… Picking up where I left off in my previous post, “An Education in Physical Education, Part 1“. Here are more educators who inspired me along my journey and provided me with key components of my education in physical education.

2014-15 UNB B.Ed.

While completing my Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) at UNB I was assigned the best teacher mentor in the city, Mr. Tim Randall. Mr. Randall is a veteran outdoor pursuits and physical education teacher Leo Hayes high school. With Mr. Randall, I learned about outdoor education, helping students to break out of their comfort zones, and building camaraderie within a class.

Coincidentally, throughout my B.Ed., Dr. Lynn Randall (Mr. Randall’s better half) was my physical education methods professor. I took as many of Dr. Randall’s classes as I could because she was the best. Her keen eye for critical praxis, breaking stereotypes in PE, and improving the level of PE taught in classrooms across Canada were valuable lessons that continue to pay dividends. Her passion for being a physical educator and PE mentor is what has rubbed off on me the most and I am thankful for the opportunity to have learned from her.

Another educator that I am thankful to have learned from during my time in Fredericton is Dr. Lyle Hamm. We interacted near the end my B.Ed. and once again while I was undertaking my M.Ed. Dr. Hamm and I connected on the topics of culturally responsive pedagogy and culturally responsive school leadership. He taught me about the importance of these topics and that having our eyes open to the constantly changing landscape of Canadian education was essential.

Thank you, Mr. Randall, Dr. Randall, and Dr. Hamm for your investments.

2015 Canadian International School of Beijing

For the final practicum of my B.Ed. I was able to go to the Canadian International School of Beijing (CISB). At CISB I was able to learn from two tremendous cooperating teachers: Mrs. Julie Mackay & Mr. Aaron Cardon.

Mrs. Mackay is a fellow Atlantic Canadian from PEI. She shared her expertise in teaching PE and having a safe and fun classroom environment for each student. All while making sure that I survived my first experience living outside of Canada on my own. She was successful in keeping me alive and perhaps more importantly, gave me the opportunity to try out being a full time PE teacher with her students. Her students survived my fledgling educational beginnings and here we are, all better off as a result!

Mr. Cardon is a great Canadian educator from beautiful Caledon, Ontario. Mr. Cardon taught me about making my PE class a positive learning environment for my students as well as being thoroughly prepared for class with both equipment and instructional materials. The most valuable set of lessons that Mr. Cardon imparted to me was about international schools: how they work, what to look for when deciding to apply, and how to create a family of educators far away from home.

Thank you Mrs. Mackay and Mr. Cardon for your investment.

Throughout my education in physical education I truly enjoyed the practical PE environment, more so than classroom learning. Don’t get me wrong, the classroom environment is an essential component of teacher education. I understand that everyone’s education experiences are different and that is a good thing. I simply benefitted from being able to ask questions, take notes, and interact with students. I wanted to take the opportunity to share my education in physical education and thank those educators who mean so much to me.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. It was a pleasure spending time with you today.

Peace & Blessings,

– Josiah