The SOS Challenge For Physical Education: Seeking Out Solutions, Strengthening Our Skills, & Sharing Our Success
“The future is not some place we are going to, but a place we are creating. The paths to it are not found, they are made.” Jane Garvey
I believe our profession needs an awakening to the future. It is my belief that we must be inspired to rethink how we deliver physical education to our students in the automated world we live in. How do we, as physical educators, capture the interest, and the imagination of our students today? I believe that it begins with the use of futuristic methodology and technology designed to educate students. The real question we are trying to answer is, “Will our students have the mental, physical and emotional health to have the energy for healthy living now and in the future?” This revolutionary thought process will change the way we teach physical education. It will cause us to focus not on the skills of games, but on the skills of healthy living.
“Then something changed. One person came along and noticed my work and saw something in it. I’m not sure why, but she believed in me when others didn’t. It is her faith in me that I celebrate today because that alone, at that particular time in my life, is what lit the fire that still burns today.” Will Rogers, cowboy philosopher
As I talked with parents, the two things they said they wanted for their children were happiness and health. How much more relevant can our subject of physical education be? As a result, it must be constantly reinforced to our students with objective results. It is my belief we must create a state-of-the-art physical education environment emphasizing the use of Heart Zones’ heart rate sensors that produce accountability for both the students and the teachers.
The Heart Zones’ heart rate sensors have unparalleled data retrieval and documentation capabilities. It is impossible to know what intensity each person is working at or for how long their heart rates have been sustained in the proper heart rate zone during exercise without heart rate sensors. In 2023, seeking out “best practice” means prescribing exercise to individuals in group settings, using heart rate sensors and real time feedback for everyone in each physical education class. Without their use, we are simply guessing; and we have no possibility of data collection or data retrieval for intensity results throughout every class or sports’ practice.
Students using heart rate sensors are learning through systematic and scientific knowledge. They are learning the truth. They are learning wisdom; they are not just learning the knowledge handed down from somebody else. No, they are learning the truth through science and technology, with the individual heart rate response provided throughout class. Every physical education teacher using heart rate sensors, can now promise that each student will be given the feedback throughout class to “move to the beat of their own heart”. All heart rate data can be sent to each student and their parents every day. Imagine seeing the heart rate data that is providing the truth for determining every child’s “effort” throughout each class; which often is 50% of the grade for physical education.
For me, as the pioneer of using heart rate sensors in physical education, I could now make the promise to safely and objectively prescribe exercise for all students. I believe that using this technology was the beginning of using the truth to give students the permission to exercise using technology invented for the field of physical education and exercise science. I think it is time to modernize every physical education program in the country. It is time to use the truth when we evaluate our students. It is time to provide the immediate feedback – the truth – for all students. It is time to provide the “data” from all students’ heart rates, daily and for future reference in designing our lessons and workouts for our athletes.
Show me your data. Show me the truth in individualizing exercise for our students and athletes. Learn more about how to get started!