MAHPERD "Voices From The field"
In this podcast, you will hear from educators and professionals in the field sharing their insights and experiences in the HPE (Health Physical Education) and allied fields. I hope you find this podcast informative, and inspiring. Learn about best practices and tools that you can implement in your teaching practice. We want to know not only what you do, but also the action steps you took to get you where you are. The Status Quo is not in our vocabulary folks, my guests are leaders in the field who are taking action to make an impact in their respective fields. If you have any questions or would like to be a guest on the show email mahperdpodcast@gmail.com
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got" Henry Ford
MAHPERD "Voices From The field"
Saying Yes: How Embracing Opportunities Shapes P.E. Careers
Dr. Cathy Moffitt's 37-year journey in physical education reveals the profound impact a dedicated educator can have on generations of students. Having taught in the Chariho District for nearly four decades, Dr. Moffitt brings a wealth of wisdom about creating engaging, inclusive physical education experiences that build lifelong movement foundations.
What drives Dr. Moffitt's teaching philosophy might surprise you - her own childhood experiences during PE. "I was that kid who looked for the clovers when we were playing softball," she shares, explaining how this sparked her determination to create more inclusive environments where every student feels valued and capable. Through thoughtful curriculum design emphasizing foundational skills over traditional sports, Dr. Moffitt ensures her elementary students develop the physical literacy needed for lifelong activity.
The conversation delves into practical strategies for building brave spaces in physical education. Rather than one-size-fits-all instruction, Dr. Moffitt champions student choice - offering options in equipment selection, challenge levels, and participation styles. Her running club stands as testament to this approach, attracting 50-70 elementary students twice weekly before school. This remarkable program requires no specialized equipment, making it accessible to all students regardless of socioeconomic background, and has inspired participants to continue running competitively through college.
For educators at any career stage, Dr. Moffitt offers golden advice: "Say yes to as many opportunities as you can." Her own trajectory was transformed by accepting an invitation to join a state curriculum committee despite having only two years of teaching experience. This single decision opened doors to networking, mentorship, and leadership roles that have defined her career. Through addressing common misconceptions about physical education and advocating for the profession at local and national levels, Dr. Moffitt demonstrates how physical educators can elevate their impact beyond individual classrooms.
Connect with Dr. Moffitt on Facebook as Cathy Moffitt to continue the conversation about creating meaningful movement experiences for all students.
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Hello and welcome to Voices from the Field, a MAHPERD podcast where we talk with educators in the field to hear about their perspectives and experiences. My name is Jake Bersin, advocacy Chair for MAHPERD, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr Kathy Moffitt. Dr Kathy Moffitt has taught physical education and health in the Chariho District for 37 years, the last 16 at Charleston Elementary School as an elementary teacher. Her commitment is to ensure that all students have a foundation in physical and health education to support an active, healthy lifestyle into adulthood. The environment provided during physical education allows students to practice athletic skills as well as social and emotional skills which help them to become positive citizens in the global community.
Jake:Cathy received her bachelor and master's degrees in physical education from the University of Rhode Island and a doctorate in educational leadership from Johnson and Wales University. Catherine is the executive director of the Rhode Island Association of Health, physical Education, recreation and Dance and a charter member of NAFL, also serving on their board as VP of Physical Education for the Eastern Seaboard. As an advocate for the health and wellness of all students, catherine contributed to the writing of the Rhode Island Health Education Frameworks and the Physical Education Standards and Assessments, with the Rhode Island Department of Education, creating documents that guide teachers around the state to teach meaningful, standards-based lessons. Welcome, kathy.
Cathy:Hi, jake, great to be here.
Jake:So happy to be in this space with you. Thank you so much for sending us to the podcast Before we officially get started. What's making you smile these days?
Cathy:I think that I'm just so lucky to do what I do and I work with so many amazing people that I feel super fortunate.
Jake:That's awesome. We have to love who we're working with, and to be in our field and have that joy is really incredible. So tell us more about who you are and how you started your education journey um, I was born and raised in Rhode Island.
Cathy:My parents are both teachers and I felt like, um, I kind of always knew that I was going to be a teacher of some some sort. I almost thought I might go into math, but, um, physical education is really where my, where my heart was and I went on from that. I think that, um, I think that my experiences in physical education in elementary school and in high school were I was that kid who looked for the clovers when we were playing softball and that kind of thing and I always knew there had to be a better way to hit all the students and that was what inspired me to go into physical education. And the people I've met along the way have just kind of kept me interested in going for a very long time.
Jake:That's great. Thank you for sharing that, we all have different backgrounds and what kind of brings us to the field and what our love is, but thank you for sharing that. You know your experience about looking for the clovers or looking for other things and so it kind of if I can just paraphrase it kind of made you want to make a difference right in other students' lives and make an impact.
Cathy:That's exactly right. I felt like I wanted to be active and I wanted to be part of it, but there was really no inspiration to. It was easy to be that kid who kind of took the back seat and was like everybody else is going to do it, I'm just going to sit back here because nobody's really doesn't really matter to anybody, and so I knew that I felt like there was a better way to inspire kids to try to be active and I'm hoping I'm doing that.
Jake:definitely, and you mentioned your parents were teachers at one point?
Cathy:My parents were both teachers. My mom was an elementary school teacher and my father was actually a math teacher and guidance counselor in the district that I work in now. He and I worked together for a year before he retired.
Jake:So that was kind of fun. I bet that was a good experience.
Cathy:It was fun. We kind of joke around that Charajo has paid my insurance for my entire life pretty much.
Jake:Awesome. So for listeners who may not know, what kind of skills do you teach in your elementary right Elementary students?
Cathy:I am elementary. Our school is from K to four, so that's where I've spent most of my time.
Jake:And so just give me a little rundown. How would your units laid out? Do you have your movement concepts, your locomotor skills?
Cathy:We do a little bit of everything, um, you know, we do a little bit of. We do a little bit of everything. Um, I think we do a lot of skills-based things where using the skills, kicking, throwing, and so it's, uh, broken down that way, especially with the younger grades, um, so that they're building the foundation to be able to place, play sports and do certain things as they start to get a little bit older. We do incorporate small sided games or modified games that look like they're playing a sport maybe, but are really more focused on the specific skills and the foundation that they need for other things. I think that we do a lot of cooperative games also. There's less traditional sports than some kids would like, but I think that it is a balance between keeping everybody super active and engaged and making sure that they have the foundations to do whatever they want as they get older.
Jake:I totally agree with you. I mean, a lot of students are participating in some type of activity or sport after school, whether it be basketball, swimming, karate, and so when it sounds like you're teaching them the basic skills and the foundation to do, to pick what they would like to be engaged in, you know after they, after they leave us, so that's great teaching them in that foundation. So, along those lines, how often do you see your students per?
Cathy:week we get to. I see them three times a week and two of them are phys ed times. One of them is a health class. They're 35 minutes a piece, so for we get just over a hundred minutes with the students. One through four are have health. Also kindergarten, not have health. They only have.
Jake:They have two days a week of pe. So so the kindergartners get um less pe, no health, and the other students get more pe and health. Is that right?
Cathy:everyone gets the same amount of PE. They all get two classes a week, 35 minutes and one through four. All get the additional class in health.
Jake:Okay, so you see your students either twice or three times a week, depending on the grade level, and then for 35 minutes. How does? This is a follow-up question how does a typical class go? Like what would it start like, what would be the like, the middle, what would be the end?
Cathy:We, we start most days with some kind of activity, that just a warmup activity. A lot of times, especially when we're inside, they come in and they either walk or they run. It gives them a few minutes just to kind of talk and get all of the wiggles out from when they've been sitting in class. And then we work on some skill, whatever we might be doing at any given point, try to do a small activity that incorporates that skill, and then we kind of do a a small mindful moment where they recapture everything that we went through in the day and kind of refocus to go back to class a lot in 35 minutes yeah, that's a lot, but I mean, as you know, um, every class is different and they they have that structure of what the routine.
Jake:they know what they're going to do when they get in is a skill development and then they know how it kind of closes down. You know, I think people have different philosophies on how they close down their class and some some teachers stop right away and others have a little transition time or kind of a mindful minute, if you will, to kind of have them relax before they go back to class.
Cathy:So I'm going to. I'll say that there are some classes that need that more. There are some classes where you know, depending on how things go, if they get stuck and they're not getting a skill you know, everything is flexible and you have to adapt and modify to whatever's happening. There are some classes that definitely need that moment at the end to refocus, and then there are other classes that you can kind of go, go, go until much closer to the end. But it's a daily challenge to figure out the exact right mixture.
Jake:Right, no, I get it. I agree a hundred percent. Flexibility is key, absolutely. My next two questions are kind of combined so I'll read them. So how do you ensure that PE is a brave or safe space for all bodies? And it's kind of related to how do you engage and support your learners. So, if you want to kind of think about that again, how do you ensure that PE is a brave space, that everybody's included? And then how do you engage and support your learners?
Cathy:Great, I think that we do a lot of things and I give a lot of choices. Choice is super important, whether it's even just choosing the kind of equipment that they're going to use, the size of the equipment, the weight of the equipment. The more options you can give kids, the more they're going to feel successful, the more they'll be engaged. I think that giving them choices on and giving them choices helps them kind of take ownership of whatever it is that we're doing, if they can make small modifications. So that's definitely one way that we kind of do it and I try to level things. So, if you are not ready to play basketball which I mean when you look at it, really, what first, second, third grader is ready to play basketball? So where are the skills and what level are we at? What's going to work best for you? Do you need the hula hoop hanging from the basket? Can you actually shoot it into the basket? Can you hit just the net of the basket? So giving them options and choices and most of the things that we try to do is I have found to be pretty successful in helping them engage.
Cathy:Another thing I try to do is we try to do not quite monthly, but we do challenges throughout the year. Um, our last challenge happened just happens to be what we were doing too. We had a jump rope challenge going and they were doing a timed run challenge to see, kind of to test their endurance. So we started off at the beginning of the month at like two minutes. Can they jog for this amount of time? And it's a challenge by choice. You try it or you don't, but it engages kids. They can see where they're, where they, where they are. You know it, just it. For a lot of kids, those challenges are what increase their participation and when they feel like and they get a little certificate at the end, many kids are extrinsically motivated and we'll do a lot of things for a little token or certificate and that kind of thing. So we have a lot of different little challenges that we incorporate.
Jake:That sounds great. So you're offering them choice, you're giving them challenges, because everyone's, as you know, is at a different level and some of the students might be a little bit more competitive and others are more on the shyer side, and that's fine. So that's sounds like you're really offering them a lot of different opportunities to be successful. That's great. What advice? You know? You've been in the field a long time over 30 years so what advice would you give to someone new entering the field?
Cathy:I think the thing that I say most often to young professionals is to say yes to as much as you can, get as many opportunities as you can to try as many different things as you can. It is important to kind of do that networking. I think that we are very in tuned with social media and our phones and looking things up and now you know, you and I have had a discussion about AI. There are a lot of things where the computer comes in. But when you have those opportunities to be face-to-face with other people, working on a committee, writing curriculum, doing all of those little things, try to do as many as you can. I mean, there's always a reason not to. But I think that those are the things that build your foundation for the love of our job, for to see what is supposed to be done and how it's being done and just to gain, maybe, respect from other people and things. I think that I'm going to throw out an example.
Cathy:So I was incredibly fortunate when I first started teaching. I couldn't have been a teacher for more than two years and I a little bit of nepotism. It was a friend of my parents that happened to work for the Department of Education was writing the health frameworks that I had and day and was like, hey, you should come beyond this committee and help write the frameworks. And I'm thinking I have only been teaching two years. What can I possibly contribute to this task? And it was one of the best experiences I've ever had.
Cathy:I made amazing friends. It was all people in our field, people from the Department of Health, people from the Department of Education and I felt like I was really contributing things and that kind of spurred so many of my other experiences and I was so grateful that I had said yes. So I think that just having that in your head that when you are given an opportunity, if it's at all possible, you really need to say yes, because you make amazing mentor, you get amazing mentors, you have amazing networking opportunities, and that's probably why one piece of advice that I give to most young professionals is join things beyond committees, do Do something outside of your daily, your day-to-day teaching.
Jake:That's good. I love that advice and I love the example you gave, because you know, if you weren't asked, you might not have done it. But kudos to you for actually getting involved. And you said you met a lot of folks. You met some people and helped along the way. It's a great networking opportunity. And you know, kathy, we're on the NAFL, we're part of the NAFL together, right? So you're still doing the work. I mean, you know, I don't think it stopped for you, right? You're probably on several different committees, right?
Cathy:I will say that that experience kind of gave me the confidence to do so many other things and a lot of those people that I worked with I've ended up being able to travel with and doing so many other things and it got me involved in Reifert, so many other things and it got me invited involved in Reifert and it got me you know, it's just given me the confidence to kind of take on a lot of different roles that I probably never would have expected myself to do and I kind of love that it. And, like you said, you know you meet so many awesome people being part of the Academy. We have so many experiences that that are you can't put a price on, you can't, you can't redo that and you can't do it through the computer, it's just it. There's so many amazing experiences out there just waiting to be had, as if you are willing to take that chance, and I think that's super important.
Jake:Take the chance say yes. I think those are the two key points right, absolutely. Kathy, let's talk a little bit about your school and what some initiatives or programs that you have either started or been a part of or implemented. I know we talked a few weeks ago. You mentioned a running club and possibly skateboarding or biking. Tell me a little bit more about some initiatives you're a part of.
Cathy:So I am. We have a. I have a running club and I actually, when I started teaching I worked at. I've worked in two schools in Chariho. I worked for 18 years at Hope Valley School and then I've worked for the past 18 years, in my 18th year at Charlestown Elementary. But I started kind of a running club when I was at Hope Valley and when I went to Charlestown it was you know, is it going to work here? Are people interested? And it really kind of took off where it wasn't just a germ PE thing anymore, it became something. We started running before school twice a week. So I have I have anywhere between when we can be outside I actually had to limit it when we're inside but when we can be outside.
Cathy:I have anywhere between 50 and 70 kids who come and run in the mornings from. We run from eight o'clock till 830. And we use one of the scanner things so they scan their laps and they just keep accumulating miles and miles and miles. I have one little boy who this morning actually hit his 50 mile mark and they just try to get as many as they can. They all kind of set goals for themselves for how many miles they're going to catch how many miles they're going to run and it is amazing to watch them get excited about it. And the reason I went with running was it was something that they can come and do without anything. There's no cost to it. If they have a pair of shoes on, they can come out and walk or run and it it is amazing the confidence that that builds in kids when they see themselves, when they get their first like little increment, they get a 10 mile, they get a little necklace that says Charlestown, fit on it and they get feet along the way and we just we kind of do a little incentives but they get so excited and it is amazing to watch those children then run when they're in middle school or high school. So that's kind of been a fantastic experience for me.
Cathy:I've loved watching some of my runners, my milers, go off and run in high school. I have one student, kyle Aykroyd, who is running in college now and it is you know his parents will still email me and be like hey, you know he's running here or he's doing this and watching what he's doing on Facebook and stuff. It's just it's kind of heartwarming to see that. That all started, you know, in fourth and fifth grade, and it is one of the selling points my principal, I think, is fearful for when I do retire, because she is like she wants to make sure the next person will do some kind of running club. She kind of sells that to parents, as you know, like, oh, we have a running club. She kind of sells that to to parents, as you know, like, oh, we have a running club.
Cathy:They meet before school two days a week and it is um you know a lot of parents are very, you know, it is babysitting for some, I'm sure, but but the kids, once they're there and they start moving, they, they want, they want to see those miles go up. So that's been fantastic. They want to see those miles go up. So that's been fantastic and I've been involved with. I also work with our student council. Our fourth graders do a small student council and we do little activities throughout the year. We do some fundraising things and we do some spirit weeks and that kind of stuff. You'd also mentioned the skateboarding Jake and we are all in the process of kind of getting trained to teach skateboarding. One of our other elementary school teachers, elementary PE teachers, got a grant and was accepted into this program, the On Board.
Jake:On Board OK.
Cathy:On board and they, they have been fantastic. So we are hoping that we get the skateboards in before the spring, before we're out of school and we can pass them around. We've got one set for the district where we work kind of nicely together and we all share our equipment, so we're hoping to get some skateboarding in before the end of the year and so we're hoping to get some skateboarding in before the end of the year.
Jake:That's great. I mean, you know talk about, you're non-traditional, you're providing skateboarding, you know running, they're valuing PE, they're valuing physical activity, you and your colleagues are setting them up for success so they can have these ways to stay active in the future. So you know, kudos to you. So thanks being being in the field of physical education and you know we talked to a lot of different folks. Maybe we meet them at meetings or administrators or just caregivers. What's the misconception people may have or do have about, about the field of physical education?
Cathy:Yeah, so I I think that there are a couple of things that come to mind for me with this one.
Cathy:One is, you know, right off the top, I think that people think it's an easy job. I think people think that, like you know, have that roll out the ball and sit back and let them play, kind of attitude, and not much can be could be further from the truth. It is always funny when I have parents come in, and actually I had a parent sub for me the other day and at the end of the day she was exhausted. She's like I don't know how you do this, eight blocks a day and and you have to, you know, flip a switch every class because you need a different personality with each group that comes in and everybody's working on something slightly different. And it's not, it's not an easy job. I love it and you know, after 30 some odd years, it's not a hard job, but but you have to start somewhere and I think that that misconception leads to a lot of other animosity sometimes when people are being uh, are degrading the profession. It can, people can take it very personally.
Cathy:I think that you kind of have to get um kind of create a thick skin where you have to know your value and your worth so that you can advocate for it, instead of just getting upset that people don't have the same exact perception that you do right and oh I've. I had another piece to that. It might come back to me in a second, but um I love.
Jake:I love the open mindset you have too. How did you so I just want to go back to you mentioned you had a parent coming in. How did? Did they volunteer? Is that typical in your district to have parents come in or just somebody? You know how does that work? Because I remember when I was teaching a district of mine, I had a parent come in and she was awesome. She helped with field day and whatnot, but we really built a good connection and relationship because she was able to see my perspective. I was able to see her perspective, So I'm curious how you get parents in your, in your gym.
Cathy:This, this particular parent. So I actually have created some nice relationships with parents through the running club. I have parents who come in and volunteer in the morning and help me with that. So when I do need somebody for certain things I can, I have a small group of of parents who I do call on and try to pull in. A couple of those parents actually went and got their substitute certificates. So some of the a couple of them have been certified to um.
Cathy:In our in Rhode Island, in our district you don't need a certification to sub and so they they have all. They're all qualified to sub. So there are a couple of my parents who are, I know, share the same philosophy that I do and are my kind of go-to people. If I hurt my back last week and I immediately went to one of these people and said I don't have lesson plans, i've've got nothing, but I need to go home, and she was there and she was on it and she did an amazing job and kind of followed through with what I was doing, just with me verbally telling her the directions. So I am I am very fortunate in that way that we do have a couple of parents who are like, minded with me and are sort of, you know, are able to sub when able to sub if I have to be out.
Jake:But that's awesome to hear. That Is your back. Okay now, are you okay? I am.
Cathy:Well, I'm getting better. I have actually made it through the entire week standing up and it was just one of those weird things, I don't know.
Jake:Okay, as long as you're on the mend as long as you're getting better.
Cathy:I'm on the mend, that's good.
Jake:No, that's interesting. You know so because you started this running club, like you said. You built the relationship with these parents and now they're coming in and now they're able to help and so I mean it just kind of comes full circle and they're seeing the value in what you do, they're seeing your perspective, you're seeing theirs, they're seeing the students. So yeah, that's that's really awesome. I think you know, as teachers, the more we can bring in caregivers and parents and other stakeholders, I think, the better you know. We need to be kind of showcasing in, which is what you've been doing beautifully, what the field is about and what actually takes place in the gym. Because if people, if people aren't educated, I think they kind of make up their own perceptions or maybe their own from their own experiences. They remember this happened or that happened, but you know, it's not.
Cathy:It's not like it used to be. So we're. I think that's super important too. It's not like it used to be, and I think when we are advocating for different things, whether it's with your administration or I know that I've been fortunate enough to go to some of the Shape America speak out days in Washington DC when you are advocating for a profession you don't know your audience necessarily. You know so it's important to their backgrounds with physical education could be disastrous.
Cathy:They could have had a horrible experience and, you know, not really be super psyched about funding things or being supportive of things. Showcase the amazing things that are happening now. It's really important so that the negative, old negative experiences aren't going to be the only thing a person might know. I think inviting people into your space is super important, whether it's your principal, whether it's administrators or school committee members, whatever might be there. You know people need to come in and see what you're doing so that it we don't have those misconceptions and we don't we can kind of try to eliminate some of those things.
Jake:I really like how you said inviting people in, because that's I think sometimes people get kind of bogged down in their own head and what they're doing and you know they're doing a great job in their class, but unless other people are seeing that or we're kind of showcasing that, how is anybody going to know, unless the students are saying it when they go home? But you know, inviting people in and just taking that extra step say yes, right, like we talked about earlier.
Cathy:Saying yes. So, kathy, what do you hope to see in the future? What goals do you have? Do you see it to be personal or professional? Well, I am getting ready to think about retirement, so I don't know what is going to somewhere with, and I think that my future hopefully I will end up someplace in Rhode Island at one of the colleges, maybe supervising student teachers, or I'll find some role somewhere in in our profession that and keep things going. I think that there are amazing organizations to be involved in. There are definitely higher education. Is is someplace where I kind of always thought I might end up, which is why I got my, my doctorate, and so I think that, um, I think those kinds of things are might be in my future.
Jake:So it's kind of it sounds like it might be a little bit bittersweet. You've been teaching a long time but you want to still stay involved, maybe at the collegiate level. But we need you. We need you helping our younger teachers. We need you, and I'm sure you're going to stay involved in the committees, in in different boards that you're on, so that's great. So, Kathy, can our listeners connect with you in any way? Are you on Blue Sky Twitter, anything like that?
Cathy:I actually have. I haven't been on Twitter in so long. I do have a. I am on Twitter at some place. I unfortunately can't do that one right now. I am on Instagram, though, at Moffat Kathy is my Instagram.
Jake:Perfect, we can put that in the show notes so people can reach out to you if they have any questions.
Cathy:And I'm very old school. I'm on Facebook. So if you're a Facebook person, I am on Facebook too, and it's just Cathy Moffitt.
Jake:Okay, just Cathy Moffitt, and they could find you on Facebook Perfect, so I'll make sure to link that in the show notes. Kathy Moffitt, and they could find you on Facebook Perfect, so I'll make sure to link that in the show notes. Well, thank you, kathy, for sharing your experience and expertise with us. It's been awesome connecting with you Listeners. If you have any questions, you can always email us at mahperdpodcast@gmail. com. We'll have this episode uploaded soon. We're also asking our listeners to leave a review if this podcast has been helpful in supporting you in any way, as it does help other folks find it. Thank you all for listening. Have a great week and we will be back soon.
