How to Become a Physical Education Teacher
Do you love sports and physical fitness? Discover the joys of teaching gym, and become a PE teacher.
Becoming a physical education teacher is for dedicated individuals who love kids, sports and physical fitness. Today more than ever, good health, nutrition and exercise are increasingly important for our nation's children, and PE teachers play an important role in their students' development, both in and out of school. If you love sports, are passionate about health and fitness, and want to work with kids, becoming a K-12 gym teacher can be a great career choice for you.
Physical Education Teacher Job Description
Most schools require students to take gym classes, so if you become a physical education teacher, you'll have the opportunity to interact with students in your school across grade levels.
Some physical education teachers support more than one school, holding rotating classes at different schools on different days of the week.
- In elementary schools, physical education teachers work with children of all fitness levels to improve coordination, increase consumer knowledge and inspire a love for physical activity.
- For PE classes in middle or high school, you can often determine classes or sections depending on your experience or interest, and the options available at your school. Course offerings may range from the more traditional baseball, basketball, soccer and tennis to more contemporary activities such as rock climbing, ultimate Frisbee, aerobics and dance.
Planning assignments and evaluations for your students and monitoring their progress throughout the year is a large part of the job. And, like any elementary or secondary school teacher, you may have other duties, such as monitoring students, attending faculty meetings, conferencing with parents and completing other administrative tasks.
It's All in a Day's Play
If you teach gym, you may show up for an early morning swim team practice, then prepare equipment for the day before school even starts. You might finish your day in the mid-afternoon, but if you opt for after-school coaching responsibilities, you may be at work until the dinner hour. Coaching usually provides supplementary income to physical education teachers, so it may stretch your days beyond the typical eight hour work day, but it will also pay for some fun adventures of your own.
Education and Certification
To become a gym teacher, you'll need at least a bachelor's degree and teaching certificate in order to teach at a public elementary or secondary school. Requirements vary by state, so contact your state Department of Education to discover teacher certification requirements in your area.
Your curriculum will include classes like kinesiology, exercise physiology, nutrition, and health and wellness, as well as activity courses such as golf, aerobics, basketball, tennis, racquetball, and other team and/or individual sports.
Teachers who major in health and physical education must also complete certification requirements that include completion of approved teacher education courses and hands-on classroom teaching experience. This can be accomplished by completing a master's degree in education or simply fulfilling class requirements and taking a certification test.
Source: PECentral.org
Wacky Gym Programs
- In Lemoore, CA, Coach Avery teaches cup stacking classes to his elementary gym students.
- Students in Betances Elementary learn positive team work by playing trust-building games.
- For Ms. Carmon at Beecher Hills Elementary, Teaching PE is as much about technology as it is physical fitness. Students there integrate the newest gadgets and gizmos into their physical education.
- The Ravenel Ropesters practice coordination and endurance on their elementary school jump rope team.
- At Tamarac Elementary in NY, groups or individual students can achieve their own nutrition or fitness goals and be entered into the school's "Super You" record book.