mean the most with their support, then you really don't have much do you?