A school’s physical education teacher is responsible for teaching students about building motor skills, gameplay and physical fitness. However, these fitness professionals learn much more than team sports in their degree programs. It is the other skills that they learn that allows them to step into jobs that are related to physical fitness and team sports. Here’s a look at what PE teachers do, what kind of training they get in their degree programs and how that training can be parlayed into other jobs.
PE Teacher Job Requirements
According to Jen Roddel, a physical education teacher in Washington was interviewed by neaToday. Roddel makes a point of saying that she doesn’t teach gym class. She teaches children. In that interview she clarifies that being a PE teacher is more than just about making kids play hockey or basketball in class. These teachers have been trained in biomechanics and kinesiology. They take pre-med classes. They learn how to write curriculum and to teach intangible concepts like thoughtfulness and fairness as well as good sportsmanship.
What PE Teachers Learn
Before the central question of this article can be fully answered, it would be helpful to more fully review what physical education teachers learn in their degree programs. This information offers clues about what types of jobs a PE teacher might have besides teaching gym class.
Here’s how their degree classes might break down according to Grand Canyon University. Physical education teachers learn about anatomy and physiology, kinesiology, how to teach team sports and physical education for students with disabilities and teaching strategies for physical education. They may also learn about first aid, human sexuality, interpersonal skills and health and nutrition.
Other Jobs for PE Teachers
Because these teachers learn about topics such as health and nutrition, they may be asked to teach a health class. This class not only covers topics like nutrition and disease, but also human sexuality. Additionally, their background in team sports makes them ideal candidates for jobs in coaching or refereeing. In the summertime, physical education professionals can parlay their experience into jobs as athletic camp directors or recreation leaders.
If the PE teacher in question double majored in school, then he or she also has the option of teaching both subjects. For example, if the teacher in question studied physical education and history, then that teacher may also have the option of teaching history or social studies in addition to physical education.
Related Resource: 20 Affordable Master’s in Physical Education
Although most students only encounter their PE teachers during gym class, these professionals are trained to do several jobs. Besides teaching PE, they might become coaches or health teachers. The teachers who studied an additional subject, like history or geography, may also get a teaching endorsement in that subject. Any additional teaching endorsements they get allow them to teach other subjects besides physical education.
Finally, they are first and foremost teachers above all else, which means they know how to write curriculum and to teach students intangible concepts, like sportsmanship and personal ethics.
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