EDITORIAL
2014:
Physical Education Reading
Recommendations written by
Steve
Jefferies, pelinks4u publisher
 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 should'nt
ignore.
It's
all about Student Learning! National Standards and
Grade-Level Outcomes for K - 12 Physical
Education
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.
The
Future of SHAPE America
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.
Steve Jefferies,
Publisher
pelinks4u
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