Frank Thoms, Teacher in the Rye

In addition to morning and afternoon meetings in the carpet area, the other occasion we would gather as a class was for movement, the Oxfordshire form of PE. Twice a week, my twenty-two children and I would go to the small gym toward the front of the school. I have them take off their shoes and socks. On the first day, I ask them to move quietly to the middle of the floor, do some stretching and compacting exercises while lying down, obviously a new experience.

For some the exercise felt good, A few actually liked it. Others not sure. Near the end of the session, a poignant comment comes from a boy, “When to we play dodgeball?” His question lets me know our ‘PE’ would be out-of-step with the rest of their peers. I will have to work hard to keep them with me.

The more we do movement, the less they hesitate, the less they look around at each other, the more focused they become. As I discovered in Oxfordshire, our sessions reinforced the values I was advocating in the classroom: cooperation, focus, concentration, self-awareness, follow-through, originality, creativity––and it helped to build community

I could easily have sent my children to PE. They would have been aligned with their classmates in the other teams. And it would have relieved the pressure I felt knowing my children were aware that they would not be playing dodgeball.

I was out on a limb. The only middle school teacher in our school, probably in the state, doing his own PE. And I should note, had I been in a more strict school system, I would likely not have had the opportunity.

My message to today’s teachers: Take any opportunity you can to assert yourself in your classroom. Even if you have to do it clandestinely. My message to others: Find ways to encourage teachers to be themselves, to bring their best selves into their classrooms, to teach from their hearts.