As 2014 comes to a close, perhaps you’ll have a bit of extra reading time over the holidays? Here are a few reading suggestions from the nearly 50 essays and teaching tips articles we published in pelinks4u in 2014. You can also of course browse them all in our Archives. Enjoy!
A Profession in Transition
2013-14 was a year of great change for our professional organization AAHPERD. Five national associations were integrated into the new SHAPE America. AAHPERD President Gale Wiedow shared with pelinks4u the reasons and motivation for these changes and his hopes for our professional future.
Is Physical Education Heading Towards Extinction or a Renaissance?
Where’s physical education headed in the future? Mike Metzler critiques physical education’s current status noting rising public support for our programs. But Mike also cautions us to think carefully about the future expectations we set for PE. He describes two possible futures – one positive, one negative. Mike questions whether we should focus on teaching skills or physical activity. What do you think!
Are Physical Educators On the Way to Extinction?
Steve Cone, a former AAHPERD President is worried. Ten years ago he was optimistic about the future of physical education. Today, he’s disappointed with our progress and suggests ways to move us forward.
End of a Golden Era: The Demise of a PETE Program
After a century, Purdue’s physical education teacher education (PETE) program is scheduled to close in 2018. Tom Templin, Bonnie Blankenship, and Kevin Richards describe the circumstances leading to the decision to quit preparing future PE teachers. It’s a warning that everyone working in professional teacher education shouldn’t ignore.
SHAPE America released recently new National Standards and Grade Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education. Former NASPE President Lynn Couturier describes the thinking that led the creation of the standards and outcomes. She also challenges us to view skill development as the primary purpose for physical education.
Adult Behaviors Should Guide Physical Education
25 years ago, former AAHPERD President Ron Feingold was asked to justify physical education’s impact on “adult behavior.” Ron suggests that today we face similar, in fact worsening societal issues and that when thinking about what we teach in physical education we should be considering the behaviors we’d like to see in our students when they become adults.
High School Physical Education — Part 1: Going on Offense to Improve Programs and Prevent Program Loss (see also Part 2)
Chuck Corbin has been involved many times in efforts to defend against reductions in PE programs. He thinks that by the time a program challenge has reached the school board agenda, the battle has already been lost. In this insightful two-part series Chuck describes how the profession can “take the offensive” to avoid program losses.
Secondary Online Physical Education: Walking a Tightrope
Several years ago, former NASPE President Craig Buschner was asked for NASPE’s position on online physical education. Craig shares what we know about online physical education teaching and urges further investigation as to its effectiveness. Later in the year, Brian Kooiman posted a response to Craig’s essay.
Hard Questions About Teaching Physical Education
Phillip Ward joins the debate about the purpose of teaching physical education. Phillip distinguishes between those who view physical education as a means to other important ends, and those who believe physical education’s outcomes are important enough to not need justifying. Join the debate!
Making Meaningful Sense of Play
In the seriousness of our adult world, it’s easy to trivialize the importance of play in the lives of children. Play scholar John Kilbourne both entertains and enlightens us recounting a play experience he and his daughter Zoe’ had at a park when she discovered a new friend.
Physical Education Trailblazers – A Contemporary Look
Why do we do what we do in physical education? Steve Virgilio thinks that our teaching habits have been shaped by a relatively small number of “Trailblazers.” Learn more about some of our profession’s influential thinkers and the impact they’ve had on today’s teaching.
Service and Commitment Can Create Change
Irene Cuchina recently completed her term as AAHPERD Past President. She describes the experience and gives us compelling reasons to get involved in our state, district, and national professional associations.
When I was elected the new SHAPE America President Elect in April, I shared some thoughts about the future of our professions. I suggested that for the PE profession to succeed in the future, we needed to set some big, audacious, and challenging professional goals. You can read them here!
Finally, as the year closes let’s also not forget the passing (in late 2013) of two legendary physical education figures, Seymour Kleinman and John Massengale.
Very best wishes for the holidays from all of the volunteer writers and editors who work to provide you pelinks4u each month entirely free! Thanks too for the support from the companies and organizations whose logos you see in our publication. Please show your support for them when you have purchasing opportunities. Finally, but most importantly, during the holiday vacation please travel safely, stay healthy, and especially be sure to set aside time to enjoy your family and friends.
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