The Benefits of PE

I slipped on my dress clothes including heels and drove four miles to the middle school that’s invited me to speak as an author for the past two years. This time I went in disguise, not as K.D. Rausin, but as Mrs. Rausin substitute teacher. Too many quiet days working on my novel can make me long for the energy of young voices even if those voices are saying, “Yeah! We have a sub!”

I told the kind woman behind the desk I was there to sub for ESE for four days. She said, “Not ESE, PE.” My heart dropped. PE as in the class I hated in middle school? PE as in it’s ninety degrees outside, and this forty-something is not seeking sun damage. She must have seen the panic written all over my face because she asked if I still wanted the job. My mind screamed run, yet I heard the words, “Sure. Let me go change.” Come out of my mouth.

I laughed all the way home. Perhaps the hours with headphones blasting in my ears while I ran had prevented me from hearing the sub recording properly. What had I gotten myself into? Surely all the girls would tell me they forgot their clothes. Been there done that. Suddenly, I realized one huge benefit to teaching PE as I slipped out of my heels and into sneakers. Comfortable feet.

I arrived in shorts, carrying a hat, and slathered in sun lotion.

Girls telling me they forgot their gym clothes was not an option. A beautifully organized area of the locker room had a washer, dryer, and shelves of shirts, shorts, socks, and sneakers for the students to borrow if they weren’t fully prepared. Problem solved. Everyone dressed for PE.

I listened to the mumbles of the girls dreading every second of the two laps they knew they were going to have to run. I smiled remembering how I acted the same way. But now here I was training for a marathon secretly wishing I could join them in the two laps and get a head start on my afternoon workout. Two laps around the track. A half mile. I watched as some struggled. Far too many of the students were overweight. My kids were at that age too because as a busy mom I found myself relying on fast food. It was easy, quick, and I didn’t have to plan a meal or do dishes. I chose convenience over my kid’s health and if I could take that back, I would. I should have known better. A little research into what I was feeding my children would have stopped me from entering the drive-thru.

The students huffed and wheezed. I thought about my youth on Poplar Lane playing basketball, wiffle ball, and football with the neighborhoods kids. I may have disliked PE but running two laps at thirteen never would have left me bent over in exhaustion.

Since I began running, I’ve recognized the benefits of physical fitness. Not only is my body stronger but my mind is stronger, and my belief in myself is stronger. Runners know the mental strength involved in tackling miles. Sometimes those first few miles can be brutal. Your mind screams for you to stop even when you’ve been training for months, and your body can easily handle it, it’s just that you don’t want to do it. Then when you’ve completed a long run, there is a sense of awe. For me whenever I finish 7-9 miles I’m left with a feeling of amazement. What had frightened me, what I thought wasn’t possible, I completed. That lesson carries into my everyday life especially when I’m faced with rewriting a 284-page novel.

I quickly began to realize the benefits of PE. Not only could the students get in better shape, but they were also given the opportunity to develop a stronger mind. A mind that showed them they could run a half mile and then a mile. The confidence gained would be carried into the classroom.

The Benefit of a Great Teacher

Lucky for me I wasn’t alone in PE. Coach was there, a man over six feet tall, with a voice that demanded attention, and a positive spirit that had the students listening to his every word.

It’s rare that I ever get to work with another teacher. Even when I had my class, I was alone. There also aren’t as many male teachers as female in elementary and middle school. My son had always thrived with male teachers. When I finally asked him why he told me it was because all of his male teachers were more relaxed than most of his other female teachers.

Then I watched as Coach taught our two classes. That’s over fifty 6th – 8th graders! He taught I learned. I saw a significant difference when it came to the way we handled the boys in class. Things I would have corrected immediately back in my teaching days he ignored.  As an elementary teacher demanding that students sit quietly while I taught was a necessity. Classroom control was a must. Generally, while the girls would often thrive in that environment the boys would come up with creative ways to make noise or entertain themselves with objects in and around their desks because sitting still was torture for some.

Boys didn’t talk while Coach taught, but they fidgeted, they made noises with their feet, they moved around, when he had them come up to be volunteers some even did little dances or pretended to shoot imaginary basketballs while he spoke. He understood their need to move. He knew they were still listening. I would have interpreted their actions as disrespectful or not listening and in my teaching days probably would have corrected them causing unnecessary tension and perhaps a need to rebel on their part. Even though years ago I learned from a children’s book illustrator the importance of allowing students to doodle while I taught I hadn’t thought about the importance of ignoring minor distractions from students who were simply being themselves.

Lesson 1: Ignore the little things. Kids need to move around, and they can listen even while doing a silent cheer for having made a shot with an imaginary basketball.

I like to keep a positive atmosphere. Always have. Sometimes as a sub I’ve had to be more strict than I enjoy simply because some students see a sub and immediately test their boundaries. There is an art to subbing in middle school. It’s different from elementary and high school. I’m still learning it. The best middle school teachers have a way of disciplining with ease. They correct behaviors in a calm, almost joking way that sends a strong message and doesn’t embarrass the student. Coach was brilliant! Every word that came out of his mouth was positive. He always kept the heart of the student in mind as he corrected behaviors. For four days, I watched him handle everything from students who didn’t want to run to those who couldn’t open their lock, to those who played dodgeball a little too aggressively. He turned every situation into a positive learning opportunity for the student. It’s a humbling experience when you consider yourself a pretty good teacher and you’re in the presence of a great teacher. I realized I still had a lot to learn.

Lesson 2: Deal with a situation swiftly correcting the behavior, keeping the heart of the student in mind, and move on. Later, if there’s an opportunity to call a student you’ve had to discipline up as a volunteer do so. It sends a strong message to the student and the class.

Coach moved with lightning speed. He was focussed, time oriented, and every minute of the hour and a half class period was used. My crazy, take it all in, easily distracted writer’s brain had to work hard to keep up with him. When I had to collect papers from the students, and I did it in an unorganized way leaving me with a stack full of sheets going all different directions, he remedied the situation the next class. I had to laugh at myself because it was obvious he was teaching me. The next period he stood in front of both classes and explained exactly how he expected everyone to line up and turn in their paper with the name in the correct position. Students were careful with their papers as they handed them to me leaving me with a neat stack. No need to waste time organizing. I remembered all the baskets of papers I went through as an elementary teacher, each one turned a different way. Names missing. A simple procedure could have saved me so much time.

Lesson 3: Move fast. Downtime leaves room for unwanted behaviors. Fill every minute.

It turned out subbing for PE taught me more than the joy of wearing sneakers in place of heels. PE is necessary for students. They need to get up and move around during a day that entails so much sitting. They need physical activity and the opportunity to understand how to play different sports. They need to learn the importance of keeping physically fit. Most of all they need to be challenged to run a mile and taught that with effort and practice they can do it because developing a strong body also develops a strong mind. Lessons learned in PE will help them with their classroom performance.

I’m grateful for my PE experience. I never understood all its benefits until I was lucky enough to work with an incredible teacher passionate about his job and patient enough to coach middle schoolers and a writer disguised as a substitute teacher.