Philosophy

Philosophy of Teaching Philosophy is described as “one of the various established or traditional way of looking at the world that have been defined and indentified by those who practice the discipline whether in the academy or not.” With any profession there are responsibilities that come with the career, in my chosen career path there are people that I have to make sure that I reach; students, parents, the Physical Education department, and the school systems. The two philosophies that first come to mind when thinking about physical education are idealism and realism. The philosophers that created idealism are Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato along with the creators of realism whose founders are John Locke, Herbert Spencer, among others. These philosophers were the founding men of philosophy and have created a theory that other generations behind them could follow and dream with. Idealism’s philosophy is about fair play, sportsmanship, obedience to rules, classroom lectures and assignments, which relies on direction and guidance. Realism’s philosophy describes more of the focus of anatomy, bodily movement, statistics, and the technicalities of the body. In taking the VOI Personality Profile, I was able to see that my personal preference for structure, knowledge, classroom lectures and assignments, and direction and guidance closely align with idealism and realism. I have always thought that I was more in line with eclecticism, but once I did the profile I was able to see that is a point of teaching that I need to work on. I believe that I have the personality of one that does not just conform to one and is able to adapt to different situations and theories that come with a lot of philosophies. In high school, I was always the athlete that helped the teacher structure the class, introduce new sports, and be an example of what a healthy teenager looks like. Not only was that fun for me, but it showed me that I could be a positive example for others around me. At the high school that I went to there was a “student-teaching” class that was offered to juniors and seniors that allowed us to go into the elementary schools and teach physical education and other subjects that the students needed to be tutored in. It allowed me to go into the school and feel like I was making a difference in the students that I was teachings lives. Knowing that I had students that depended on me for guidance was enough to make up my mind that I wanted a career in teaching. Although most people think that physical education teachers just roll out the balls and say “play basketball” that’s not what goes on. There is a lot more that goes into the education that the teacher does along with all of the lesson plans and the science and health that the teacher has to teach to their class as well. Teaching physical education does not constrict you to solely teaching physical education but it more so about teaching and being an example of what a healthy life is, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Physical educators are more so about the whole body versus just the content knowledge and end of the year exams.
It becomes very evident that most physical education teachers do not get the recognition that they deserve. Most schools are going into more “chair-based” learning where the child does not have an outlet to get out of the setting of the classroom and into the playground or even into the gym; which poses a problem for physical education teachers. Will there be a job for physical education teachers when I graduate? I believe that the answer to that question is yes, for the simple fact that medicine, fitness and wellness, and the entire aspect of physical activity cannot and will not be pushed over to the curb.