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Barker-Ruchti's (2006) Foucauldian analysis of Swedish gymnastics provides a cool perspective on this teaching style that appears so basic and controlling, you know? It's like a workout routine where power is completely unfair, especially for working-class kids; ugh! (p. 163) But Barker-Ruchti is all like, "Yo, besides making you stand up straight and be all flexible, Swedish drills also made you look hella good." "Group marching, like, totally had mad good vibes for your mental and moral game" (p. 162). OMG, I totally understand this claim! Marching was a lot of fun when I was in the army for National Service. There was something so exciting about doing it in unison with everyone else, you know?

Pedagogy of Moving Education

For example, despite all of the hype surrounding Swedish gymnastics, some PE teachers were completely against it. Those who were all about the progressive education vibe of movement education said, "Nah, the child ain't just some empty vessel waiting to be filled with knowledge or skill, ya know?" Instead, pedagogies should totally vibe with what kids are into and help them unleash their mad creative moves. Movement education, also known as edgy gymnastics, was a pedagogical form that was a PE manifestation of the child-centered educational philosophy that became extremely popular in the 1950s (inspired by Rousseau's famous Émile, 1911) as a response (reaction) to the more strict forms of teacher-directed pedagogy such as Swedish gymnastics or skill-focused German gymnastics. Rovegno and Dolly (2006) believe that movement education as a pedagogy has its roots in constructivist theories based on Piaget's work, in which the child is an active learner, explorer, and discoverer. "Movement problems are like, totally organized around the main vibes of Laban's movement analysis system, ya know? It's all about time, weight, space, and flow, fam." After the class feels comfortable with the activity, the teacher turns it off and asks specific students to demonstrate their response to the movement task. 

OMG, in this chapter, we will look at constructivist theories that are completely compatible with the TGfU curriculum models. It's all about the situational learning, family!

OMG, with movement education, students can be like vibin' in completely free space rather than being all formal and lined up like Swedish gymnastics, ya know? Children are experimenting with movement rather than doing boring teacher-led moves, you know? According to this philosophy, children were not miniature adults, but rather complete individuals, like seeds that needed watering to bloom into flowers. When it comes to teaching PE, movement education has a whole vibe to it. It's all about analysing movement, you know? It is inspired by the original Rudolf Laban from Hungary. This approach employs movement analysis in a pedagogical context, utilizing "individualization" and "problem solving" techniques. It demonstrates pedagogical strategies that fall on the right side of Mosston's (1966) style spectrum. The 1972 film Gymnastics in the Primary School is a textbook example of this pedagogical form, you know? The film, produced by the London County Council, was intended to convey a strong pro-development message to teachers. It's as if there are these two older ladies who are absolute queens, teaching classes in the school's multipurpose room/gym. So lit! In the film, these two women are throwing some crazy movement problems at their class, like "show me a roll in a wide shape"... "Can you do it with your legs extended, fam?" 

Chillens are then asked to share their thoughts on specific aspects of the student demo, such as "Can you see how David's legs are hella stretched out?" 

Can you try one of these?"This whole vibe of problem setting, class flexin', students showin' off their responses, teachers peepin' the scene, class gettin' even better at the task, then we do it all over again." The teachers' vibe is so supportive and non-authoritarian, like they're totally there for you. Lessons are all about dealing with the difficulties of controlling our bodies, and the teacher has our back, guiding us through all of the themes and stuff. So lit! (London County Council, 1962, page 1). I have been using this film in my teacher education classes for a long time. To be honest, my PETE students are split on whether this is "good" pedagogy. Some people are sleeping on pedagogy because of Some are irritated by the fact that the women did not (or possibly could not) flex in class (in their opinion, a "lit" PE teacher should flex and be able to flex the "right way" for the class). Clearly, for many student teachers, the DEP model remains the pedagogical strategy to emulate, ya know? Others in my classes seem less concerned with those issues, saying things like, "I'm vibin' with the fact that the kids can choose their own responses instead of being forced to do what the teacher says." The film is always set to spark a heated debate about what makes a "good" PE teacher.