MAHPERD "Voices From The field"

National P.E TOY: Will Potter on Inclusive, Joyful Movement and Community Advocacy

• MAHPERD • Season 1 • Episode 22

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A surprise job interview at a Blockbuster counter set Will Potter on a path to becoming a national voice for quality elementary PE—and the spark behind a family‑powered movement that now advocates for programs across the country. We sit down with Will to unpack how a teacher‑first mindset, inclusive design, and open‑source sharing can turn a P.E. class into a community engine for leadership, SEL, and joy.

Will breaks down what OPEN—the Online Physical Education Network—really is: a free, nationwide network of teachers helping teachers with curriculum, mindfulness modules, and professional development. He shares how he teaches leadership through “training camp,” where rules, routines, fitness, and team challenges set culture early. You’ll hear a powerful moment when a quiet student connects strategies across problem‑solving games and leads peers without needing the spotlight—proof that leadership can be taught and often looks quieter than we expect.

We get practical on inclusion with the Meaningful PE approach: multiple distances, varied equipment (yes, even rubber chickens), and a focus on skill keys so every student finds an entry point. Will explains why he now sees all PE as adapted PE: meet each learner where they are, maintain high standards, and let success look different for different kids. Then we zoom out to family engagement with “Bring Your Family to PE,” a simple idea from 2007 that grew—through  logistics, inclusive naming, and generous sharing—into a national event that doubles as grassroots advocacy when programs face cuts.

We also wrestle with the tech whiplash in schools—how to keep what helps (feedback, clarity, engagement) without losing what matters most: movement, connection, and purpose. Will’s advice for new teachers is clear and encouraging: stay connected, share freely with credit, and pursue deep reflection through goals like National Board Certification. If you care about inclusive PE, leadership, and building parent allies who will fight for your program, this conversation is a playbook.

Contact:

https://www.mrwillpe.com/

Resources:

https://open.varsityuniversity.org/


Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼

If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email mahperdpodcast@gmail.com

Do you have a favorite classroom strategy or success story? Please share... If you found this episode valuable, take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate about health, movement, and making a difference. Let’s keep the conversation going!” 🗣️

Check out our advocacy video about quality health & physical education



Jake:

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 Bursin, advocacy chair for MAHPERD, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Will Potter. Welcome, Will. Hi, how's it going?

Jake:

So just a little background about Will. Will began teaching physical education in 2002. In 2013, Will served as a director for the elementary physical education workshop at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Will currently teaches physical education at serendipity school, where he has been teaching since 2005. Will has been an active presenter at state and national conferences, and in 2018, he became an open national trainer. In 2019, Will was named the Cafford Elementary Teacher of the Year and as the 2020 Shape America National Elementary Teacher of the Year. Additionally, Will has served Calford in a variety of roles, including one term as Calfred President from 2021 to 2022. As a current Shape America board member, he continues to promote and advocate for physical education programs at all levels. Psyched to have you, Will. Thank you so much for saying yes to the podcast. Before we get started, I'd like to ask our guests this question what's making you smile these days?

Will:

Well, honestly, right now, uh I'm really uh just really happy that my bring your family to PE week went off uh without a hitch. Uh no injuries, no major accidents, and uh it was just a great time. Parents came, came, came out. I think I had um over uh 200 parents during the week. Oh and uh it was a fantastic week. I think I think one kindergarten class had a every student had a parent there, so it was like 50 people uh playing and and moving and learning at one time, and so that really fills your bucket um to see that kind of support from your community.

Jake:

Absolutely, that's awesome. And I know we're gonna talk more about that as we get into the podcast. So, Will, tell us more about who you are and how you started your education journey.

Will:

Yeah, I mean, I think you summed it up with my my bio there pretty well. Um, but uh to start, um, I I was you know very lucky um and very blessed. I was um I I was working at Blockbuster, um, which for those of you who are a little younger than I am, was a video store where you actually went and rented movies um and like had to go instead of just push a button. Um but uh yeah, I was working at Blockbuster and I I had just gotten transferred to this new location, new store. And um, you know, I was I was the assistant manager, putting myself through college, and uh I was working and trying to figure out the schedule, and there was this one employee who only worked on Fridays. And I didn't I didn't understand why he only worked on Fridays, so I had asked him, and um, he was a teacher, and it was his sidegig, and he just worked one day a week so he could get discounts and free rentals, and uh and and we started talking and for about a year, um you know, we I found out he was a PE teacher and he worked at this school, and he he really, you know, we just talked PE and I was still in my undergrad. And then um right after I finished my gr my undergrad, um he he he came up to me on a Friday and said, Hey, you know, what are you doing next week? We're still in school. Why don't you come check out my school site? And I was like, absolutely. And I show up and it was a complete ambush uh job interview. No, I no idea it was gonna be a job interview. Um, I show up and he's like, Oh, I want you to meet this person. And so I meet this person and she's like, Oh, I hear you have I hear you brought your portfolio to show Glenn. And I was like, Yeah, and he's like, This is it. And she like took it and was like, I don't need to see this. When when when would you like to start? Like, you want to start working this summer, summer camp, and then we can, you know, get you on payroll for the for the school year. And this was, of course, a private school, so they don't have the same kind of um, you know, hoops and and things you have to to jump through. I just had to get my fingerprints done. And uh, of course, this was a long time ago too. Um, but yeah, so that was how I how I started teaching. And you know, Glenn was my mentor and I worked under him for three years, and when that ended, I moved moved on to the current school I'm at right now, which was 2005, and uh I've been at Serendipity ever since. So going on my 21st school year at Serendipity. Wow, and uh it's been it's been fantastic. Um, so that's that's how it happened. That's how I got my story.

Jake:

What a what a cool story. I interview a lot of people, and I haven't heard one quite like that. That's really cool that he he got you in there and he and he got you the job. And um, you know, do you still keep in touch with him?

Will:

Yeah, unfortunately he passed away a little while ago. Um but but yeah, we were we were close friends and continue to be close friends up until um up until his passing. So um I've had a I've been blessed with a lot of really great mentors. Um, you know, uh, you know, um I think I think my first inspiration was was my middle school PE teacher, Ms. Bloomin. And uh she she really kind of lit the spark of what me wanting to be, you know, a PE teacher or even just a teacher in general, um, back when I was in seventh grade. Um so I, you know, and and just knowing knowing her and how great a PE teacher she was, and then you know, my coach, my basketball coach in high school was also my PE teacher. Um, and he was he was not the kind of coach that or not the kind of teacher who was the coach and then the teacher, he was the teacher and then the coach, which was you know really rare in the 90s.

Jake:

Yes.

Will:

Um yeah, so I I've been really blessed.

Jake:

That's great. Um, so yeah, you mentioned that you know a lot of people coach these days, and and that kind of comes to the forefront, but you know, being a teacher first uh and having the students at the forefront is definitely you know huge, um, definitely important. So so Will, you're involved in a many different things. Um, part of one of the organizations you're involved with is open. Now, open stands for online physical education network, right?

Will:

Yeah, I mean they yeah, the it's the online physical education network. And if you just listen to the name, you might think, oh, it's it's an online PE program, it's a plug-and-play kind of program. It's not that at all. It's a network of teachers that help teachers. So we provide we're public service of US games and BSN Sports. Okay. And um we provide curriculum and content as well as professional development for teachers across the nation. Um, you know, we we really pride ourselves on quality physical education and giving teachers the tools to just really help them be the best that they can be. Um, you know, open open started uh almost more than 10 years ago um from Aaron Hart, and and it's just exploded in the last 10 years. So it's one of the things I'm most proud of being a part of.

Jake:

That's really cool. Yeah, we actually had them come to our district a couple years ago. Nick Klein, I believe, I'm sure you know him. He came down to Massachusetts and he did a phenomenal job. So so people can go on you know, open and and register, it's free, right? To do all this.

Will:

100% free. Um, all the curriculum is a hundred percent free. They have mindfulness uh they call them modules. So like each unit you would teach. They have like mindfulness modules, they have every kind of uh physical education uh activity you might want to do, limited equipment, personal social responsibility, basketball, foot skills, uh you name it, they do it. Um they just came out with a cup stacking one to celebrate the National Cup Stacking Week that's coming in November. Um, so they're constantly refreshing it. The the most recent one I worked on was the the uh the moving and learning, which is cross-curricular activities that you can incorporate, you know, reading, math, uh literature, language arts, everything into um activities so that you're not losing your your movement time or you're meeting your standards while also helping teachers um meet their standards.

Jake:

That's so cool. They really thought of everything, huh?

Will:

Yeah, they really have.

Jake:

So, Will, you've given a lot of presentations, a lot of professional development. What are some common questions that a participant may ask or that you hear people ask after the presentations?

Will:

Um, I think I think the biggest question that I get is um, you know, like how can how can I bring my inform bring that information or get that information to my coworkers, right? A lot of a lot of schools, a lot of districts, they can't afford to send all of their teachers to PDs um or to conferences. Um, and so when when you're at a conference or something like that, you might only be reaching one or two teachers from that district. Right. And and they, you know, they ask me, like, hey, can can I, you know, how do I bring this to my school? And uh the really the the best advice I could give you is hey, you know, take what I did. You know, I don't I'm not gonna be upset if you take that idea or though those concepts that I have and you share it with your district. Um, you know, that's how I kind of started my presentation was just sharing with people in my circle and sharing my ideas and bouncing ideas off of them. Um and so that led me to you know wanting to do more presentation presenting um at other places. Um so it's really just this idea of just be open to sharing. Um, I'm a big supporter of or a big believer in uh open source. I think open source content is is uh really uh you know, it's how we all get better. Um, you know, I it's important to give credit. I'm not saying don't give credit to somebody, right? Um, especially if you take their ideas. Uh but you know, I'm not gonna sit here and open a teacher pay teacher shop and share ideas that you know may have been born or you know, had their inception from something I saw Chip Candy do 20 years ago, or uh or something I saw another teacher do. Um, you know, and then I took it and I, you know, did it with my students and this part worked, this part didn't. I got rid of what didn't work. I added something new from something else I saw, combined it, transformed it, it became something new, and then I shared it and I paid it forward, so to speak. Um, you know, so so it's important to give credit where credit's due, but you know, don't open source, like let's just share and and put things out.

Jake:

Absolutely. I agree. We're we're a community all trying to help each other, right? And help our students. Yeah, so important. So let's let's go a little bit into our into the school, into your school situation, um, and how you where you teach and and some of the things you do to encourage or to develop leadership in your students. What are some uh either lessons or ideas that you want your students to come away with?

Will:

Yeah, I think you know, at the beginning of the year, um the first four weeks of my of my school year is is what I call training camp. And so we spend a week on rules and routines, and then we spend, you know, a week on fitness, and then towards the middle to the end of that, we spend two weeks on um you know on team building. And what is it, what does it mean to be a leader? Um you know, a lot of people think leadership is is being the one in charge, and it's really not. It's it's you're a part of a team. Uh leadership is is not telling people what to do, but being being an example for for people, you know, and and so instilling that in my students is really important. Um a lot of the ways that I do that are are through those team building challenges. You know, we we talk about cooperation, we talk about you know what it means to be good citizen. Um one of my one of my students this year, we did um the pipeline challenge where you're rolling a golf ball down half pipes. And then a week later, we did a different challenge where it was um the Titanic Challenge or Stepping Stones, where they're laying the the polyspots down and they have to cross across the pond with the polyspots. Um and and this student, like I don't know how, but the light bulb went off, and he said, Hey, you know, we did this pipeline challenge a couple, you know, two classes ago, and today we're doing this, and a lot of the concepts are the same, but instead of rolling a ball, we're rolling people, like we're trying to move people. Um, what if we use the same the same concepts and the same strategies, right? And it was funny because at first he got you know one or two students, he's he's not a traditionally uh an outspoken student, he just had this idea, and so he told his idea to a couple of friends, and and you know, they kind of started this uh this chain reaction, right? And he didn't care who who knew it was his idea or anything like that. He was just like, Hey, I think this is a really good idea, I'm gonna share it. And then he shared it with a couple more people, and then there was a point where they had been struggling and struggling and struggling, and so I stopped everybody, sent them back to the the start point, and I said, Hey, does anybody have an idea? And you know, at first he kind of didn't raise his hand, and then he heard some other people's ideas, and then you know, I kind of nudged him, I gave him that little elbow bump, and he raised his hand and I called on him and he shared the idea, and all the students were like, Oh, and the they kind of all had that same light bulb moment, and you could just see you could just see like it's it's weird in a sense because he got to he got to have that moment of leadership, even though he's not a traditional leader in that sense. Um, and so I think it's sometimes you can you can inspire leaders just by you know encouraging them to share great ideas.

Jake:

That's great. And he made that connection from the first activity to the next. So how do you but how do you how because you were so encouraging, he felt comfortable enough to speak up and and share that. That's a great story. Um so moving along to how we're inclusive with students, what's something you do in your gym that to ensure that P is inclusive for all students?

Will:

Um well, I think you know, I think if you look at something like the meaningful phys ed framework, where you know, you make you make it personal to each student. Um, I think the idea of differentiation, um, you know, it gets lost in the like level of the student versus just making it personal and meaningful for that individual student. So wait right now we're we just started our tossing and catching unit, and one of the things the the first things I did was I put out three different distances, right? With a polyspot at level one, a polyspot at level two, polyspot level three, and then I put a basket of objects, right? I had a rubber chicken, I had dice, a big foam, little foam dice, a big foam dice, I had a wiffle ball, a yarn ball, I had all kinds of different objects in the in the basket. And I said, you know, find something that works for you. Doesn't matter what it is. We're gonna work on the skill of throwing. And we talked about all the individual components of the throwing. Uh, when we were talking about the underhand throw, we talked about the you know, the TikTok arm and the step with opposition. When we got to the overhand throw, we were talking about the T, the L, the step, the throw, the follow-through tickle, um, you know, all of those keys, and we talked about it and we practiced it. But I really just said, hey, find out what works for you. If you think it's too hard, move it closer. If you think it's too easy, move it back. If you want to try throwing a rubber chicken and you want to throw it far, try that. If you want to throw a rubber chicken and it's close, try that. Um, you know, it was really about experimentation and getting students to to kind of just ex just try try new things, um, to just kind of see where they're at. Um, you know, you don't have to use a baseball, you don't have to use a softball, you don't, you know, you don't have to use those things. It's it's it's about the skill and developing the skill. And so I think that that's one of the ways that you can you can make things inclusive. There are lots of different ways, but that's just an example that comes to mind.

Jake:

Yeah. That's a great example because you're giving the students different options. And you know, obviously the the students with a diverse population, they're going to be coming in at different entry points. So some somebody who's more um you know, athletic may want to throw further, as you mentioned, or use a different ball. So it really gives the students a chance to to shine at their own level, right? So that's awesome.

Will:

Well, and I I'm not an adapted physical educator. I I'm I'm a gen ed physical educator. Okay. Um, but I I definitely I got I got the opportunity. The national adapted P conference was in San Jose, it was in my backyard. So I took advantage and I I went to that conference, and one of the speakers at that conference, you know, it said something that like really hit home. And that was this idea that if you really break it down, all physical education, even gen ed physical education is adapted physical education. You're gonna give the students what they need and how they, you know, how they learn and what they need to learn it as an individual. And, you know, whatever their their skill level, wherever they are on the spectrum, if you meet them at their level, they're going to be successful no matter what. And and it didn't, you know, I I I kind of didn't understand, but then I, you know, it hit me like when I was in my my teens and I was a you know the basketball athlete, if a teacher taught to me, they were excluding an entire group of students that were not the best athletes in in the school. And then when I was in my 20s and I was first starting to teach, if I was only teaching to the to the athletes or to the to the students who could perform the skills the best, I was excluding an entire group of of students. And then as I got older and I hit my 30s and my 40s, and my body started, you know, my brain started caching checks that my body couldn't cash, right? Right. Um I realized that like, oh, I can't do the things that I used to do. And it really woke me up to this idea of like, oh, now I have to really, I have to really meet the needs of all of my students. I can't just focus on the athletes. I can't just focus on the kids that that love to move. I have to focus on my entire population. Um, and that's a real big concept, I think, in adapted physical education that a lot of gen ed teachers could really learn from. It's it's you know, make that make that connection personal with your students, um, meet them where they're at and get them to wherever you can get them. Don't just say, okay, they can, you know, work within the standard to to to meet the standard, but it could look different. That standard could look different no matter who you're teaching.

Jake:

Right. That's great advice. Meet them where they're at. So this is a good segue into my next question, which is what is an initiative or program that you started at your school? Um I know you're just coming off of something called Family to PE Week, right? So tell us more about that.

Will:

So that actually started, oof, um, I want to say 2007 was when I first kind of had the idea. Um, and the the 2006-2007 school year was a rough year for me. Um, I was going through some stuff personally. I probably wasn't the best teacher I could be. Um, and my administrators came up to me and said, you know, you have to bring something to our school, or we're not gonna have you here anymore. And it, you know, it scared me a little bit. And so I I went away that summer. And when we came back, I I it's funny, I had gone to the the workshop at San Luis Obispo, and um it it dawned on me like I wish all people, like not just teachers, but I wish all people could go and experience a PE conference, right? Where you get to play and learn the games while you're playing it, and you get to find out what quality physical education looks like and feels like because you're doing it. Um and so it hit me in that summer that I should do that with my parents, with with parents uh at my school. And so I went to my administration, I said, I have this idea. Do you think we could do it? And they said, absolutely. And so I scheduled it and like mid-October, I thought that was a good time to do it. It was originally I had scheduled it right around my birthday as a you know, a back door to get my parents to come visit me, come back and visit me. Um and and so, you know, I scheduled it, and you know, I didn't do a whole big promotion, I didn't do anything. I I made a little flyer um back then on Microsoft Word, and uh, you know, this is before Canva and all these other programs that you could make all these fancy things. It was just a very simple, like come to PE kind of flyer with some clip art. And then I put the schedule on the backside. So kindergarten, Mondays and Wednesdays, first grade, Tuesdays and Thursdays, that kind of an idea, right? And it was just the regular schedule that I had already did all the time. And um, you know, it was okay. I had, you know, like two or three parents in every grade come. Um, and it wasn't until the following year that I realized how special it had been because those two or three parents convinced the entire, you know, their entire class, like, oh no, you have to come to this. This was so cool, so cool. Um, and then the next year I had like five or six parents in each class to where we are now, where I just had, you know, a boatload of class, a boatload of parents there um for each class. Um and so, you know, it started out as a oh, I need something to keep my job, to something that has become a tradition at my school, to some, you know, it's it's something that parents talk about and look forward to. And then when you know something comes up and they try to to reduce physical education at my school or um, you know, decrease funding or my budget, you know, parents, parents step up. Right. They're advocating now too. Exactly. It becomes it it's become an advocacy tool as well, um, which has been kind of amazing. And so, you know, I did that the first couple of years I did it, and then I shared it. Um, I was at the work the Cow Poly workshop, and I talked to, you know, Terry Drain was there, and we were just having a conversation. And like I said earlier, sometimes the uh conversations outside of sessions are just as important. Um, and so we were at dinner and we were chatting, and I talked about Family to PE week, and she said, Oh, that's a really great idea. And she started doing it. And then she took it to the next level and she started sharing it, and then it just kind of ballooned and ballooned and ballooned um into this national, national event that open and active schools does now. And um I think it's it's fantastic, and you know, it's great that they recognize me and they talk about it with me, but um, you know, every school is doing their own thing and every school does it differently. And um, it's funny, I I've gone after sharing it at Shape America in Tampa. Um, I've gone to other sessions and other conferences or other teachers who were doing it, and I get ideas from them. So originally it was called bring your parents to PE. And then somebody said, Hey, you know, that seems like a little, you know, not not inclusive because some of my students live with grandma, grandpa, some of my students live with foster parents, some of my students don't, you know, don't live with their parents. And I'm like, yo, that's totally true. Right, good point.

Jake:

Yeah.

Will:

He, you know, this is this is Dan Hill, and he made it bring your hero to PE. And and then somebody else said, Oh, I I do bring my family bring your family to PE. And that's what I I stuck with. So um, you know, you can you can go to these these things and and yeah, I was the originator or whatever, but I have gotten so many ideas from other people who do it that I, you know, I do it differently than when I when I first started too. Um I still, you know, I still do a lot of lot of activities that that I think I do best for my students, things like team builders and and cross-curricular activities, and I do a dance with all of them, which is great because um, you know, dance is is I think an overlooked piece of of what elementary physical educators do. Um plus it's very low equipment, so if you have a lot of parents, you don't have to worry about running out of supplies or anything. So um yeah, I mean I just I just think it's it's fantastic the way it's grown and become you know its own little thing. Um what started out as my little baby has now gone off to college and come back as a a real professional. So um I think it's great.

Jake:

That's awesome. And it's it's word of mouth, right? Like you said, it started off with a few parents and now it's grown into I don't know how many how many parents will you say came to your last one?

Will:

Um Yeah, I think I think so I had a um a Thursday uh 11 o'clock in the morning class, so right around lunchtime. And I had um we have 22 students in this kindergarten class, and I think we had 22 parents and 22 kids all in the same space. Um and it was fantastic. It was fantastic.

Jake:

So just a logistical question. When you do this, is the schedule sounds like it changes, right? Do they make accommodations for or how does it work? Is it the same schedule that they're gonna do? Same schedule.

Will:

It's my daily schedule. Daily schedule, okay. Yeah, and and my schedule's a little funky. Um uh in the morning, we have so my my school's a pretty small school. Um only about two 150 to 200 students every year.

Speaker 02:

Okay.

Will:

So um my learning space is outdoors, and it's about the size of a small gym. I have a basketball court with about three feet on other on every side of the basketball court, and that's my learning space. Um and so um we we kind of I just keep my normal schedule, but my my first class um goes up until recess, and then I have to clear everything off, and then there's about 20 minutes of recess, and then I reset up for my next class, and then clear everything off because then it's lunchtime because I'm in a school that's that's fifth that's uh an hour twice a week is what my students get. Um, and so I clear off everything for lunch, and then I have lunch, and then I have a back-to-back class from uh one o'clock to two o'clock, and then two o'clock till the end of the day. Okay. So it goes really fast, bang, bang, bang. Um into you know, into every every kind of class. So um we just keep the same schedule. Um what I do is I send out with my promotions that start about six weeks in advance, I send out a um a request for RSVP. Um and parents will RSVP just kind of let me know about who's coming, and then I can give those names to the the administrators who are there, like giving out the name badges and everything so they can get advanced clearance. Um my school does all the because we're such a small school, all the parents kind of do their their um you know their visitor waivers, everything ahead of the school year. Um they don't do it per event, they just do one blanket one for the whole beginning of the year, um, or for the entire year at each beginning of the year. Um, so that you know the community involvement is is a little easier at my Location. But yeah, I send out a Google form, they fill out the Google form. And what's nice is the Google form tells me who their child is, gives me their email, tells me the classes that they're going to be visiting. And then I take that Google form and then I have a list of you know attendees. And of course, there's always some that show up the day of, and I accommodate that. But now I have a list that I can send thank you notes to. And so one of the things I do at the end of each each day is I send a thank you message to each parent with like a picture that I've taken, even if it's just the group photo that we take at the end of each class. Something to give them to remember the day by.

Jake:

Well, that's another advocacy piece too, because now they're remembering that day with the the fun emotions and fun times they had. So next year they're gonna come back. That's really that's really cool how you you wrap it up like that. That's yeah.

Will:

Well, and and and and you know, before before I used to just get emails, uh, you know, like send me an email, let me know you're coming. And and I'd have an email folder full. And then I when I started sending out the Google form, it was like, oh, so much organization. I love it. Thank you so much. Oh yeah. Um, it just makes you know, like my makes my checkoff list.

Jake:

A lot simpler, right? Yeah. So Will, you've been uh in education a while now. So what do you think about how our field has changed since you started?

Will:

Um so it's funny, like I remember when I first started teaching, um, you know, people had computers, but uh not like we do now, right? Like people weren't using GIFs, they weren't creating PowerPoints or Canvas slides. Um you know, they they weren't you know using even iPads, like there was no such thing as i like iPhones. No, forget it. There were there weren't even i i ipods when I first started teaching. So I think the the the explosion in technology has been a big boost. And now you're getting the I don't know if you would say backlash, but it's almost like the whiplash, right? Where you're getting the reverse, right? Where schools are pulling back on the amount of tech that they're allowing students to access and students to use. So like we used to do things like like um the bam video delay and and all of these tech pieces that now my my school is pulling back on and restricting. Like, oh no, you can't you can't use iPads anymore with you know with student interface. We want we want to move away from the tech piece. Like I can still do slides and gifts and things like that, um, but the hands-on tech with the students, there's this this shift in in reverse that they want less um tech in hands-on tech in the classroom. And I think that's gonna be really interesting to see where that where that goes because you know all screen time isn't isn't equal. As much as I'd like to say, like, that's true. Yeah, yeah. Like it's one thing to, you know, have the screen babysitter, it's another to be like we're learning these these tools and these coding things um as a part of of our education. So I I go back and forth um because I do think that a lot of you know, a lot of problems are are existing because of you know social media giving students and kids access to that too early, too much screen time, you know, you know, touch grass, so to speak. But I also I also think that there's a you know, like I said, not all screen time is is built the same. So can we can we find that happy medium, the happy balance? It's a good question. But uh yeah, so I say that's kind of where the field has changed, is it's that that back and forth of tech.

Jake:

So you kind of answer the next question, which was what advice would you give someone new entering your field or entering the field of physical education? Would it be that advice about use use tech wisely or or what or what else would you do?

Will:

I mean, I mean, I definitely would say, you know, be open to it, but you know, don't rely on it. Um, you know, being in California, I teach outside all the time, so I don't have access to the tech like most people. Right. But at the same time, when I get to go inside, I'm throwing up those interactive, you know, like playing rock, rock, paper, scissors versus the computer, or um, you know, the the I have uh an interactive, if you take a mouse to the gym kind of activity that I can that's on slides. Um but I think I think my big uh my big advice to people just starting um is to stay connected, like join your professional organization.

Speaker 02:

Definitely.

Will:

Um, you know, that'll I I spent the beginning of my career in a pod of three teachers where we got to bounce ideas off of each other. And then when I left that school and I went to go work in another school, I was the only PE teacher again all by myself. And if I hadn't stayed connected to those guys, or if I hadn't started going to conferences or stay, you know, working with Caperd or or Shape America, like I would have been lost on an island and I probably would not have been a teacher and still would not still be a teacher because I would have burned it out, or you know, just not known what to do. And by staying connected and and finding those those mentorships through through professional organizations, um, you know, it's really helped shape my career. So I would say, you know, stay connected with your professional orbs. And uh that's my my advice.

Jake:

Yeah, great, great advice. I mean, uh, you know, it's as you said, um, we working by yourself on an island, it's tough when you don't have ideas to bounce off of. And there's so many great resources out there, as you mentioned, this open, you've created a lot of resources, and I'd love for you to share some links or ideas too in the resource section that people can go to. I'm sure they'll they'll benefit from that.

Will:

So I mean, my website, I put everything on my website, it's completely free. So, like if you like teachers pay teachers, um go your website. If you go to my website, it's free. Um, uh, not that I do the same things that teachers pay teachers do, but I I do have a lot of resources that I put out there for free.

Jake:

So that's fantastic. So, Will, what do you hope to see in the future? What goals do you have? These can be either personal goals or professional goals.

Will:

Yeah, I think I think a personal and professional goal is that I I would like to get nationally board certified. Um, it's one of those things that's been on my bucket list for a few years. Um you know I I thought about doing it and then COVID happens, and then pandemic happens, and you put it off and then of course I became uh capered president and I started you know serving in that capacity, and that's a three-year commitment. And then as soon as I wrapped up that commitment, um, you know, I I was, you know, um, I became interested in in joining Shape America as a board member and working on on that. And and so it's kind of one of those things that it's still on my bucket list, it's still something that I really want to do because I value that uh that process. Not because I want the certification, not because I get any kind of payment or bump out of it. I want to go through that process because I've watched some of my friends and some of my some some teachers that I really respect go through that process and seen how it not only helped them become better teachers, but it it really um it really elevates how you think about your own teaching. Um and so it's one of those things that's just been on my bucket list. So I'd say that is kind of a goal that I have to complete, and we'll see how that goes. But it's something that I'm really interested in, is that national board process.

Jake:

That sounds really valuable. Um, how long does the process take? Is it a year process? How long?

Will:

It's it's a multi-year process. I think I think two or three years, and it there's a some people do it's a four-part process, I believe. And I think some people do two parts a year, um, or they do one part a year. I I I'd have to look into it some more. Um I'm honestly, I think I'm a little um naive when it comes to the actual process, but it's something that I really think would be valuable, and so I'm I've gotta find that that time to get it get it off my bucket list.

Jake:

Right. No, that's awesome. Great goal. So, Will, any words of wisdom you can give our listeners?

Will:

Um yeah, I mean, it's it's gonna be good days, and there's gonna be bad days. Um focus focus on the good days, learn from the bad days. Um it's it's okay to go home and feel like this day was a complete failure. I feel like I failed my students. Um, just come back the next day, try to do better. Um, every day I have a a or not every day, every week I have a quote that I put on on my whiteboard for my students, and and this week's quote is success is not built on success, success is built on failure. Um and it's it just made me like this question just kind of made me think of that. Like you you really you have to learn from your mistakes, you have to grow from your mistakes, and there are gonna be bad days, and grow from those bad days. Um, you know, yeah, for sure.

Jake:

Um, that's definitely definitely good insight. It's how we get better, it's how we improve. Yeah. So, Will, how can our listeners connect with you? I know you mentioned you had a website. Are you on any other platforms, or what's the best way for them to yeah?

Will:

So I'm on all the Twitters. I like to make that joke. Um, so X, Mr. Will PE on X, Instagram, Facebook. Um, I am on Blue Sky as well at Mr. Will PE on pretty much all those platforms. I it's funny, I was working at a gym as one of my part-time jobs, and they sent me to a social media marketing kind of uh webinar lecture. Uh because these were before webinars, that's how long ago it was. And the one of the first things they said was, you know, find a find a name on all of the platforms and make it the same. And that way anybody can find you on any platform using the same information. So my website is mr will pe.com. Um everything, Mr. Will PE. If you Google Mr. Will PE, I will come up.

Jake:

It'll all come up. That's great. That's great. Yeah, and we'll make sure to have it linked to in the show notes. So thank you so much, Will, for sharing your experience and expertise with us. It's really been great having you on.

Will:

Uh yeah, thank you. It was great to be on.

Jake:

Listeners, if you have any questions, you can always email us at mahperdpodcast@ gmail.com. We'll have this episode uploaded soon. Also, we're asking our listeners to rate and share the podcast if it has helped you in any way, as it does help other folks find it. Have a great week and we will be back soon.

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