Leticia Cariño / She/her / Primary Years Program (PYP) Physical Education Teacher
international school of phnom penh Cambodia
How did you get into teaching?
At a young age I worked as a counselor in a Boys Scout group and then participated in a number of summer camps in Spain. I really enjoyed the interactions I had with children. I was so involved in sports myself that I decided to study Physical Education. Eventually, I found myself becoming a PE teacher.
Who was the teacher who made the most positive impact on your life?
Aurora Muro, my PE teacher in high school. At first she was quite strict but I guess that was her way at the beginning of the school year. She inspired me, helped me to get into the Physical Education College, and is now my running buddy and friend.
What is a professional inquiry you are currently pursuing?
How do I provide meaningful experiences in Physical Education?
This year we purchased twenty small bikes and introduced a cycling unit in EY (early years) KG and G1. I am using a Meaningful PE framework (see links below) and its features: challenge, personal relevance, interactions, motor competence, fun and delight in this unit. Some students already knew how to ride a bike so we challenged them to go on the field and try to ride on the bumps. Others had no idea, so their experience was totally different. We worked a lot on balancing skills first, using a slack line that we had on the field. We provided helmets for every student and talked about the importance of safety. Students explored cycling on the concrete and on the field and the differences between riding the bikes on those spaces.
It wasn’t always easy, we live in Cambodia and outside on the field it can get really hot. Students understood the importance of pause and water breaks to feel energized. It was also great to see the interaction between learners and how some of them naturally decided to support their friends and help them learn.
There is a moment of beauty in teaching, no matter what you teach, when the learner feels success. It can be reading, math, or balancing on a bike. The feeling of joy when students learn how to ride a bike is amazing. Their eyes are shining and they reward you with their beautiful smiles.
Sometimes my activities work and other times don’t - but isn’t that what we are always trying to let students know? That it’s ok to fail. Adults should model that too; try new things and not be scared to fail.
Here’s where I go for my professional inquiry:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17408989.2021.1884672
https://drowningintheshallow.wordpress.com/2021/06/20/where-next-for-meaningful-pe/
https://pod.co/global-physed-voxcast/meaningful-conversation-with-dr-dirdre-n-chrinn
https://pod.co/global-physed-voxcast/meaningful-pe-as-a-metaphor-for-teaching-pe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy-Qv6mCTRk
What is a personal inquiry you are currently pursuing?
How can I do all the things I want to do and maintain a balanced life?
(An inquiry into balanced life. )
We were all hit by the pandemic and had to adjust to so many changes in our daily lives. Things that were considered normal suddenly were not and our whole universe got shaken.
I believe finding balance in life is essential to humans and I strive to maintain balance in my life although sometimes it’s not as evident as you would think. To achieve balance you have to consider all aspects of life: relationships, work, fitness and health and emotional wellbeing.
Work takes a big chunk of our time and we need to learn how to say no to certain things, even if they seem to be amazing. Managing our time at work, staying active, interacting with others, friends and family and having healthy habits of eating well, sleeping enough hours to rest, and drinking enough water throughout the day can help us find and create a balanced life. Learning how to be mindful and meditate are also on my list of important things to consider when inquiring about finding balance.
As you can probably gather, I am the “Wellness Leader” at our school and our little committee offers time and space (and incentives!) for teachers to stay balanced. Some activities are self-managed, so we did not need a leader (like a “walk and talk”). We also realized that for some staff members leading an activity was as just empowering as actually engaging in the activity. During the pandemic, most of our group activities were physical (yoga, bike rides, football, badminton, golf, African dance, etc.) Other activities were more related to the visual and performance arts (batik, beads, crochet, music band, intro to ukulele). We had a great response from teachers appreciating these type of activities to build community, social interaction and general wellbeing.
I just started this wellbeing course that I feel will give me additional tools and strategies for this inquiry: https://instituteofpositiveeducation.com/
I am reading this book at the moment and I recommend it: https://www.amazon.com/Peak-Performing-Teacher-Habits-Success/dp/1071853252
Other resources to check out:
https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/mindful-teacher-mindful-school/book255026
https://slowchathealth.com/2019/10/01/dimensions-of-wellness/
https://slowchathealth.com/2019/03/13/teaching-sleep/
What three best ideas you have to improve the teaching profession?
change Perspective and build Empathy
Judging others it’s an easy and not always great thing to do. Oftentimes we have a couple of challenging learners in our classes. Have you ever stopped to wonder why they are challenging? It helps when I consider why is this happening and ask myself why this might be happening. I find I have much more empathy and patience this way.
2. Find your “Just Right Challenge”
As adults we sometimes find it harder to try new things or get involved in something we feel makes us get out of our comfort zone. This summer I decided to learn how to surf and it wasn’t easy. It was quite hard actually! At the end, I learned to figure it out and the sensations and the feelings of success and joy when I was able to stand on the board and surf those waves were amazing!
3. Talk Less, Listen More (This one is yours, Kimberly, and I love it!)
Many of us ask open-ended questions to kids but forget to give them enough time to actually engage in the reflective process. Deep, cognitive work takes time. This is something I learned with Kimberly through the inquiry 5, and it stayed with me. Talk less; let the kids talk more, reflect more and get engaged in their own meaningful conversations as much as you can.
