From potato salad to shared curiosity Council experience provides lessons in learning and leadership
Stacey Hannay
T
A LIVING CLASSROOM When I first joined HPEC, I couldn't have imagined how deeply that experi- ence would shape my understanding of leadership and learning. What began as a simple volunteer commitment to serve as vice-president of curriculum leadership and pedagogy quickly became a living classroom, a place where theory met prac- tice and every conversation, meeting and conference reminded me why education in Alberta thrives on relationships. Through my work with HPEC, I saw firsthand the deep passion that physical education teachers hold for movement and for students. I have yet to meet a PE teacher who was in the profession simply to roll out a ball for another game of dodgeball. Instead, I have met educa- tors who care deeply about confidence, belonging, resilience, joy and lifelong well-being; teachers who understand that movement is not separate from learn- ing, but foundational to it. The laughter echoing off gym walls, the quiet encour- agement offered to a reluctant student, the careful design of inclusive movement experiences, these are not accidental acts. They are the work of highly skilled profes- sionals who see the whole child. Through HPEC, I saw how powerful it is when teachers come together to rethink their practice, to bridge curriculum outcomes with lived experience, and to invite movement, voice and connection back into learning. This kind of pedagogy doesn’t just teach content, it cultivates
here is a moment early in the career of most physical education teachers when we realize we are going to spend a good portion of our professional lives gently, and sometimes not so gently, cor- recting a common misconception. My moment came at a family barbe- cue. As I balanced a paper plate on one knee, someone said, “So, Stacey, you teach gym? That sounds like a lot of fun!” I smiled and took a deep breath. “Actually, I teach physical education,” I said. The pause that followed was familiar. Another relative chuckled and said, “Isn’t that the same thing?” I laughed too, because if I hadn’t, I might have launched into a 20-minute lecture on pedagogy, curriculum, assess- ment and learning theory over a plate of potato salad. That moment, lighthearted as it was, captured something important: physical education is deeply meaningful to those who teach it but often misunderstood by those who don’t. Physical education is not a place or a piece of equipment, it is an intentional, pedagogical space where movement, learning, identity and well- being intersect. It was that recurring mix of humour, frustration and deep professional care for how my work is understood that ultimately drew me toward a broader community of teachers who shared my language and my passion for physical education—the ATA’s Health and Physical Education Council, or HPEC.
Executive Staff Officer, ATA
The laughter echoing off gym walls, the quiet encouragement offered to a reluctant student, the careful design of inclusive movement experiences, these are not accidental acts.
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THE ALBERTA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
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