Pedagogical take-aways from this article separated into categories:

Assessment and adaptation. - Adapt activities to increase enjoyment.

Observation and listening. - Learn who your students are and listen to what they like to do.

Planning and implementation. - Students benefit from a variety of spaces. - For a lesson to be well received, it must be impactful and meaningful for the student. - Phys Ed should not just be fun, it should be delightful (so engaging that students struggle to stop the activity).

Documentation and narration. - x

Would you consider your physical education growing up to be "quality"? Would the article agree with you?

This is an interesting question. Yes, they are related but they are far from equal. Good health: I would interpret this as no medical conditions and average to good fitness/mobility/strength based on age/height. Good quality of living: Includes health, housing, relationships, food, water, security (money, job).

I would be surprised if anyone chose option 1!

I wonder if this was the basis for the Early Years' emphasis on I Can statements!

I both agree and disagree with this statement.

I agree that physical education has become a "should". Unfortunately, many (many many) activities are a "should". Since we are told that all of these activities (including but not limited to exercise, "healthy" eating, drinking the right amount of water, sleeping x amount, walking x amount of steps a day, and standing for x minutes a day) are necessary, it all feels a little overwhelming. Eventually, people realize that you can get by without doing the "should"s. After that point, they don't feel as important.

I disagree with the implication that we should not communicate the importance of fitness. That said, I do not know how to do so without encountering the same "should" issue.

This is the same in other classes as well. You need to know your students! As discussed in this article, telling students information that is not currently impacting them will likely not help them in the long term. If you can relate information to something they care about, you will likely have more success.

I know that I have been truly delighted by many English and Social Studies classes, but I am struggling to remember the last time I was delighted by Phys Ed. The only fitness-based delights I can remember through school came from Grade 3 and under (then that gym teacher moved) and from recesses where I would climb anything and everything. In those climbing examples, it was similar to the concept discussed in the adjacent paragraph: the climbing would be difficult and I had to work hard for any success I had. As such, it was incredibly satisfying to reach the top of the light pole (or whatever I was climbing that day).

I did enjoy Phys Ed to a certain extent, but it did not delight me. I am not sure how exactly to achieve delight for my students either.

I agree with this but I do think that I need to improve my ability to make more mundane topics fun. Physical education has the advantage of flexibility. Although there are curricular outcomes that need to be met, they are fairly open-ended and can be met in a large variety of ways. This means that physical education should have variety as well. I regret not taking my gym class outside more during my internship. A skill that I need to develop is the ability to be fun in an uncontrolled/less controlled space. The better I get at this skill, the easier it will be to have an effective outdoor/ non-gym Phys Ed class.

I am enjoying the way the author is approaching this discussion. Although we want students to be fit, that is really not the end goal. It is something that people become fixated on though. It reminds me of how many adults want to be fit, so they set lofty goals (e.g. work out four times a week) that they cannot realistically meet. When it doesn't work, they quit until they have inspiration again. Another issue is that once people consider themselves "out of shape," there can be significant mental barriers to change. Many people do not know how to progress themselves toward a goal, as they were never taught how to. In my opinion, many people want to be fit. It is a common goal. The issue I see is that many people have no idea how to actually reach their goal or what exactly they are wanting from their goal (e.g. mobility, strength, confidence). If we as educators would be able to help students think about how fitness fits into their lives, I think those students will grow up with a better idea of how to continue with fitness.

This is a concept that is heavily taught for early years but seems to disappear as the students get older. Everyone needs play. Of course, that play will look different depending on the age of the person, but everyone (including adults) needs play. It is one of the best ways to unwind and to have fun. Regardless of age, it is necessary to have a break for fun at some point.

Although I am sure this is true, I am curious to the reasoning/research behind this point. I understand that it may help with prevention for various health issues but I am wondering if this point is referring to something else.

I find it interesting that this information is so well known, yet so poorly utilized. In particular, I was considering schools with lesser funding and/or in areas of increased poverty. These locations often appear to have greater health issues and issues regarding behaviour and attendance. To be able to have a fun, active physical education would likely help students in a broader sense. Unfortunately (to my understanding), many parents and teachers do not see physical education as a priority for students. As such, these benefits are not seen as much as they could be.