Physical Education is For Fun!

Studying to become a teacher, I have tried to get in the habit of reading and watching daily news coverage. I now realize the importance of staying up to date on the latest top stories, information, and health information, because different events can have an impact on our students. Different events can also effect how you approach a situation as a teacher. One event that occurred most recently was in Ohio at a Youth Soccer game. A 17 year-old boy received a yellow card from the referee and reacted by punching the referee in the face. Because the referee suffered an internal head injury and was unable to see the damage, he wasn’t able to realize how seriously he was injured. The referee ended up going into a coma and passing away. As a physical education teacher, this story had such a strong impact on me in so many different ways. Starting in elementary school, it is crucial as a physical education teacher to teach children affective characteristics they will be able to demonstrate into their adulthood. First and foremost, the games children play at such a young age should be for fun. To often the focus is put on winning, and children haven’t yet developed the skills nor should they be put in a competitive situation. In physical education class, my students will learn to demonstrate good teamwork skills. More importantly I want to build good personal skills and character skills. Unfortunate events like this should not have to happen. I hope the future for youth sports can look brighter, and by preparing my students by having them demonstrate respect, patience, and good sportsmanship hopefully events like this no longer occur. This unfortunate incident helped me to realize how my job as a physical education teacher is important in many different ways and how I am given the opportunity to leave an impact on the lives of my students as well as shape my students into well-rounded individuals, socially, physically, and cognitively. By having my students participate in fun activities where everybody is a winner, I hope to prepare them to be able to handle a situation more appropriately then the unnecessary event that occurred at the soccer game.