Teaching Responsibility Through Physical Activity

In Teaching Responsibility Through Physical Activity, Don Hellison presents a street-smart teaching approach that uses sport and exercise to help young people take more responsibility for themselves and the well-being of others.

A leading expert on affective physical education and sport and a longtime teacher of at-risk students, Hellison draws on his own experiences and those of colleagues from across the country to provide educators and youth workers with proven strategies on

• using the gymnasium, playground, and playing field as centers for building student self-esteem;

• improving the quality of K-12 physical education classes, extended-day programs, diversion programs, and organized sport programs; and

• putting the character development claims of physical activity programs into practice.

In addition, this practical resource helps you offset some of the negative experiences facing your students by teaching them how to

• cope with everyday realities,

• take pride in themselves and their accomplishments,

• refrain from judging others too quickly,

• get along with peers and teammates,

• abandon their "tough" images, and

• control their tempers.

Teaching Responsibility Through Physical Activity is divided into two easy-to-follow parts that guide you from idea to implementation.

In Part I, Hellison introduces five levels of personal and social responsibility and outlines seven strategies--ranging from individual decision-making to group awareness talks--designed to put these levels into action. He suggests several empowerment techniques to help students set their own physical education goals and decide which activities enable them to meet their goals. Using a mix of humor and real-life examples, Hellison explains how instructors and students can successfully interact within his teaching framework.

In Part II, Hellison and colleagues from a variety of instructional settings offer ideas on how to get kids started on their way to self-responsibility. Drawing on his own experience, Hellison provides instructors with practical strategies for putting his levels into action in public schools and extended day programs. He also describes his work in diversion programs for young people with severe behavioral disorders and adds applications to other organized sport programs as well.

If you work with children and want to help them take more responsibility for their lives, Teaching Responsibility Through Physical Activity is the street-smart, inspirational reference you've been waiting for.

Don Hellison, professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is best known for his work with at-risk youth and for the development of affective approaches to teaching physical activities in schools and social agencies. Along with his university duties, Hellison has taught physical education part-time to young people in inner-city schools, alternative schools, residential homes, detention centers, and inner-city YMCAs since 1970.

Hellison's ideas and experiences appear in a variety of journals and books, including A Reflective Approach to Teaching Physical Education, Goals and Strategies for Teaching Physical Education, and Beyond Balls and Bats: Alienated Youth in the Gym. He will serve as editor of Quest in 1996-98.

He is a recipient of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) C.D. Henry Award for service to minorities (1994); the University of Illinois at Chicago Excellence in Teaching Award (1994); the National Youth Service Award--Chico, California City Council (1991); an honorary doctorate of laws (1986) from Monmouth College (IL); and the National Child Labor Committee Award for Exceptional Service to Children and Youth (1985).

Hellison is a member of AAHPERD, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, and the National Association of Physical Education in Higher Education, where he has been a member of the Board of Officers, the Future Directions Task Force, the Scientific Committee, and the Presidential Advisory Committee.