How can we care if we are unaware?

If you had told me twenty years ago I would be the co-founder of an app, the prime goal of which was to make the world more active, I would have laughed on two counts. Firstly, the idea of me linked to tech when my kids still laugh at the speed at which I send a text or take a photo and secondly, because being ‘active’ was something I never thought was for me. I have often recounted reasons for my dislike of PE at school: never feeling good enough, the humiliation of hearing a drill instruction and not being able to replicate it, being picked last for sides, feeling uncomfortable in my PE kit, never having the opportunity to experience the comradery of belonging to a team, the list goes on… I decided once and for all it was never going to be ‘my thing.’ How I wish those stories just described my own experience and that of a handful of others in a subject that has long since changed…

Sadly though, they don’t. Today there are plenty of adults we have encountered in our respective careers and our journey to date with miMove, who are still (and this is by no means an exaggeration) traumatised by their experience of this subject at school. And whilst some PE professionals are still (to my frustration) grappling with what this subject is all about, PE? Sport? Physical Activity? I’m in no doubt that my school experience and that of so many others, affected our relationship, or to be clearer, potential relationship with ALL those areas, however nuanced the differences between them is. We felt this was not a subject for us.

One of the more positive memories I have, was a table tennis after school club when I was 17. I loved it. There were no barriers to who could join. We all felt valued. We enjoyed meeting up every week. We learnt that no one was born good at it. We learnt that practice made us better. I suddenly felt I could say table tennis was ‘my thing’… but who’s to say how many other activities could have been my thing if it wasn’t for the way they were, or rather were not, presented to us. 

The PE philosopher, Scott Kretchmar, strikes a chord with me when he says that meaningful experiences in physical education are all about building a relationship between people and an activity which they learn to love over time. I agree that it “takes time for children to find their playgrounds” but couldn’t we help nurture and develop that relationship better if we had insight into how they are feeling?

As parents we try very hard not to replicate the negative experiences we remember in our own childhood. For the largest part of my school years, I was most definitely an observer of physical activity rather than a participant. I could see its glaring benefits (even if I couldn’t quite articulate them at the time) - a bigger social circle, respect, popularity, a purpose, a communal sense of excitement, learning how to manage emotions, sharing wins and disappointment … yet it was also made glaringly obvious that these experiences were not for me. She is ‘not sporty’. 

Still today, every time I hear a parent say that to me about their kids in comparison to mine, I want to run down the street screaming. Imagine being comfortable saying “She is just not a reader.” It’s true that our children were encouraged to take part in almost every opportunity for physical activity available. It wasn’t suggested to them, they were encouraged to take part and just see how they felt. From a very young age, moving was presented as positive and pleasurable. Physical activity was something to be enjoyed whether on your own or with others; whatever anyone in the family was taking part in, a kick-about in the park, a club’s weekend fixture, a family swim, a parent’s race, we did it, we watched, we celebrated, we commiserated, we talked about it afterwards. I’m not saying all this to hold us up as exemplar parents (far from it) but it’s convinced me that how we frame things to children is so important. There is such a difference between ‘Marcella, do you feel like going swimming?’ with all the varying tones that can accompany that request to a child and an enthusiastic ‘We’re going swimming later’. 

Moving on 20 years, I’m amazed (and a little envious truth be known) by just how much physical activity has helped my children (I say this also fully acknowledging all the privileges and advantages they have had). I have witnessed countless opportunities that have come their way because of it, the relationships they have formed, the ease at which they can involve themselves in activity that is both formally organised and informally happens on an afternoon with friends … and in all of those …the ease in which they can navigate that space, and most importantly, feel comfortable. It has helped alter low moods, balance times of high stress and helped them feel included in new, daunting, unfamiliar environments.

Whilst this is all wonderful, my point is that this should not just be a space for them. This should be a space for everyone.  

And that is why I believe miMove can make a difference. 

miMove encourages young people to post every activity they do in and out of school (it’s quick, not laborious). The clear message is that all movement and physical activity is good activity. It is self-affirming. Logging what they have done, validates their efforts.  Teachers can use the one-way messaging function to comment, support and encourage. We all know how motivated we feel when we receive any validation of what we do. 

miMove encourages young people to think about and say how physical activity makes them feel - and we have evidence that they do this truthfully. They describe their emotions, the barriers and joys of being active. They talk about who they are active with and what makes the activities more meaningful for them… all the ups and downs along their journey. We all know that sharing how we feel and learning to be more authentic, can lead to endless possibilities.

Teachers can see all this data in real time and have direct access to student voice to better understand how their lessons are being received and to review their practice. They can help them to overcome negative self-doubt and truly support the young people they work with better. It is all about knowing. Who knew or had any idea what I was feeling about physical activity as a child? What could have been done to intervene and help me feel differently? How can we care if we are unaware? Knowing can trigger conversations that can make the difference between a child feeling physical activity is part of their world or not. And I believe, this has huge implications for their future and the possibilities that they believe they can tap into, to flourish in countless areas of their life.