Five Tips For Better Teaching

Welcome PE Nation!

We I share five simple mantras that help us teach better, especially when PE gets tough with heat days, indoor constraints, and the constant need to stay upbeat. I connect each mindset to real moments from sports, work, and school so you can pick one weakness to target and get 1% better each day. 

• embracing the grind when conditions make teaching harder 
• building relationships by staying friendly and consistent with quiet or grumpy students 
• using JFG to stop overthinking and act in students’ best interest 
• spotting when “good” becomes a trap that blocks real growth 
• keeping moving forward during mistakes, malfunctions, and sudden changes 
• reviewing the five mantras to find one focus area 

Happy teaching,

Dave

-Check out supersizedphysed.com for more resources, including free PDFs, articles, and courses to help with your PE program. Please leave a review to help grow this podcast and keep pushing our profession forward.

-Team Building Games Ebook (with preview): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Team-Building-Games-and-Activities-for-PE-Class-14063095

-Free resources include Substack and Medium articles with PE tips, games, and strategies

-High Fives and Empowering Lives book available as an ebook or paperback

-Paperback or download: HERE

-Amazon Ebook: HERE

Transcript

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Welcome And The Five Mantras

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hello, and welcome to the Super Science for Z podcast. My name is Dave, and today I want to talk about five things that can make you a better teacher. Five values, five mantras, five ways of thinking about teaching that could ultimately help your career has helped mine so far. So without further ado, here we go. All right, welcome in, PE Nation. So glad that you're here and listening. I've kind of slowed down my podcasting, but I want to keep putting out content at least once a month, once or once or twice a month, just to keep things going, keep things fresh, and uh just hopefully put out good things to the world. That's my goal. So today, again, I want to talk about five things that um I'm kind of putting some ideas together. I guess I don't want to do full podcasts on one little topic here. I want to put them all together into five really good uh values, really good mantras, really good th ways of thinking, like I said. And uh hopefully this will help you think of teaching or just even even your life in a new way. And yeah, let's get going with that. So um again, really good stuff here and some good examples to go with it. So let's make this a boomer. Hey, why not? Here's the first one.

Embrace The Grind In PE

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Okay, number one is Embrace the Grind. This is from Daniel Cormier, a UFC, former UFC fighter. He is in the broadcasting booth, he's in a uh Hall of Famer in the UFC. He's uh if you follow the UFC, he's he's a big name. And he is also a coach on the Ultimate Fighter. Um, again, if you don't know what that is, it's just a reality competition uh amongst fighters, UFC fighters, and his mantra, and I've heard it before, I've I've heard him use it before, is embrace the grind. And he talks about that quite a bit, but the I guess the ultimate point is you know, you have to enjoy the ride, enjoy the journey, embrace the tough times so you can um you know be a champion like he was. Okay, you have to it's it's tough sometimes. It's tough teaching for me. It's been tough getting back into the I guess the weather uh problems we've been having. At PE, we've had uh lots of heat index days where we have to be inside to you know, we have to get creative. And um we have to be and we have in the classrooms. So I know a lot of you are inside in gyms, but you know, we have to be inside classrooms doing PE related activities. Um it's never it's not a new thing, but it's it's every you know, back to school uh month or so, and it's it's hard. It's the one grade level, our third graders have only gone out three, so sorry, two times. They've been out two times this year in three weeks because of the heat, because of the lightning, and it just it sucks. Honestly, it sucks. And you know, just getting used to the weather also, as far as just physically being out there and just sweating buckets and you know, keeping hydrated, and uh it just it sucks sometimes. And so just embracing that grind, getting back in the swing of things. Um, you know, just I need to you know have the energy to uh and keep that up for my my students, and I do, but it's you know, it's hard sometimes. It's but it's the the payoff is so much better, it's so much worth it. Um, just being the best you can for these students, for these children that are looking up to you, and you know, it's all worth it if you embrace the grind, and that's number one.

Be Like Erica With Relationships

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Number two is gonna be kind of my my fun one. It's be like Erica. So I work at a local hockey arena and also has concerts and other events, and there's a server there named Erica, she's my favorite person to talk to there. She's awesome. Her personality is incredible, and she finds a way to talk to everybody. So, I mean, she is just it it doesn't matter if it's a grumpy um old or young person, or it's a talkative person or a shy person or whatever. She makes friends with everybody. And I told her one time, I'm like, I need to be like you, I need to be like Erica, because there are times when I almost give up on again, these are adults, but I'm gonna get it's also applies to students where I talk to the same people all the time. I'm like, hey, how are you tonight? And they just ignore me. Or, you know, how's it going? Or whatever, and they ignore me. Or they're just grumpy, or they're not nice. And, you know, she she makes them talk to them. She even says, I'm like, I'm gonna force that person to talk to me. I'm gonna get I'm gonna get right in their face and be like, hey, how are you? And I feel like I'm a positive person. I'm I'm very good at customer service, but there are times I admit, and I admit it to her, I'm like, you know, I've tried to say hi to this person, like, I don't know, 10 times, and they keep ignoring me. She's like, just keep going, get them, get them. And I'm like, oh man, I don't know if I can. And I'm like, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna Erica this person. And so sure enough, I'm like, you know, I just forced myself to get out of my comfort zone and you know, it's make them say hi to me or make them talk to me. And it's funny because I told her she needs to make me um, and if she actually does some uh embroidering stuff, she's got machines, she she creates these products. I'm like, you need to make me a shirt or a wristband or something that says, you know, WW, like what would Erica do, or uh or be like Erica or something to remind me. And the one time I was so excited, I got this this, she's actually a worker there, she works there, but she never talks to me. And I'm like, yeah, I Erica, I Erica's her, and I gave Erica a high five. She's like, Yeah, that's right. So um it point being, and it comes to our students too. There's students that almost never talk to me, especially in the morning. Uh, and I work at the biker walker gate, and they come in and they're all like you know, either tired or sad, or and I I try my best, and just it just don't give up on that. Okay, keep the relationships going, keep talking to the students, even if they're shy or they don't want to talk. I'm not saying get her in the face and be mean or whatever. If they're sad, you know, obviously show compassion, but don't give up. You know, be like Erica and you know, get build those relationships. Don't give up. Erica and I will both be proud of you, I promise. And that is number two.

JFG And Lead With Action

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Okay, number three is JFG. And I'm not gonna swear on this podcast, but I'm gonna say the J stands for just, the F is a bad word, and G is go. So just F and Go. And that came from my uh my favorite hockey team besides my local Everblades that I work at, um, professional team, NHL team, the Buffalo Sabres. That's where I'm from. I'm from Buffalo, New York, and I grew up as a Buffalo Sabres fan. And they've really they've been terrible for a long time, but this year they finally made the playoffs. It's it was 17 years, it was crazy, uh, or something like that. It was it was a long time since they made the playoffs, or 17 seasons or whatever it was. They were in the longest playoff drought in the NHL, and they made it. And Lindy Ruff, the um the head coach, um, when the they were in a playoff series against Montreal, and they they did lose this series, but they were kind of off their game. They were playing hesitantly and not playing the way he wanted them them to play. And so his mantra was just F and go. Of course, he said a bad word. He said that bad word, but just F and go, just go. Just don't think, just go. And you know, I'm not saying don't think about. Um, and by the way, they played much much more freely. They won that game, I think, I'm not sure. And but they played it in a different way, a different mindset. They're just like, just go, just do it. Okay, like the Nike saying. And there were actually even shirts made that for that night that said you know JFG, which I wanted to get, but I was like, well, I better not wear it to school because kids would be like, what does that stand for? So um, but anyways, it's it's about just doing what you need to do for your students at all times. Just do it. There are many, many times where I'm like, yeah, but I don't know, is this the right thing? Or um, or well, I get in trouble for it because I didn't ask for permission instead of you know that kind of thing, ask for permission instead of forgiveness, or forgiveness instead of permission, or whatever. So just you know, JFG, if it's right for the students, it's right for you, it's right for your program, just F and go. And that's number three.

When Good Blocks Great

SPEAKER_00 9:24

Number four is a really good one to remember, and I don't know where this quote came from. I didn't make this up. I heard it uh recently on a I think a football podcast for the Buffalo Bills, and it was something. Well, I know the quote, but I don't know exactly um again who it's from. It's the enemy of great is good. And it really made me think about that. I'm like, wow. So I'm gonna give you uh another football example. The Pittsburgh Steelers, I'm I'm just telling you, this is how I feel about them. I've heard this as well. So it with Mike Tomlin, their coach, again, if you don't know who this is, it doesn't matter. It's okay, but they had the same coach for a long time, for like uh, I don't even know how many years. He's a great coach, by the way. But they were always they and they won one Super Bowl in this in his tenure there. But ever since um their franchise quarterback retired, they were always like mediocre. And you know, they they'd finish the season like eight and eight or nine and eight or whatever when they went to 17 games. And they just they were always mediocre. And they so what happened is instead of being great, they were good. And then they would get not great draft picks the next year, they get good draft picks, and then they'd always be in the middle. So they make the playoffs, they'd have a or or maybe they make the playoffs, maybe not, but they'd always have a winning or a what they call you know 500 record, which is like eight and eight. But they were never great, they were always good. And this wasn't even about them, it's about it was even about this talk was about the Buffalo Bills, but it made me think of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And but the same thing with the Bills, it's like they they're always making it so far, but they never made it to the to the top. They've been there, but they never won it. And recently they've been, you know, the the all their players are really good, and they have like one great player. But they're you know, they're always in that middle part, middle to the top, but not quite where they need to be. And it's kind of like that with PE, and I th this is what made me think of this, is you know, if you're coasting along, doing good, like good, good, good, good, lessons are good, kids are good, students are behaved, um, for the most part, you know, lessons are, like I said, going well, fun games, like that's good. But then you kind of lose momentum and you stop studying, or you stop looking on uh online, connecting with people, trying to find better games, better ideas, newer things. And that's the enemy of again, the enemy of great is good. You're good. You know, you didn't hit rock bottom, you're not at the bottom, you're you're doing good. But you need to up your game. And I again constantly have to remind myself of that. I can coast along another 10 years doing the exact same things I'm doing. I can, but I don't want to do that. I want to get better every day, and that's my goal for myself and for you. So always remember that the enemy of great is good, and you should keep you know upping your level as much as you can every day getting 1% better. And that's number four.

Keep Moving Forward Under Pressure

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Alright, the final one today, number five, is keep moving forward. So I have three really good examples of this. Um where people just either froze or stopped, or they kept going and they did what the right thing was to do, I guess. So first, um I coached my daughter's flag football team, and over the summer, um, there was a play where she was quarterback, um, and there was they were short referees. So they had a main referee, and they had like a it was actually another assistant coach, be like the side referee. So he wasn't really the referee. He was like helping out, which I appreciate. But during a play, um, before the play really even got going, he said something about a penalty. He called he called a penalty, which he's not even allowed to do. He just kind of said, you know, there's he's he said, oh, there's a whatever. I'm I'm not gonna say he just called a penalty. So she stopped. And the play kept going because the referee didn't call it, the, you know, volunteer called it. And so then we we kind of lost that play. Like somebody came in, it's again it's flag bell pulling, so they just pulled my daughter's flag, and you know, that was it. That was the play. And I told her she just has to keep going. Like, don't stop because somebody, again, not even the real referee, called a penalty. Even and even if they did call a penalty, keep playing and then see what happens. Okay, don't stop. Um, there's another one where I saw at uh the New York Yankees, Garrett Cole, the pitcher. Uh, they now have a pitch clock and all this stuff, which is kind of ridiculous, but uh it speeds up the game. And he stopped because the pitch clock um kind of malfunctioned and stopped working. So he, you know, he he stepped off the mound. He's like, you know, he just stopped. And they called a balk on him. So they actually kind of not penalized, but if you know baseball balk means that the um the runner advanced a base, the the guy who's on, I don't know, second base or something, advanced a third. So he balked because the pitch clock turned off and he should have kept going. Just just just pitch it. Or just there's a way to step off the mound that's not a balk. And because he kind of froze, he got penalized for it. Um again, not a penalty, but he balked. Um, the third one, so those are the two not so great examples, although I love my daughter and she does a great job of football. But that again, she should have kept going. The final one, which I that I'm gonna brand, was actually the positive one, or the I guess the on the plus side one. So at we were at church, um, this is a couple months ago, and the band was on stage playing a song, and um the power went out. Uh or at least it went out on the the um the monitors where the shows the words, and some of the lights went off and they just kept playing in the dark. They didn't miss a beat. And I was like, wow, that's cool. And then then they came back on and they they were right on time and of the with the music and everything, and you know, that's how it should be. You know, so made me think of you know, just just keep going. If something uh something happens, just you gotta keep going. We have things happen all the time at PE. Again, with the weather, like in a split second, we you know, all of a sudden there's lightning in the area. We have to stop. And we have to stop what we're doing, get inside quickly, and make sure our every our students are safe. So, you know, we've we can't just like freeze. I can't freeze. I, you know, I'm the leader out there with two paras and uh, you know, about a hundred kids. So if I just freeze and do nothing or panic, then I, you know, all heck is breaking loose, right? I mean, everything's gonna be a mess. And I'm gonna lose whatever credibility I have with my paras. The students aren't gonna listen. Like, I have to have a plan for everything, and I have to just keep going no matter what. So that's my number five is just keep moving forward. Make sure you have a plan for everything and don't stop.

Cowbell Tip And Next Steps

SPEAKER_00 16:47

And now it's time for your cowbell tip of the day. All right, so your tip of the day is to kind of review these five things and see where your maybe your weaknesses or place you need to improve, let's just say, of these five. I mean, I could look at all these and be like, I gotta improve all these, but you know, just review these. Think about how you can become 1% better every day and how this could maybe help you. Again, that's my goal is to give you some value with some of these lessons I've learned, things I've seen, and just you know, things I've experienced. So keep these in mind and keep working hard, keep doing your thing. You are an awesome PE teacher, and I am proud, proud of you. I am, and how you're working hard and getting better every single day. So that is your cowbell tip of the day.

Where To Find More Resources

SPEAKER_00 17:57

Thank you everybody for tuning in today. I really do appreciate it. As always, go to super sizefizzed.com for more information and to get links to my articles and other podcasts. Um, I post on Medium and Substack, and it's been a little bit, but I'm gonna start posting again. It's been, you know, like I said, been a little bit. But I plan on putting more things out. There's a lot of articles on there archived that you can check out to help your PE program. So with that, PE Nation. Have a great day, week, weekend, whenever you listen to this, and let's keep pushing our profession forward.