The Big Fresh August 25, 2018 Gym Workshop

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Gym class was, of course, where the strongest, best-looking kids were made captains and chose us spazzes last.

                                                                                                          Ayelet Waldman

I am the least athletic person I know. In middle school, I had physical education class on alternating days. Every single sick day I took in middle school was on a day when I had physical education class. When it was time to run the mile, I walked. It was the only class in which I ever had a defiant attitude toward my teacher.

This school year I was called upon several times to sub for one of our four physical education teachers because I had an extra free period. I knew they had to be desperate if they were resorting to asking me.

Much to my surprise, the experience of being a guest teacher in physical education classes brought back a positive memory.

I walked into the gym and noticed the volleyball nets were set up. It was a welcome sight. Not because I am any good at volleyball, but because the best experience I ever had in a physical education class involved volleyball.

Every time it was my turn to serve, I would dodge the rotation and allow others to skip past me just to avoid the discomfort. When I somehow got trapped into serving, I could not get the ball anywhere near the net, much less launch the ball over it. My teacher noticed. She made an important decision–she told me to move up to half court and try serving. All of a sudden, I had a fighting chance at serving the ball to the other team. I began to pay attention to my teacher’s coaching about serving technique. It wasn’t long before I was ready to move to the back line to serve.

This reminder that effective teaching is effective teaching in any classroom, even if the classroom is a gymnasium, helped put me at ease.

My first task as a sub was a familiar one–attendance. Then, it was time for the warm-up exercises. I do not have any positive memories related to warm-up exercises, so I was dreading this part of the class. I expected to have to manage unmotivated students and turn into some sort of drill sergeant. However, that was not the case at all. Warm-up exercises started with three students heading to the middle of the gym. They proceeded to lead their classmates through the warm-up. There was no battle to motivate students to follow their lead. Rather, students were more than willing to follow the lead of their peers.

After warm-up exercises, students were instructed to head to their unit locations. I watched as a mix of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders headed to various parts of the gym, some even lining up to leave. I asked a student what was happening and she explained they had been allowed to select which unit they were interested in: dance, volleyball, basketball, or soccer. Dance students were heading to another space to work on choreography and performance. Soccer students were headed outside. Basketball and volleyball divided into the two halves of the gym. Students needed very little direction. They knew where they were headed and why.

I was stunned. This is not what gym class looked like when I was younger. It occurred to me that I was witnessing a true workshop approach to teaching physical education.

When I was a physical education student so many years ago, workshop was just what I needed. The teacher who suggested moving to half-court as a step toward mastery of serving a volleyball recognized my need for an individual goal. Perhaps if I had more physical education teachers like those I subbed alongside, who recognized the value of engaging students with choice and stepping aside to allow students to take ownership, I would no longer be the least athletic person I know.

Maybe that’s all it takes. Individual goals. Choice. Ownership. Whether in a gymnasium or an English classroom, students need teachers who recognize what they need, provide options, and are willing to step aside and follow their lead.

This week we look at how you can set expectations for reader response early in the year. Plus more as always — enjoy!

Christy Rush-Levine
Contributor, Choice Literacy

Free for All

That’s all for this week!

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