I Am Confident.
No, I am not auditioning for a deodorant commercial. I am not even trying to talk myself into doing something I don’t really feel like doing (say… a SSHRC grant application).
I Am Confident in the future of physical education in Canada.
There, I said it. I will not deny that I have had my doubts about the future of PE (who am I kidding, I have doubts about the present…). Sometimes it seems like we are banging our heads against the same old walls. Don’t tell me we just need more proof of the efficacy of movement and PE – we know this stuff – let’s get ‘er done already! I’ve said before that sometimes PE folks are the biggest part of the problem. Yet…
I Am Confident in the future of physical education in Canada.
My confident confidenceness springs from having recently participated in the 10th Annual PHE Canada Student Leadership Conference (SLC). 67 post-secondary student leaders and 14 mentors from across Canada loosely connected by the broad field of physical education coming together to explore leadership. Check out the overview video here.
Two words: Wow!
Peter Gray, developmental psychologist and author of Free to Learn, describes three characteristics necessary for self-directed education / learning: curiosity (the drive to explore and understand), playfulness (the drive to practice and create) and sociability (the drive to share information and ideas). For a little taste of Peter’s work check out The Play Deficit. Anywho… The students (and mentors!) that I interacted with over the course of the SLC demonstrated these characteristics each and every day – in numerous ways! Here are a few things I noticed over the week:
curiosity: no hesitation – a desire to explore personal leadership characteristics – genuine quests for understanding – a seeker attitude – focused inquisitiveness around what could be learned – openness to what mentors had to say – openness to what other students had to say – probing problems and not giving up – constant snooping around mentors and other students to see what could be heard, observed, learned and applied.
playfulness: every task approached with zeal and enthusiasm – every task faced with a desire to learn and succeed – undaunted in the face of (much) failure – a student driven campfire night that never quit – as many solutions to problems as there were groups – spontaneous games and dancing (and late night lake swimming!) – original creations – practice, practice, practice and, more practice.
sociability: constant, purposeful conversation – constant, purposeful listening – sharing of hugs, sweaters and ideas – stepping up and stepping back – debate – diversity – respect – integrity – genuine appreciation for the gifts and talents of others – and self – willingness to put an idea out there – willingness to remove it in favour of a better one – humility – questions, thoughtfulness and more questions.
Therefore, I Am Confident.
Confident that these leaders will NEVER stop learning.
Confident that these leaders saw the end of the conference as a beginning.
Confident that these leaders will surpass their mentors and then some.
Confident that the future of PE is in good, no, GREAT hands.
Confident that these leaders are curious enough, playful enough and sociable enough
to change the world.
Thank you.
Purposeful Movement 