2013 Dr. Bob Frederick Sport Leadership Lecture Series, Part 2

Last month we featured three presenters from the recent Dr. Bob Frederick Sport Leadership Lecture Series. This month, we continue with audio links to the presentations of four additional sport leaders. These include Washington State University Director of Athletics, Bill Moos; Lewis-Clark State College (ID) Athletic Director, Gary Picone; University of Idaho Professor, Sharon Stoll; and Washington State University Professor, Cathryn Claussen.

Dr. Bob Frederick

WSU Director of Athletics, Bill Moos shared his vast experience and expertise in athletic administration in a presentation entitled: Leadership in Collegiate Athletics-Keys to Success. Throughout his presentation he discussed the importance of building your brand and building a blueprint for success. “Get your building blocks and foundation in place and then make sure you hire the right people. At Washington State we hired people that believe they can win at Washington State and want to be at Washington State,” stated Moos.

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Shooting for the Stars with the Schimmel Sisters

In recent years, women of ethnic minority status have made huge strides in being recognized for their athletic endeavors. The speed and power of sprinter Wilma Rudolph and the high-flying sharp shooting of Cheryl Miller, paved the way for the dominating play of the William’s sisters, the acrobatic elegance of Gabby Douglas, and the powerful swing of Michelle Wie. However, as promising as these changes may be, one minority group in particular seems to have fallen by the wayside. While the media has increased its coverage of the successes of female athletes of ethnic minority status, Native American female athletes have consistently been ignored (King, 2005). Battling racism, sexism, and classism, they “have been silenced by being suppressed, excluded, and misrepresented at every level of social interaction and have been placed at the margins by the dominant culture in society and sport” (Smith, 1992, p. 229).

Although mainstream society is seldom exposed to the performance of Native Americans in sports, sports have played an important role in the evolution of Native American culture, influencing many phases of their lives (Oxendine, 1988). Basketball appears to have become one of the most popular sports (Cheska, 1984) and is interwoven into the fabric of Native American culture. Described as an “all-consuming passion” by some (NPR, 2003) and as a “drug” by others (Smith, 1991), the sound of a basketball bouncing has been likened to the beating of a warrior’s drum (Donahue, 1997). For years, Native American basketball tournaments have been immensely popular, allowing Native Americans to compete in the sport many years after their high school or college eligibility is over. In a fictional story, the author Welch questioned who the true inventor of basketball really was, implying that the game was modeled after the traditional Indian game of hoop and pole (Donahue, 1997).

Today, Native American athletes continue to play and succeed in sports although their efforts are seldom recognized. Unfortunately, “athletic skills developed on American Indian land are often contained within its boundaries” (Selena, 2001, p. 1). What little media coverage Native American female athletes have received, has tended to focus on failures rather than highlight successes. With the absence of their stories and thus their voice, the media has perpetuated the belief that if Native American female athletes do exist, they must struggle to be successful. Unfortunately, this practice of primarily recognizing the negative stories, or providing no stories at all, has served to reinforce incorrect stereotypes that Native American female student-athletes are not or cannot be successful in mainstream sports (King, 2005).

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What’s in a Name?

Words can inspire a thousand pictures. Words have the potential to incite, divide, unite, create, and effect change. As a teacher educator, I often engage my students in discussions about the classroom environment and issues of safety and social growth. In recent months, I’ve started more than a few conversations regarding how to maintain the integrity of environments for activity and play, particularly as it relates to the topic of verbal pollution.

Verbal pollution refers to the use of words and comments that the majority agrees are offensive and damaging (Fisher, 2008). Today we frequently see these comments and values communicated through music, television, cyberspace and other forms of media and technology. Verbal pollution undermines the promotion of successful outcomes and has implication for our practices.

Through our upbringing many of us in our have been conditioned to ignore verbal pollution. If we don’t it gives the impression of weakness. Unconvinced? Consider one of the most frequently quoted English language idioms: “Sticks and Stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” This rhyme, reported first in 1862, encourages a child victim of name-calling to ignore taunting, refrain from physical retaliation, and to remain calm and good-natured. But in today’s world, this well-intended phrase is both untrue and hypercritical.

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Physical Education Trailblazers – A Contemporary Look

By definition a trailblazer is simply a “leader or pioneer in a particular field.” If you’ve studied the history of physical education you’ll be familiar with many of our original trailblazers. These professionals, who broke away from the European influences and created the American system of Physical Education included W.G. Anderson, J.B. Nash, Edward Hitchcock, Clark Hetherington, Luther H. Gulick and the authors of “The New Physical Education,” Thomas Wood and Rosiland Cassidy. This book reshaped Physical Education in 1927 and changed the profession from a medical orientation to a comprehensive, educational approach. These first Physical Education trailblazers pursued different paths and redirected the field to help meet the ever-changing societal demands of their time in history.

Interestingly, during the evolution of a trailblazer’s work these individuals are often criticized, overlooked, or ridiculed for their different perspectives or theories. A real trailblazer, however, possesses a special sense of conviction and purpose and the ability to persevere even when others have doubted their passion for change and innovation.

Over the past fifty years, six professionals have made unique contributions to the field of Physical Education. They’ve offered us educational alternatives, curriculum models, and impacted legislation to help shape our profession. Many other leaders, scholars and activists followed and helped add to and perpetuate our profession – but these six professionals seem to stand out as trailblazers, helping to carve out a new direction for a New Physical Education. Many younger professionals may not be aware of their impact on our field or how they paved the way for the future. So, read more about the contemporary trailblazers of Physical Education.

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Online Physical Education: The Elephant in the Room

There’s a feeling among some physical educators that Online Physical Education (OLPE) has been thrust upon them. These same physical educators also feel that OLPE cannot contribute to a meaningful physical education curriculum experience. Despite these reservations, many states are now requiring high school students to take at least one online course before graduation (Brown, 2012; Watson et al., 2012).

Others make online courses available and accept them towards an earned high school diploma. In 2007, the National Association for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) developed a position paper that identified NASPE’s preliminary position for OLPE courses. Today, students across the country are increasingly electing to take OLPE courses. Recently, former NASPE President Craig Buschner expressed his thoughts on OLPE in pelinks4u. This paper indicated that OLPE lacked ‘best practice,’ should address the same curriculum as traditional PE, and that hybrid/blended models of OLPE delivery may be best suited to the needs of public school students.

For some, OLPE is an oxymoron since the very thought of physical education taken online creates a contradictory image in their mind. Some, upon hearing about OLPE perhaps imagine students sitting in front of a computer completing reports or worse yet playing video games and turning in activity logs showing that they have engaged in physical activity when in fact they haven’t. For others, OLPE may conjure images of the humans in the movie Wall-E who had stopped moving and depended on technology to meet their every need resulting in a morbidly obese populace that had lost the ability and desire to move. Worse yet the prospect of OLPE raises fears that trained physical educators will not be needed as instructors in virtual settings that rely on technology rather than traditional physical activities, facilities, and equipment.

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What Do Physical Educators Do?

“What do you do?” Throughout my career I’ve been asked that question many times. I expect that you have too. If so, how do you respond? Something that I hope you NEVER say is “I’m just a teacher,” or “I’m a gym teacher” or something similar that diminishes the importance of what I believe physical educators do. I know my response to this question has changed over the course of my career and is often based on whom I’m talking to. But, as a physical educator I’m proud of what I do and I’m not hesitant to let others know that. So, I’ve listed below a few possible answers for you to consider the next time you are asked that question!

  • “I teach children,” then when asked what you teach follow it with, “I teach them the skills they need to be active for the rest of their life.”
  • “I am a physical educator and I know that what I do is important. There’s a lot of research now supporting what I’ve always known: Physically fit and active students do better academically.”
  • “I provide students a place during the school day where they can move, have fun, and know they are safe.”
  • “I am a physical education teacher and a role model. I like to share my passion for (walking, biking, tennis, etc.) because I want others to know the value and enjoyment that comes from being active.”
  • “I teach my students to treat each other with respect because I know it’s important for them to learn and practice this important life skill.”
  • “I am a member of my state physical education association and SHAPE America because I believe it’s important to support and participate in my professional organizations.”
  • “I provide my students with a variety of physical activity opportunities in order to help them find an activity that they enjoy and will pursue on their own.”
  • “I do more than throw out the ball! I use our National Physical Education Standards to guide my planning, teaching and assessment.”
  • “Yes, I do have some time off during the summer but it’s not three months paid vacation! During that time I go to workshops, take classes, and look for new ideas that help keep my lessons exciting and relevant for my students!”
  • “Yes I do get to wear tennis shoes to work! Don’t you wish you had chosen to be a physical education teacher? It’s the best job in the world and not just because of what I wear to work!”
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Hard Questions About Teaching Physical Education

For more than 30 years I’ve worked closely with teachers on teaching effectiveness, curriculum. and reform in physical education – beginning as a teacher, then later as teacher educator and as a researcher. Today, I spend part of each week in schools working with teachers and administrators. When I look back on what I’ve learned from these collective endeavors a number of things are very clear to me and in this short commentary I’d like to share what I’ve learned and what I’ve come to believe. I invite you to email me your responses if you agree or disagree on what I have to say (ward.116@osu.edu).

Young boy playing with ball

What is Physical Education’s Purpose?

I am neither a philosopher nor a sociologist, but the four rationales I commonly hear for physical education are:

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