REAL Teachers are Responsible Educators who Affect Lives

REAL teachers are Part of The Solution to the health problems related to inactivity. To the utmost of their ability and power they help students develop the skills, knowledge and desire needed to be active for life. View the REAL Teachers' Pledge.

The following descriptions were adapted from various professional organizations’ standards and guidelines for physical education (see Quality Physical Education section). We have included only the factors which we believe each individual teacher can control.

REAL TEACHERS

REAL teachers may vary in their effectiveness, but have a few things in common:

• They know the guidelines and standards for their profession and do everything in their power to follow them.
• They are aware of the teaching practices that are considered appropriate and inappropriate by the Council On Physical Education for Children, the Middle And Secondary School Physical Education, and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
• They do everything in their power to use only teaching practices that are considered appropriate.
• They are proud of their profession and proud to be a Part of The Solution to the obesity epidemic in children and youth.
• They have clear goals and objectives for their lessons and units, and these reflect a main purpose of helping students develop the skills, knowledge and desire to become active now and for the rest of their lives. The goals and objectives reflect national standards and guidelines for physical education
• They communicate their goals and objectives to the students, parents, administrators and others.
• They use effective teaching methods to help students learn what they need in order to be active for the rest of their lives.
• They attend professional meetings regularly to continue to learn and grow as teachers. If they cannot go to meetings they find other ways to stay current, such as reading professional journals, finding professional information on-line, joining professional listservs, or reading professional books.
• They know the factors that influence activity in children and youth, and use this knowledge in developing their curriculum.
• They are role models for their students by practicing what they preach, -a lifestyle of regular, sufficient physical activity.
• They assess and grade students based on what is taught in their physical education classes, including the setting and achievement of goals.
• They do not use excuses, but focus on finding solutions -even in the toughest of situations.
• They are not perfect, but they never stop trying to do the right thing.
• They are not afraid to ask for support because they know that what they do is very important.

Check this link for a comprehensive list of REAL teachers’ DOs and DON’Ts.

When REAL teachers work in a department of like-minded colleagues they are able to be REAL without major problems. On the other hand, if their colleagues are not REAL teachers, it is a lot more difficult for them. Some have to fight a constant battle to do the right thing, while not alienating their colleagues (who may give them the short end of every “stick”). This is why REAL teachers often do wonderful things in their own classes, but may make compromises when their colleagues are involved in the decisions (i.e. team teaching). It is definitely harder to be a REAL teacher when your colleagues are not!

Some teachers truly want to be REAL teachers. However, when they are thrown into a situation that makes it difficult to do anything but babysit, we need to recognize that the problem may be attributed to the work condition rather than the teacher. For example, when administrators allow 40-80 students in a physical education class with only one teacher (and maybe an aide), it is nearly impossible to be a REAL teacher. In these types of situations, your advocacy and reform efforts should be directed first at the administration in your school or district to help the teacher push for working conditions where he or she can be a REAL teacher.

How to approach a REAL teacher with your concerns:

REAL teachers will be open to discussing your concerns, but you must realize that they may be limited by their BABYSITTING colleagues. This means that their power to change things depends on the support they get from the school administration as well as the strength of their own backbone (and, of course, whether or not they have tenure…). The best way to help a REAL teacher who is in this situation is to support their REAL teacher efforts and put pressure on their BABYSITTING colleagues through the administrators. All students deserve REAL teachers! Your taxes should pay for REAL TEACHERS’ salaries, not for BABYSITTERS!

THE ALTERNATIVE TO REAL TEACHERS = BABYSITTERS

BABYSITTER-teachers have a few things in common:

• Their lessons do not reflect standards and guidelines, even though BABYSITTERS may be aware that these exist.
• They don’t see themselves as Part Of The Solution to the obesity problem. They don’t understand how, or don’t care about the fact that they can help children become physically active now and for the rest of their lives.
• They grade students either randomly or according to how well they like them. If they use “measurable” methods, it is usually fitness scores because these are fairly easy to administer and take very little imagination to grade. (please see the REAL teachers’ DOs and DON’Ts section to learn more about why this is inappropriate).
• They don’t see the need to change things, -they’ve got a pretty good gig and would love to keep it.
• They are great at finding excuses for why changes just “will not work “ for their classes.
• They often get their kudos from coaching athletic teams, and teaching is what they do in order to be paid as coaches.
• They don’t understand the importance of their teaching responsibilities, and the potential impact they have on their students’ lifelong health and well-being.

BABYSITTERS vary in their level of professionalism, so we find it useful to divide them into several categories (although some can be a mix of two or even three):

The POPULAR BABYSITTERS are teachers who are very nice people, and often loved by their students. But the problem is that they think teaching is all about keeping the students active (mostly in game play) during class. They are very popular with the students because they make P.E. a fun, recess-like experience. They usually play with the students rather than teach them, and don’t have clear goals and objectives for their lessons. They don’t worry about the content of their curriculum, nor the length of the units (other than that each unit should be short so that students don’t get bored). This is because they either don’t know which factors influence their students’ activity levels, or they don’t care. They see their job as the best in the world because they get to play every day.

The LAZY BABYSITTERS are teachers who just “roll out the ball” and say “Go play!” This may be disguised as “tournaments” that start as soon as the second week of a unit. LAZY BABYSITTERS prefer to “teach” only a few types of sports, usually following their coaching season. They are the types who are likely to ride a golf cart around as their students run on each “fitness day”. (They don’t understand, or don’t care, that most of their students hate running because of how it is presented. This lack of imagination in presenting fitness activities often turns students away from wanting to exercise.)

The worst in this group of BABYSITTERS show up to work and ask their colleagues “what are we doing today?” They hide behind their colleagues’ work, and become quite a burden to the department. Some even sit down and read the paper during class, or leave the students alone while they go and take care of “more important business”, such as planning for their athletic practice later in the day (this, of course, is indefensible, and puts the school at significant legal risk should an accident happen).

The BULLY BABYSITTERS often scare students into respecting them. Some of these teachers may have very strong beliefs about how and what they teach, but their objectives do not reflect standards and guidelines for the profession. The overall goal of helping students become active for life is not understood by BULLIES. Public ridicule of students is something BULLIES are so used to doing, that they may not even understand the effects that their words and/or actions have (aside from being unprofessional behavior, this contributes to the problem, rather than The Solution).

BULLIES misunderstand any call for change and teacher accountability, and see these as attempts to “soften” children and make P.E. “touchy-feely”. These teachers are very likely to use inappropriate practices such as exercise as punishment on a regular basis, and will swear that there is no other way to make kids behave… (no matter how many proven methods are presented to them or used successfully by their colleagues). They will not hesitate to ridicule any organization or person who criticizes how they teach.

How to approach a BABYSITTER with your concerns:

All BABYSITTERS need a lot of pressure in order to change into REAL teachers. It is probably most effective to work with an administrator to accomplish this. It is really important that you can clearly explain what your concerns are (see the Quality Physical Education and REAL teachers’ Dos and DON’Ts sections for help and guidance). Be prepared to call the BABYSITTERS on their “professionalism”! If you don’t know where to start, a sure bet is the area concerning assessment and grading (see the REAL Teachers’ DOs and DON’Ts section). As you address your concerns, make sure you communicate to the administrators that BABYSITTERS will need a lot of pressure and support as they make the change to REAL teacher.
POPULAR or LAZY BABYSITTERS may be indifferent, or even nice when you approach them with any concerns, and are likely to tell you what they think you want to hear. However, they will probably not change how and/or what they teach, unless they feel major pressure from parents and administrators, -or they happen to have an awakening and decide to take their profession more seriously and become a REAL teacher.

If you encounter a BULLY BABYSITTER keep in mind that REAL physical education teachers support our efforts to get other teachers to do what they’re already doing: helping students develop the skills, knowledge and desire needed to be physically active now and for the rest of their lives. Teachers who respond to legitimate concerns with hostility or ridicule are likely scared and defensive because they know their days of not being held to professional standards are numbered. BULLIES will probably not want to listen to anything you have to say, but it’s worth a try before you go on to the administration (very likely, their very response to your concerns will let you know if you actually do have a BULLY BABYSITTER on your hands…)

It helps to understand that administrators are likely to be aware of the problems BULLIES cause. They probably act similarly in staff meetings as they do with their students. Be clear about what the main issues are, and put pressure on the administration to deal with the BULLY. Also, make it clear that you will NOT tolerate any backlash on your child (or any other children) as a result of your raising legitimate concerns.It’s ironic that many BABYSITTERS have a lot of the characteristics of REAL teachers when it comes to their coaching. They know how to set goals and objectives, and how to conduct well-planned practices for the few students involved on their teams. So they may know what it takes to be REAL, they just choose not to be when it comes to teaching.