For many people, physical education class is just a memory of playing games and sports. But for me, after over a decade of teaching health and physical education to elementary and middle school students,
I’ve come to understand that PE is one of the most impactful subjects students can engage in—often overlooked, but critically important.
“If you’re not healthy, you can’t really do anything else,” I often tell my students and colleagues. While academic subjects are vital, I believe physical health enables students to succeed in all areas of life.
Physical education is foundational—not just for physical wellness, but for learning transferable skills that matter far beyond the gym.
Table of Contents
Health as the Foundation
The most fundamental reason physical education is so vital is simple: health is the cornerstone of everything else.
While subjects like math, English, and history are important, I believe learning how to maintain one’s health is a prerequisite for being able to apply that knowledge and pursue any goal throughout life.
My objective is to teach children the importance of being healthy so they can enjoy all other aspects of their lives.
If you’re not healthy, you can’t really do anything else. This principle guides everything I do in my PE classes.
Building Skills
My teaching goes far beyond traditional sports and games. From the early years, I focus on collaboration, communication, and emotional resilience. It’s not just playing games—we’re building skills kids will use for the rest of their lives.
I really try to emphasize games that work on communication and collaboration. Those are all transferable skills for students in every aspect of their lives.
Whether it’s managing disappointment from losing or learning how to work as part of a team, I see my PE classes as a platform for character development.
Students learn invaluable lessons in:
Teamwork and Collaboration: Working together towards a common goal—skills they’ll need in group projects and later in their careers.
Communication: Effectively sharing ideas and strategies with peers, which transfers to every relationship they’ll have.
Sportsmanship: Learning how to win with grace and lose with dignity, developing emotional regulation that serves them throughout life.
Coping Skills: Managing emotions and building resilience, especially when facing challenges or disappointment.
Lessons for Age Groups
My approach differs significantly between the elementary students I’ve taught for the past seven years and the middle schoolers I taught for four years prior to that.
Building the Foundation
For younger students in first through fifth grade, a lot of times it’s just getting them to enjoy movement and enjoy physical activity. At this stage, it’s about instilling a love for being active while introducing the basic concepts of teamwork and sportsmanship.
Especially for younger kids, much of the early work is about helping them simply enjoy movement and learn to cope with everyday challenges. You know, at times they can have that—they get tagged in tag and start crying.
So, it’s working on some of those coping skills and sportsmanship skills. You don’t always win a game. How do you deal with that? And when you do win, how can you be proud of yourself while also congratulating your opponent or the other team?
Taking Ownership
With middle schoolers, it becomes more about getting them to think about their own physical health. I help them discover their own likes and dislikes, asking questions like: “What do they enjoy? What do they not enjoy?”
How can they be physically active outside of school? Do they like going to the gym? Do they like going for runs? Do they like playing sports?”
I help students explore activities that resonate with them, encouraging them to discover how health can be part of their identity. The focus shifts to making healthy choices—how can they make healthy food decisions outside of school?
How can they be healthy using technology outside of school? How can they be healthy socially outside of school? I’m trying to start to get them to think about making healthy choices and taking ownership of their own lives.
Teaching in Lower-Income Schools
I’ve spent my entire career in lower-income schools, and this experience has shown me how much impact a teacher can have. For a lot of kids, school is their safe space. They get food there. They feel cared for.
A lot of our students don’t look forward to holiday breaks or summer breaks because they don’t want to go home. They like being at school.
My role goes beyond teaching PE—I recognize that I can have a really big impact on their lives because they look up to me, and I can really be a positive role model.
There are not a lot of male teachers at the elementary level, so I get to be a positive male leader in their lives and really try to make a good impact on them.
Addressing Over-Competitiveness
While I haven’t directly worked with highly competitive sports students due to the populations I’ve served, I’m aware of the pressures some kids face. Some kids lose their childhood to it—it becomes all-consuming, and sometimes they end up resenting the sport they once loved.
I advocate for a balanced approach: let kids try different things. Don’t make sports feel like a job. The focus should be on helping students enjoy movement while learning valuable life skills.
Physical Education Deserves More
After eleven years in this field, I’m convinced that physical education deserves recognition as a vital component of comprehensive education. It’s not an afterthought or just a break from “real” learning—it’s an essential part of developing well-rounded, capable, and healthy individuals.
The skills students learn in my classes transfer to every aspect of their lives. When they develop positive relationships with physical activity and learn essential life skills through PE, these benefits extend into adulthood.
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