Author: Clive Hickson

Physical Literacy and Enjoyment: The Route to 50 Million Strong by 2029!

Most likely, few people would argue against the goal and necessity of 50 Million Strong by 2029. Indeed, many would view its importance as being critical to our future. However, as suggested by Steve Jefferies in his recent editorial, as a profession we have yet to make the extensive impact we’d like on the physical activity and health lifestyle choices of our students.

The Importance of Physical Literacy

We believe that the notion of developing physical literacy in students is vital to developing active, healthy lifestyles and, ultimately, the attainment of the 50 Million Strong by 2029 goal. Although definitions of physical literacy vary, it is commonly accepted that physical literacy is a holistic view of a person’s knowledge of how to move and the ability to do so with competence, their understanding of why activity is important, and the willingness and desire to be involved in physical activity on a consistent basis. If we want to be 50 Million Strong by 2029, surely this holistic view is a necessity. The 50 Million Strong by 2029 goal requires physical literacy and, similarly, physical literacy can achieve 50 Million Strong by 2029!

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Professional Development: Take the Time to Improve Yourself and Others this Year!

As we all enjoy the warmth and sun of summer days, we also know that before too long our thoughts will need to turn to September and our plans for the new school year. So, now is probably a good time to begin thinking about the upcoming months and what we might do a little differently this year!

Unfortunately, we are living in a time when research indicates that children and youth are not as physically active as they should be. As physical education teachers, it’s vital that we continue to seek out and try new strategies that not only encourage our students to live physically active lifestyles but actually achieve this aim. This is a big responsibility and, to succeed, we need to enlist the support of the whole school staff.

Recently, one of the authors had a discussion with a Grade 4 family member about the past school year. The child was asked, “What were your favorite subjects in Grade 4 this past year?” The response was one that resulted in a bit of a surprise as the young child stated, “Umm, my favorite subjects were Math and PE. No wait. PE is not a subject, so Math. Uhhh, I don’t know why I said PE, it’s not a subject!”

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Energy Drinks: What Effects can they have on our Students?

As we sat down to write about this month’s topic of drugs and alcohol awareness, we decided to examine it through a different lens than the typical approach. Rather than examine drug and alcohol issues and their potential harmful effects, we decided to look at a potential harmful substance that is readily available in our society. The substance we chose to focus on was caffeine, and more specifically to examine the effects of caffeine that is found in energy drinks that are readily available to our students.

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In this day and age, we are probably all familiar with the vast array of brand name energy drinks in stores and vending machines. They are advertised widely through television, the Internet and a variety of other advertising outlets. Energy drinks with names that evoke thoughts of high risk adventures and dangerous excitement, are often marketed as products that will increase one’s overall awareness, sharpen focus, and of course, provide much needed energy to succeed at what one is doing. These energy drinks are sometimes also referred to as sports drinks; obviously intended to lure athletes to purchase them.

The promise of added energy and alertness to a fatigued athlete or a tired student aspiring to get the edge is appealing. However, a closer examination of the ingredients in these products, specifically the caffeine, reveals that energy drinks also have potential negative effects on one’s body. Therefore, in this article we aim to:

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In 2015, Let’s Track our Progress!

How many of you are planning to set New Year’s Resolutions this year?

  • Are you serious about setting them?
  • Are you serious about keeping them?
  • Are you serious about maintaining them after you reach them?
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Celebrate Student Learning with SPELL!

There are several ‘tools available for our tool belts’ as teachers of physical education when it comes to quality assessment procedures. In this article, we would like to SPELL one out for you!

 

Assessing student learning is a vital component of the teaching process and can act as a way to celebrate student achievement. Surveys, checklists, rubrics, rating scales, e-portfolios, etc., are just a few examples of possible assessment instruments to demonstrate and assess academic growth.

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The Health Hut: A Step toward Healthy Eating in Schools and Promoting Health Literacy!

When health and physical educators strive to teach students about active, healthy living, it becomes troublesome when there are unhealthy alternatives confronting them as they leave the school building. For example, what messages are students receiving if they can leave the gymnasium and at lunch time walk across the road to stores to purchase unhealthy food choices such as soda, chips and candy?

As schools move to become health-promoting environments and develop health literacy in students, it’s important to give students the knowledge of how to live healthy lifestyles. For years, vending machines have been placed in schools, perhaps even placed strategically in schools, so that students are sure to walk by them and be tempted to buy something. Similarly, stores often place snacks close to the checkout counters hoping that customers will be tempted to buy them, and food establishments often ask if customers want to add another food item to their order. These business style tactics to encourage purchasing can lead to unhealthy food choices or overeating.

The issue of vending machines, school concessions, fast food establishments, corner stores, prepackaged food items, etc. have been discussed and debated for some time. In this article, we’ll introduce you to an innovative and practical strategy aimed to help educate students and school communities on healthy food choices and support their health literacy.

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Falling in Love with the Outdoors…Again

Depending on your geographical location, the fall season can be the prelude to the arrival of more harsh weather to come or just a cooler spell following a long hot summer. This month, we want to share with you some fall activity ideas regardless of the weather or temperatures you might be facing.

For many of us, the comfortable temperatures of fall provide some wonderful opportunities for expanding our physical education and extra-curricular programs. It’s a great time to encourage students and their families to be physically active and especially to get them outside and developing a love and appreciation of the outdoors.

Extra-curricular programs allow us much greater freedom when choosing activities and for making community connections. If we truly want to get students to be physically active for at least 60 minutes daily, the time immediately after the afternoon school bell rings is a critical time to provide opportunities to keep children moving. After-school clubs and extra-curricular activities are a wonderful way to do this because many students enjoy the less structured type of activities that physical educators can present at such times.

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