Quaver’s New Health-PE Curriculum Has Got the Cure!
By Kristin Clark Taylor
“Everyone Wins!”
Kera Williams, a physical education teacher at Marion Elementary in Allen, Texas, has been teaching for almost a quarter of a century. Her longevity obviously stems from love.
You can hear that lilt of love in her voice; not just in the words she says, but in how she says them.
“My students mean the world to me. Teaching them healthy habits, teaching them how to stay well, teaching them the importance of movement and good nutrition – all of this is so important,” she says. “It never gets old.”
Just because it never gets old, though, didn’t stop her from being ecstatic, over-the-moon excited about trying something new.
That “something new” is QuaverHealth-PE, an innovative new curriculum that puts physical health, nutrition, mental wellness, and responsible decision-making at the top of the scoreboard.
“Having this curriculum helps expand what’s available to me as a teacher, and my students really enjoy it, too. Everyone wins!”
When asked to describe why she’s so happy with QuaverHealth-PE, she responds with the speed of an Olympic sprinter: “It’s just really nice to have new a new resource that’s so easy to customize. It gives me a flexibility I didn’t have before, and” — she adds as she crosses the finish line — “it’s super-streamlined.”
Kera says that as a P.E. teacher, most of her focus has traditionally been on movement and nutrition, “but these days, we are being ask to expand our focus and cover more of the health and wellness concepts, which hasn’t really been my forte,” she gladly admits.
“That’s another reason I’m so glad to have QuaverHealth: It helps me teach concepts that I haven’t really taught in any depth before. I’m learning. My students are learning. I’d say that’s about as perfect a combination as you’re going to get.”
“I know It’s Going to Meet State Standards.”
Like every teacher in every state across the USA, Kera must teach in a way that adheres to strict state standards – and adherence to these standards is a mandate, not an option. Fortunately, Kera has been teaching long enough to know precisely what those standards are, even if they do change from time to time.
Still, a little help along the way — especially when it comes to something as important as complying with state standards — is warmly welcomed and happily embraced.
“I have to adhere to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills state standards,” she explains. “It’s really comforting to know that when I’m using QuaverHealth, I’m using lessons that are built to adhere to those standards. I don’t have to worry about it or spend time checking on it, which gives me more time to focus on teaching.”
The Joyous Journey
Kera says that everyone is still getting used to the new curriculum – she and her students — but that the journey has been joyous.
“We’re not doing the Chromebook-based version,” she says. “I’m projecting it – it’s more teacher-led than student-led – but even the discovery process has been a lot of fun, because we’re going through it together, step by step. We are learning together as we go. My students are learning, and so am I!”
“Before QuaverHealth-PE, I didn’t have a resource I could turn to – not a single resource, anyway – that would give me everything I needed in one place. Now, I can teach with the graphics, the music, the lessons, the kinesthetics, all of it wrapped up in one. I can turn to one resource. I can focus on my kids. This really helps me round out my teaching.”
A Message to Teachers: “Get in there and TRY it!”
“I am only one teacher, of course, with only one voice — but I do know that lots of teachers struggle to find everything themselves. To plan everything themselves. To do everything themselves. It’s just really nice to have a resource that helps pull everything together, keeps the kids engaged, and is actually fun to learn how to use.”
“My message to teachers? If you’re looking for a new way to teach Physical Education and Wellness, give QuaverHealth-PE a try! You won’t be sorry you did. You won’t really realize how wonderful a resource it actually is until you get in there and try it!”
This much we know is true about Kera Williams: She has been totally devoted to her students for a long, long time. But we also know this: Her desire to weave the old with the new is changing the way the game is played.
Definitely a win-win!
Kristin Clark Taylor is an author and a journalist.
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For more information about QuaverHealth-PE, go to quavered.com/healthandpe/.
