Prompt 1:

You are the PE teacher in a class of 50 students. You arrive at the gym one day to find that
the bleachers are out and an assembly is being prepared for. No one in the building let you
know this information in advance.
• What alternative lesson plan can you come up with?
• How might you be able to avoid a future occurrence like this?

Response:
Alternative lesson plan: The University of Silly Walks
Greet students outside gym. Tell them that today they will be learning about the different types
of common forward motion like the difference between walking/jogging/running.
WALKING: move at a regular and fairly slow pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn,
never having both feet off the ground at once. (Always have at least one foot on the ground.)

JOGGING: run at a steady gentle pace, especially on a regular basis as a form of physical
exercise. (Give examply like jogging to music, the pace is steady and prolonged.)

RUNNING: move at a speed faster than a walk, never having both or all the feet on the ground
at the same time.

Hook: A short hook about the Ministry of Silly Walks (from Monty Python). Show the clip is
you can on a cell phone, or simply demonstrate.

Workout: Take the children out around the outside of the building (We have a 1/2 mile track
around our school, but even around a field or unused stretch of playground would be fun). They
will need to make up their own silly walks as you walk a set path. Each one will last 3-5 minutes.
After the first two rounds, make conditions like students can only use one arm, students must
expose their tongues, Students must skip at some point in their walk.
Cool down: have students walk normally as you approach the school.

B.) Talk to administration and see if you aren't receiving your emails. Keep on top of school
bulletins and try to have one school calendar in your office/workspace. Highlight school events
and ask administration if they'll be using the gym for them. A good rule of thumb is make the
administration your freaking heroes, they'll always let you know if something crazy is coming if
you just stay involved. If you are a traveling teacher within a district, check the borough website
often and be prepared to ask questions or call your administrator. The most important skill here
is to BE COOL. If there is a last minute assembly in the gym, something pretty big has gone
down. Maybe a last minute guest speaker is available and it's a huge opportunity for the
students, maybe something horrible has happened in the community and the school wants to
address that issue as a group. That in mind, know that this is not a personal attack. If it's a
reoccuring issue, be clear and concise when speaking with administration. Ask that they give
you a heads-up as soon as they know they'll be needing the gym so you have time to plan
accordingly.

Prompt 2:
A parent calls you about her son being bullied only during PE class. You tell the parent that
you will speak to the PE teacher about the situation. The PE teacher denies that there is
anything going on and claims that the student should just “buck up”. How do you deal with
the following:
• The PE Teacher
• The Parent
• The Victim

Response:
A parent calls you about her son being bullied only during PE class. You tell the parent that you
will speak to the PE teacher about the situation. The PE teacher denies that there is anything
going on and claims that the student should just “buck up”. How do you deal with the following:
• The PE Teacher
• The Parent
• The Victim
The Teacher: This is simple enough. With the P.E. teacher's attitude, speak with administration.
Explain the call from the parent and your conversation with the PE teacher. If there is no one
available to monitor the class, do so yourself for the next few sessions. Participate with all the
students in the class, not just the victim. If you don't see the issue, spot check the next few
sessions.
The parent: inform them that you've talked with administration and you will continue to monitor
the problem. If the parent has any further concerns, have them report to you and also the
administrator of your school or the principal. Tell the parent that you are taking steps to
encourage the health and safety of their student. If they demand information on what the
consequences were for the bully, inform them that that information is private but that the school
is ultimately concerned with every child's ability to learn and grow in absolute safety and
comfort. Be sure to take notes on what dates the parent called, what was done in gym that day,
what their primary concern was.
The victim: This will depend on your student. You can, in theory, have a wide range of choices
here. First thing's first, talk with the student and listen to what they're saying. At younger ages,
some children aren't aware that they're being bullied, they think the bully is their friend or that
what is happening is a game. Tell them that they have a right to be safe at school and if someone
is bothering them, picking on them, hurting them ect. they have the right to tell them to stop in a
firm, strong voice. If that person continues to bother them, they can tell an adult and if an adult
isn't willing to listen they have a right to tell another adult. This doesn't have to be done
individually. Telling a whole class how to deal with bullying can be folded into Social Studies
or even be used in a morning meeting scenario. I firmly believe in good citizenship as part of a
curriculum to encourage each other in the classroom. A good 30 minutes of positive peer
interaction training could change the dynamic of a whole classroom for the better. If the
individual student seems ashamed/scared/depressed you might want to ask them if they'd like to
speak with the councilor or nurse. I know not all schools have councilors, but even an adult they
feel they really trust could be the answer (Previous year's teacher, principal, class mom).