If I were a sales person and I pitched this to you, you'd think I was out of my mind, delusional or at least a bare faced liar.
But what if I told you it was achievable. Not only that, but essential for children's development in PE.
Well not so big. Its more a case of repositioning your-self. Lets look at what that means:
- Every kids is an individual, "we all do that I hear you cry", but do we see them as an individual separate from any grading criteria, from levels, from what can be restrictive or even limiting targets. Do we see them in relation to their aims, goals, engagement?
- Create an environment that allows individual engagement (Self Determination). Can the aims on objectives allow individuals to move independently of each others aims and perceived objectives?
- Disengagement is a ok, in fact the ability to disengage encourages us to interact with students based on their needs and not a behavioral policy. It also supports the child's agency, supporting them to "regulate" themselves. It is the perfect conversation starter.
- Co-creation, When im not applying a template of what 100% looks like, I can create a them to me culture, they can be curious around the session and what success means for them and how they best access that.
- Stand back, shut up. Every fiber in a teachers body wants to support and help. But do we over engineer this? Do we obstruct agency, do we coerce regulation with rigidity and our desire to help. With the above factors in place we can create space in the learning canopy for our pupils to grow and be their 100%. Some grow quick and true like the beach and sycamore others need space and opportunity like the oak and redwood. But all grow, all achieve their senith, but all in different ways and times.
Drivel I hear you cry, without the formal boundaries no success can happen, kids need to be "pushed", they must aspire. I would disagree with non of this but I would challenge the validity of a linear approach and that one persons aims, goals and aspirations can be homogenized. To tell an individual that this is their target mutes agency without interaction, seeing the individual that target is no longer a target, it is an instruction. Let us celebrate the agency, let us celebrate the non-linear, let us champion the individual. Lets do this with a 100% of the children 100% of the time.
