There, I said it! I am a gym teacher.
I know that hearing the word "gym teacher" sends off a variety of emotions.
For many of you it brings back the humiliating days of your youth, where the average gym class was spent picking teams and hoping you did not get picked last, changing into horrible gym uniforms and dreading the locker room.
From an education standpoint it doesn't get much better.Gym teachers are not considered"real" teachers, they only teach GYM.
One of my favorite lines from the movie "School of Rock" was when Dewey Finn (Jack Black) said "Those who can’t do, teach. And those who can’t teach, teach gym."
(Variation of George Bernard Shaw quote and earlier quoted verbatim in Annie Hall).
Ouch!!! That hurts.
I actually had a science teacher tell her students that science was more important than gym.
( That is why she would sent them late to class each week).
Isn't phys ed based on science??
Gym classes have come a long way since I was a kid. There is so much more to learn today and so much more at stake. With obesity rates skyrocketing and preventable diseases effecting young children.
We have our work cut out for us.
I teach gym, and I LOVE what I do. I have the privilege of teaching at 2 schools. One is an elementary school. I teach all-girls, grades pre-k through 5. The other is a middle school,
again all-girls grades 5-8.
I also am a wife and mother to 3 children. My girls ages 16 &14 are in high-school and I have an 11 year old boy in which I home school.
( He has gym EVERYDAY!!).
Before I became a school teacher, I worked in the fitness industry, teaching group fitness classes, personal training and nutrition education. ( I have my Masters in Nutrition)
I have always loved to teach, and share my knowledge and passion with anyone and everyone who would listen.
I am a part-time teacher because my classes only meet 1x per week for 45minutes.
It frustrates me because children need to learn how to be healthy. They need to learn how to exercise their bodies and play. They need to learn how to make healthy choices when it comes to nutrition and be responsible for their own health.
Parents need to work together with teachers, all of them not just gym teachers to re-enforce what their children learn in school, and become healthy role models for their children.
I teach gym..........and fitness.......and health........and nutrition.
I am known for my "green" smoothies and healthy food.
I love to run and I teach yoga for kids. I practice what I preach and boy can I preach.(Just ask my students.)
Every teacher believes that their subject is the most important but in my case it really is true.
Without your health, nothing else is really important. It doesn't matter how well you can do math, or read if you are not able to move and have a quality life.
We can all make a difference in a child's life. I hope when my student's hear the word"gym teacher" they will smile and say how GREAT their gym classes were.
BFit Janine
