From Pause To Purpose "Teaching Through Apathy"

A majority of teachers experience this, but what do we do about it? Apathy doesn’t start as laziness. It starts when good teachers feel drained, unheard, and stuck in systems that keep adding more while taking away the parts of school that actually feel human. I sit down with retired physical educator and lifelong P.E.  advocate Colleen Wegimont to talk about what educator apathy really looks like in schools and why it’s showing up more often in physical education.

We dig into the root causes: burnout from paperwork and shifting initiatives, pressure from standardized testing, lack of funding, and school cultures where special area teachers don’t get the same respect as “core” subjects. Colleen shares what she sees in struggling PE programs and what thriving districts do differently, including listening to teachers, backing them publicly, and supporting meaningful professional development. We also talk about the student side of apathy, including anxiety, bullying fears, phones and social media, and how cutting back on play and specials can quietly remove the joy from school.

In this episode we get practical. You’ll hear strategies PE teachers can use right now: resetting expectations for safety, advocating by inviting parents and administrators to “see it to believe it,” collaborating with classroom and music teachers, and leaning on mentorship and professional organizations to rebuild purpose and community. If you’re a teacher, department lead, principal, or district leader looking for real ways to prevent teacher disengagement and protect quality health and physical education, this conversation offers an honest map forward.

Share this with a colleague who needs a boost, and leave a review so more educators can find the show. What’s one change your school could make this month to reduce burnout and rebuild purpose?

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 Please take a second to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” 

🗣️PSA******

P.E Teachers: Are you currently seeking graduate credits or professional development hours toward license renewal?​If so, you can receive $25 off any self-paced professional development course or year-long virtual course from my colleague at  Distinguished PE by using the code "nextlevelpe" at checkout. 

Whether your goal is to earn graduate credits or fulfill licensure requirements, now is an excellent time to explore the wide range of courses offered by Distinguished PE. Courses can be purchased directly through their website, making it easy to get started whenever it fits your schedule.  

Visit www.distinguishedpe.com to learn more and find the course that’s right for you.

Transcript

Welcome And Why Apathy Matters

Jake 0:16

Hello and welcome to Voices from the Field. My name is Jake Burson, Advocacy Chair for Mayford, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Colleen Wedgemont, a retired physical educator, but still very active in the field. Colleen and I work on the same board for the Eastern Seaboard Region of the National Academy for Health and Physical Literacy as social media chairs. In this episode, we're tackling a topic that's become increasingly common in classrooms and gyms alike. That's a topic of apathy. What exactly is apathy in the context of education or physical education? It can take many forms, emotional, maybe behavioral, or cognitive. And in today's demanding educational landscape, it's showing up more than ever. So today, we're asking Colleen, what are some causes of apathy? And more importantly, how can educators reignite that spark of passion and purpose? Stay tuned and let's unpack this together. Welcome to the show, Colleen.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Thanks for having me on, Jake.

Defining Apathy In Schools

Jake 1:15

Absolutely. It's so exciting to have you, and thank you again for saying yes. So let's dive in. Colleen, how would you define apathy in the context of education or physical education?

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Jake, to me, apathy is can be defined as a lack of interest or motivation or basically an indifference. As you mentioned in the your intro, there are three forms of apathy emotional, behavioral. When you're talking about the education system, there seems to be a lack of motivation due to emotional exhaustion, as they say, burnout. And for some teachers, they're just going through the motions without the passion and the joy. Today, the teaching job has changed because of paperwork, metrics, and exhaustion. Many look at teaching as a job, not a calling or a career.

What Apathy Looks Like In PE

Jake 2:05

Oh, that's too bad. I think some people definitely deal with this, but I think there's definitely ways that can be to bring the joy back to teaching and bring the joy back to what it once was. So we're going to dive into that more. Have you witnessed apathy among P teachers or educators in your career?

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Oh, yes, Jake. It just seems to be more and more today. But first, before I even get into that, I want to say that there's some amazing educators out there in the classroom and the gymnasiums across the states and the country. Now, when I returned from Shape PA conference in November, I had met with the 2025 Teachers of the Year and are innovators in physical education. I was impressed. These professionals are exceptional. The enthusiasm for their programs and students is contagious. You go on Facebook, you'll see all the state association honoring their teachers of the year and outstanding professionals. So there's some wonderful teachers out there. Also, all the professionals who come each year to the conferences and then they return to their schools regenerated, just like I was when I was teaching. So that brings hope. But then there's the teachers out in the some school districts that are not taking advantage of this professional development, or in some cases, they're not even allowed to attend. So you ask me what it looks like in those programs. To me, that's the ones still rolling out the ball, playing games. You're not seeing a lot of skill teaching. There's no innovation. And then you look and there's no extra programs for their students before, during, and after school. Basically, they come in, they teach, they go home. And in some cases, the lessons, the activities, the curriculum, it's the same year after year.

Jake 3:51

Yeah, I definitely would agree. I've seen that too, Colleen. And I think the challenge with those type of programs is the students get bored, the parents wonder what's happening in these programs, and it just becomes a cycle. But as you mentioned, that PD that is offered by our state associations in national is so important. You definitely get rejuvenated going to those conferences, whether you're either presenting or taking something away. So I'm a big believer in being a part of your state association and staying involved. Like you yourself, you've retired, but you're still involved in your state association, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Oh, yes, definitely. You have to stay involved and be passionate if you want to be a true professional. That's just my personal thing.

Apathy As Self Preservation

Jake 4:30

Absolutely. All right, let's move on. Is apathy always a negative thing, or could it be a form of self-preservation in a broken system? What are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_01 4:39

My thoughts on that, Jake, is that usually they describe apathy as a negative. But I have found that some people, for them, it serves as a form of self-preservation when they're in a situation that they have no control over. In schools that have a positive school culture and respect for all the teachers, the educators can thrive and they grow. But in those negative school cultures where they don't respect their teachers and then they feel overworked and not value, that's when you will see apathy wins out.

System Pressures Driving Burnout

Jake 5:09

That's an interesting point. So that culture that both the teachers and the administrators alike can provide is so critical to developing a positive culture. And without that's when you see apathy. So, Colleen, what systemic or institutional factors do you think contribute most to educator apathy, especially in regards to our content area, PE?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

When you look at it, there are many reasons why we see apathy in our school. Basically, the class size, student behavior issues, feeling unappreciated, and the lack of respect. Now, this happens often in the special subject areas like art, music, and physical education. Also in the case of classroom teachers, the districts keep changing and adding things to the curriculum. In some cases, without the teachers even having a say. So you can see how they can get really burnt out, but when they keep adding things to their plate, not taking anything off, and then the common complaint is there's too much paperwork, recording scores, and there's less time to teach and enjoy the students. And I feel that administration plays the big role in creating a school culture. Today we see more pressures on the teachers and even the students from that standardized testing. Now, that goes against everything that we know as best practices and teaching models. And then another issue that comes up a lot of times in school districts is the lack of funds, which we can limit the programs and what we can offer our students. So it's very important, I think, to have our principal. You want a principal who has your back, helps you to build the trust, they build you up, they don't tear you down, they end in the same token, they don't wear you down. But you also see in the school, you're sometimes we forget that the students are there. The students are also anxious. They're coming in tired and overwhelmed from outside influences. And I think social media and phones, as well as over testing the schools and lack of play, those are some of the key things that bother the students. In some places, some schools, we've taken the fun out of school. When they cut back on the specials, it's an has an effect on our students. Students can also be apathetic. Some of them have fears of being bullied. They're exposed to school violence like never before. And then today you even see yelling by parents and students at our teachers, a lack of respect. You can see why teachers start to get frustrated and burnt out.

Jake 7:27

Yeah, so you brought up several good points there. One being a lack of funding, a lack of respect, both for teachers. And I think we're all trying to do our best, but it all comes down to what do we want students to know and be able to do? What are our goals when it comes to the bullying that might be happening, or some sometimes they get exposed to trauma or some type of violence? How are we teaching them not just the physical skills, but also the SEL skills that are so important? One one thing I want to note that a lot of people don't realize is that as PE teachers, we see the whole school, elementary, K to six, in my case, middle, seventh, eighth, and high school, nine through twelve. And other continent areas, they just see their students every day, but they only see 24 students. So it's a different mindset. You really have to be a good planner. You have to be detail-oriented, I think, to be effective in this role. So you bring up a lot of great points, Colleen.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Thanks, Jake.

Jake 8:20

Moving on, do PE teachers face unique challenges compared to other educators? And I could shed a little bit of light on this, but that might fuel some disillusionment, disillusionment or disengagement.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

Jake, you're right on a lot of those issues. Physical education teachers, like our other special area teachers, I always put us all in the same category there, because we're all different from the classroom. I don't think that most of the time we get the same respect in lots of situations like classroom teachers do. Unfortunately, in many cases, we're looked at as the classroom teachers' prep time. We're not looked at educators. They forget that. We are also educators with a curriculum to teach. We've got standards to meet. And one of the things that always frustrated me when I was teaching was they would drop the students off my door and say, just run the energy off them. They're out of control. Play games. That's not just what we do. We don't, we're not there to run off the energy. We're not there to provide an extra recess time to the students. Then one of the other issues that only happens really to the physical educators in the especially in the elementary schools, is how often we lose our teaching space to assemblies, picture days, concert days. So on top of having a lot of students coming in and having them different grade levels all day switching in our schedule, we also need to be flexible because we lose our teaching space. And personally, I've taught in cafeterias, classrooms, hallways to meet the challenges of the schedules that the school provides. And lots of times I was tell my principal, oh, I guess today I'm not teaching physical education. I'm doing physical recreation because I'm out in the hallway. It is a different kind of thing for all the physical education teachers.

Jake 9:54

Absolutely, I agree. And the district I'm in, we have a pretty big district, and some of the teachers are teaching in the classroom. Some have a multi-purpose room, which is okay, but it's not ideal because you have tables in there, and that becom it can become a safety issue or safety challenge. So we really have to be flexible, as you mentioned, and be detail-oriented in how we lesson plan.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

And I think as a phys ed teacher, we have a lot more issues safety-wise. There's so many things that happen where the classroom teachers don't have that happening in their room because we have the kids in constant motion and obstacles in our way, too.

Jake 10:27

Absolutely. And that's why the routines and the expectations really have to be on point. Just having them come in the right way. A lot of teachers use polyspots or cones or whatnot in squads, but it's so important to plan all that out and make sure that students are aware of the expectations. And if they're not, if they break them, then it's time to revisit that and have a class reset. I just did that the other day. Class was having some trouble. So we reset the expectations. I showed them a quick video that I made about the expectations, and now we're back on track. So sometimes that's necessary.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

That's good. You have to keep them going. You have to keep the safety of them first. We're educating, but we want to keep them safe while we're doing so.

Jake 11:03

Absolutely, 100%. So do cultural attitudes toward PE as a non-core quote unquote subject affect teacher motivation or professional pride? Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, so in some cases, yeah, definitely. Like in my teaching experience, I found that I had to really go out of my way to educate not only my students, but the principals, the teachers, and the parents of actually what I do in my room, what is my curriculum, what happens in my classroom. I believed it in what I did. And I thought I was the most important teacher in the school because I teach the whole child. But I often invited, I took time to invite these people into my classes to see special activities and lessons because they're based on their own experience. Now I was very fortunate. I was able to attend my principals, and my school district allowed me to go to professional conferences and other professional opportunities. And the teachers knew I was going out, so they knew I was a professional. I wasn't just a gym teacher, as they said. I was also fortunate to be selected as a Shape American Eastern elementary district elementary teacher of the year for PE. And then I earned many awards during honest during my career, which helped me advocating health and physical education. But I was in the building. Like the going away and you get another award. So you got to explain what was going on, that what we do is important.

Jake 12:23

Absolutely. And I mean, you've like you mentioned, you have a lot of awards and that you have pretty esteemed career and you're still involved, which is you and I are pretty good friends. You have that go-getter attitude, which I really appreciate about you. You just go after it. So that's awesome. So I want to touch on a point you mentioned about inviting people in. I think some people shy away from that, but I think it's so important, especially caregivers or parents who want to come in and volunteer, get them in to see what your program's all about. I remember early in my career, I had a couple of parents come in three days a week, and they were just my one of my strongest advocates because they saw what I was trying to do with the program, what I was trying to build up with the students, and they were just instrumental in just being a big support for the not only the students, but the PE program overall. So I totally agree. Get folks in there, don't just teach inside the gym walls, teach outside the gym walls.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

And I think the parents need to come in because what happens sometimes, I had this situation of one, the student went home and told this mother all these things that were supposedly happening in my class. And the father, I invited the mother and father in, and the father came, and everything that the daughter said was not true. This was not happening, and some of the issues were her own fault. She was not reaching out to people. So when he left the class, because don't worry about it. I will take care of it with my wife. I know what's going on in this classroom, and thank you for what you're doing for our students. But if I hadn't invited, take that phone call and brought them in, then that child would have kept going home and saying things that was not actually true that was happening in your classroom.

Jake 13:57

You handled that well. You could have gotten defensive or tried to defend yourself and protect yourself. You reached out to them, and that was huge because he changed his tune, he changed his mindset, and everything was all settled. He knew that you were running a good program.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

But sometimes they have to see it to understand it.

Jake 14:13

See it to believe it.

PE Burnout And Feeling Isolated

SPEAKER_01 14:14

That's my that was always my philosophy. Even the teachers would have them come down at the end of a class a few minutes early, just so they could see something special going on in the gym that they would not realize that we do.

Jake 14:23

They sometimes don't know what we do until so in how does burnout manifest differently in PE teachers versus, let's say, classroom teachers?

SPEAKER_01 14:35

For the physical education teachers, some of the things that the other ones don't have, we do have larger class lists, especially like in the high schools and middle schools. Their workload in and is just they'll bring doubles, triple classes than what the classroom teachers have. And then when you're teaching physical education, one of the things that always comes up is you have physical exertion and toll on your bodies. And after a while, that will wear you down if you don't take care of yourselves. Self-care is something we teach, but sometimes we don't do for ourselves. And then the other thing is that we work in, especially elementary, in an isolated situation. So we don't have a grade level to talk to. In my school, the it was like three or four fourth graders and fifth grades, they all had a grade level. They all had someone to share with what was going on, ideas. But yeah, being the elementary teacher, you didn't I was by myself. Now, yes, I had special area teachers I could talk to, but what we teach and what they teach is totally different. You know, you need to find someone in that building that you can share your experiences with. And then also with the, you can see what burnout comes in for the junior and senior high. Many of the teachers, voluntary or otherwise, also have coaching jobs. Now, the classroom teachers, I must I'll say too, they think burnout from administration and curriculum pressures, but they can reach out to others in their grade level in subject, but we can't. So that's what we one of the things that happens that we're different from them.

Jake 15:57

Yeah, no, that's a good point that you bring up. We're definitely an island sometimes. And that's why it's so important to reach out to your colleagues, either in the school or across the district, and then again, be a part of your state association. I mean, they're there to help you and have your back, so to speak, and just be a sounding board. So I encourage people who might be on the fence about joining. And those of you who have joined, you know what I'm talking about. You know what a benefit it is. So let's move on. Do you think teachers become apathetic because they feel powerless to make meaningful change? What are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Yeah, in some school districts, definitely. I have to agree with that. When you're we feel valued and respected and you have ownership in the decision making, especially in the areas of programming curriculum, then you're more likely to work harder and be more involved in all the activities. In some cases, I sort of during my teaching careers, things were brought down that we had to do that we had no say in. We just had to do it. So it doesn't feel like you're polished to make any changes. Because if I you don't have a say, then it's hard to be interested and invested in it.

Jake 17:01

That's a good point. I think I hear it's I'm sure it's common in most districts. Every, they say every two or three years there's a new initiative or new this and new that coming in. So we're just gonna wait to see if this passes. But I do think that as opportunities arise for teachers, both classroom teachers and P teachers, we should really take advantage of it. If if our liaison or our district coordinator, if you're lucky enough to have one, reaches out to you and says, You want to be involved in curriculum work, go for it. You want to be involved in teaching at a PD, yeah, go for it. You're just not only raising the profession, but you're also helping other folks. So that's so important to get involved.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

You have to be involved to have a purpose and things, and then you have control because you have a say. They may not agree your say, but at least you think I was on the health wellness committee, I was on the safety committee. And so you got to hear both sides, all the sides, and then you can also put your two cents in. And that is important, even if I didn't always agree with their decisions. At least I felt like I had my say.

Jake 17:57

That's so important. It's kind of like voting, right? You don't if you don't vote, you can't really complain about the outcome. At least put your two cents in, put your thoughts in.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

You can complain, but it's not going to do anything.

Leadership That Lifts Teachers

Jake 18:07

Exactly. So let's talk a little bit about school culture in leadership. How does leadership style from principals or department heads impact teacher morale and engagement in PE?

SPEAKER_01 18:17

Jake, I really believe that the principal and the administrators, they set the tone for school's culture and they contribute to teachers' morale. We haven't really touched on that yet. We've talked about being respected. Now, when you're valued and respected, you're more involved in the school activities, and then you make a you help to make it a positive working climate, everybody working together. Now, I have had my share of principles and both types. Some are positive, and that leads to positivity, and some can be very negative and strict, and that can create negativity in the school's climate. I will give you an example though. When I was a the elementary PE coordinator, one of the things I tried to do was to listen to the other elementary PE teachers and then find ways that we could work together as a team. And I was in one of our meetings and I brought it up to our curriculum director that PE people would be glad to hold a session for the in-service days. And so we were going to do a session on brain-based activities for the classroom teachers. So they had two sessions. They filled up with a waiting list. So we ended up doing a third session at the next in-service day. And it really uplifted us emotionally. First, they were going to put us in a gym. And then I said, no, I want to be in a classroom. I'm a teacher. I'm going to be teaching just like the teachers are going to be doing. So that was interesting to have them come there. They thought they were coming to the gym. We had such positive feedback from the teachers and administration because we had a chance to show that we were educators. We had something to contribute. And it opened up a lot more conversations with our classroom teachers in the buildings. I think it helped us to earn a little bit more respect. And so that created a positive experience. And I was glad that the administrator gave us that opportunity. And then she did come back and try to get us to do a few more.

Jake 19:59

You can't blame her if it was successful. And great job for reaching out and accomplishing that. That sounds that sounds like it was really beneficial for the folks involved.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

And also teachers, Jake, because it was funny that we offered this in the next in-service, we offered the same session. And my third grade teachers, all of them signed up. And I said, Do you know that this is the exact same presentation we did in the fall? And they go, Yeah, but we've never had an in-service where we learned stuff and had so much fun than when we were a few. So they're doing it again. And then it also allowed me when I when they came back, that we started working, I started working with them in the classroom and helping them write. So it was uh it puts on an even keel for a little bit, educated educator.

Jake 20:40

And you fought you also followed through and had some cons some consistent support follow-up after that. So that's great. So, listeners, this question that you just heard, think about some PD that you've been involved with that has been great and what set it apart. Just something to think about. Colleen, are some schools or districts better at fostering purpose and enthusiasm among educators? And if so, what are they doing differently?

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Definitely, yes, there are some school districts that are doing better than others. As I mentioned earlier, this year's Teachers of the Year, they all came from amazing school districts that valued their teachers and supported them in new activities and curriculum to help them grow as professionals. They even allowed them to come across the state to come to the conference. It was also interesting to see that most of our award winners were also building and district subject coordinators. So their honor was not only an honor for themselves, but it was also an honor for the district and program, which means something is going right in those districts. Each one of those teachers had the most amazing letters of support from their principals. So listening and giving teachers the opportunity to try new ideas and activities, that will give purpose and that will bring in enthusiasm. So I think it's important for the school districts to support them, to encourage them, and to help them to meet their professional goals.

Collaboration That Creates Belonging

Jake 22:03

I agree with you 100%. Something that you said that stood out was listening. I think that's so important and opportunity. Those two words stuck out to me. You really got to listen to folks and give them the chance and opportunity. To show what they know. That's key. So, how does interdisciplinary collaboration affect the teacher's sense of belonging and relevance in the school culture?

SPEAKER_01 22:23

I always was a big firm believer in working and collaborating with the other teachers in the district. I think it's important that you for you to be a part of the whole school community. I always made an effort to work with the other special area teachers to create programs and doing activities together where possible. But I also like to work with the classroom teachers. Now, the year I brought in pedometers, the Digi-Walkers, I was telling some second-grade teachers about it. And one of the teachers and I, we actually teamed up for a whole year to do an experiment to see how they would affect the students with math. In my class, I would call them PE scientists, and we did experiments in math in their classroom as well. So my second grade co-art and I presented after a whole year-long program, we did that at the Pennsylvania State Conference. Also, my music teacher, while I was working with the Digi-Walkers, she wrote a song about Digi-Walkers. We videotaped it with the chorus, and then we also performed uh song and dance at the school assemblies. And I loved working with the music teacher. I think we really go together. We did that throughout our teaching careers. Movement is music, music is movement. And she wrote songs and created movements, activity things, songs for me for scarves, hula hoops, as well as character counts. Um, and then we took what we did, and we actually presented that at the Shape America Eastern District Convention. So I would say that for anyone, it's really important that you collaborate, but don't wait for them to come to you. I think you have to be your own advocate. I went out and secured people working with me and showed them that I wanted to work together.

Choosing Support Over Gossip

Jake 23:58

That's such great advice. Collaborate with your colleagues, stick your neck out a little bit and be willing to try something new for the students. And just, like you said, be your own advocate. So important. Next question is a little bit touchy, but let's be honest, some folks, some educators can sometimes fall into this trap of comparison or even gossiping. So, what difference does it make when teachers make a conscious effort to lift each other up instead of getting caught in this trap of what's he doing or what's she doing or what are they doing? So, what are your thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Yeah, Jake, I think it makes a big difference. When some teachers support each other, it creates a sense of trust and positivity that you can actually feel in the building. Then people become more open, more willing to collaborate, more willing to try to things. It also models the kind of behavior we want to see at our students. Respect, encouragement, teamwork. I just avoided gossip when I was teaching. I just stuck to my own things and did that. I tried not to compare myself to other teachers and just did my things. And what I did was I put my students first. That was my only concern. Kids first. So if it benefited my kids, that's what I did for them.

Early Warning Signs And Intervention

Jake 25:07

Absolutely. Love that advice. Colleen, what are some early signs that a teacher or any educator for that matter might be becoming apathetic? And then what can be done to intervene?

SPEAKER_01 25:19

For me, when I think that a teacher is becoming apathetic, there's like a lack of involvement, especially within the areas of extracurricular activities. And then you start to watch them and there's a change in their mood. They're not as enthusiastic as they once were. That's a key sign for me. So what we would suggest is you go try to find ways to talk to them and to listen to each other. And then one of the things you really need to do in the schools is to do things together. Take time to do things outside the class. Like we used to go for walks. There's a bunch of us that used to just go for walk after school, talk, vent, have a good time, just get out together. Now, for the professionals, I would say go and join your professional organization. I guess we can't say that enough tonight. Find a new purpose. And then when you get to these organizations, don't just do the conferences. Get involved because you know what? You're going to find out people are going through the same things you are, and they're going to give you advice, and you're going to be able to share with them. And your network gets larger and your people to count on gets larger. I know my involvement is Shape PA and the National Academy. Well, they've helped me to grow and gave me a purpose, even though I'm retired. Because the truth is, every single one of us needs a purpose in this life.

Jake 26:29

Absolutely. And that's where we met at the NAFL at the Academy. And we've definitely made a lot of great connections going to the conferences and different events and PDs that they've offered. So that's again, we can't stress it enough. Get involved in some type of professional organization, whether that's at your local, state, or at the national level.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Yeah, I always tell my future professionals, I would never have met the people who I have met and who had the opportunities in my career if I stayed in my little silo at the gym at the school, going out for Shea PA, then going to the Eastern Seaboard, then being going to national conferences. My networking goes from Maine to Hawaii.

Mentorship And Professional Networks

Jake 27:05

That's awesome. So, Colleen, let's talk a little bit about mentorship. Can mentorship or peer support help reduce feelings of apathy or burnout? And I think I know the answer, but let's go.

SPEAKER_01 27:18

I believe it totally in mentorship and peer support. It's key. We can't make this world by ourselves. It just doesn't work. We all need someone to talk to. We need someone that understands how are we feeling and what we're experiencing at work. You always need someone to lean on and help each other. Now, currently I'm mentoring two students. Now here I am retired, one at Penn State and one at Westchester. So my thing is I'm there to give them advice when they need it, when they want to reach out and ask for it. If I don't have any wisdom or advice for them, I do know, from my experience, people who can give them the information they will need. I just send them the information. I've been constantly sending my mentors, mentees, professional opportunity learning. So we find people to help them. And they are future professionals and the mentors, they keep me young and current. Now, you when I left teaching, I retired. I left the teaching part of it, but I never left the profession.

Jake 28:11

I told you, listeners, Colleen was a go-getter. Here it is, another example. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 28:17

Never too old to mentor someone else.

Jake 28:19

And they can mentor Absolutely. So, what practical steps can school systems take to prevent or reverse educator apathy, especially in our content area, PE?

unknown 28:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

First thing the school systems have to do, the school districts have to do, is recognize that there can be an issue with their teachers. This can be apathy can be an issue. They need to recognize that their teachers are very valuable members of the school community. Now, as far as physical education, we have a little tougher job because sometimes they're based on what they what their activities were like. But in my opinion, we were the most important teachers on the staff. We were teaching that whole child. They're teaching about the healthy living style, the active lifestyles, the lifelong activities. We're talking about their bodies, the whole thing. We were there for the whole child, emotionally, socially, effectively, as well as physically. So I think also school districts will need to look at their staffs and get them involved in decision making. Let us know ahead of time. If you're going to take my teaching space, it would be nice to know to let me know ahead of time, not when I walk in that morning. And then also if it's the situation, could you help me with alternatives? So I feel that the more in cooperation between administration, the school district, and the teachers, the more cooperation, then everybody will be all involved and it'll be a great climate to work in.

Jake 29:44

I agree. In addition to cooperation, that communication, whether it's either verbally or email, that's so critical because people want to know what's happening, just like our students want to know. What are we learning today in PE? We want to know if we had a plan and it's not going to come to fruition for whatever reason, we want to have an alternative as quick as possible. So, well, good advice.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Definitely.

Jake 30:05

Colleen, if you could redesign the PE teacher's role or experience from the ground up, what would you change to keep this passion alive?

SPEAKER_01 30:14

First thing I was always thinking by students. First of all, the students need more PE classes. Once a week in a cycle is not enough. It will also give us more time to teach what we need to teach to meet standards. And that will ease up things. But we're not trying to rush everything into our small class periods. Smaller class size, and especially for PE, we should have the same amount of students that the regular classroom teachers have. When you start to double up classes, it just doesn't work. You're not, the kids aren't getting the education that they need. Yes, we're getting time, but they're not getting the your whole best self. I think that providing in service that meets the needs of the physical educator. Too many times we have sat in in services that were not geared towards us. And say, well, we'll get something out of it. Again, that's why I just love I turned it around and I said, let's go out and let the offer a session so we don't have to sit through a session we don't want to be in. And I think also letting teachers attend state conferences or professional learning opportunities when they arise, then we need opportunities to show the staff. This is on us, though. We need to show the staff what we're doing in class. Take those opportunities, show them what's going on, bring the principal in, bring the teachers in. Because they're based there, they base physical education on their own experience. To be honest, not everyone had experiences in quality physical education programs as they went through the system. So they really don't know what we're doing. And so you need to bring them in and show them. I advocate, advocate is what I'm going to say. Advocate for yourself.

Jake 31:48

So people that have prior experiences that are negative, they assume that's what's happening currently. And then the bicep the flip side is true too. People that might have had a great experience might see the opposite. So as you said, get out there, advocate, don't let people assume. Communicate with the caregivers, communicate with your administrators, collaborate with your colleagues. Those are all critical points.

unknown 32:14

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

And like you said, we've saved through this whole program tonight. We need to make sure then we get out and get in those professional organizations and get and be a professional and grow and don't stay stagnant.

Jake 32:25

That kind of leads me to my next question, which is what advice would you give a teacher who feels like they're just going through the motions? I know we mentioned the state associations and the conferences, but what else?

SPEAKER_01 32:35

Besides the state association, because I will I can't push the state organizations and your local organizations enough and going to conferences because that's where you meet people and you can share ideas and get ideas. I would say we have to find a support system for people, whether it's in person or online, they need a place where they can vent, where you can discuss issues, where you can find solutions. Because when you're sitting there talking back and forth, all of a sudden somebody has an idea and you never thought of that idea, and that will help you to make sure that you're not just going through the motions. And then as a you need some self-reflection. You need to determine what's causing you the way you feel. You know, what's why you're feeling this way? So what is the fix going to be? Maybe it's even changing a job. Maybe it's going to find a new school district. It's you're just not happy there. Or then maybe it's to find a different road to finding enjoyment in what you do in your personal life or your professional life. And then the same thing you always tell your kids, when there's stress, get involved in your physical activity, get that level up. Go out and think about it and go out and relax and get that physical, get that anxiousness out of you.

Jake 33:45

Great advice. So we're coming to a conclusion for the podcast. Final question: what gives you hope about the future of physical education and those who teach it?

SPEAKER_01 33:56

Jake, I'm the awards chair for Shape PA, and I had the privilege of interviewing the nominees for our outstanding future professionals. And I can tell you, after those interviews, there is hope. These new students coming out, and I know they have the cream of the crop there, but they give you hope. Their enthusiasm, the motivation, they can't will carry, hopefully will carry over when they get a job. And they will go in and set a tone in their school communities and they will refresh some of those that are out there and maybe excite the other professionals in their building. New blood, new attitudes, not burned out yet. And hopefully they can be there for the other people who are in the schools.

Jake 34:37

That's great. I'm glad that's happening. And I'm glad that we have a whole new kind of breed of young up-and-coming professionals coming into the profession and people like yourself that are mentoring them. That's so important. And I encourage any teacher, whether you're retired or not, if somebody comes to you and asks you a question, say your thoughts, share your experiences. That's so important. Colleen, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. This was such an important topic to discuss and unpack.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

Thank you, Jake, for having me on. We've been talking about this for a year or so now, so it's nice to get it out.

Jake 35:09

We have, we we finally did it. I'm so happy.

SPEAKER_01 35:11

Finally did our end.

Jake 35:13

So listen, for schools, for leaders, if you're listening, if you're in a leadership role, please ask your teachers what they need and really listen. Create space for your educators to have a voice in the decisions. That's where engagement begins. Recognize your health and PE teachers and special area staff. They are essential, not optional. Health and PE teachers, showcase your program, invite others in, and let them see the impact of quality health and physical education. Remember, what you do matters. You're shaping lifelong habits, not just filling time. And finally, thank you, listeners. We'll have this episode uploaded soon. Please rate and share if this podcast has been helpful in supporting you in any way, as it does help other folks find it. Thanks for listening. Have a great week, and we will be back soon.