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PE teacher at YCIS encourages children
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An old Chinese saying goes, “good health is the foundation of a fulfilling life,” and that’s also what Australian physical education teacher Dale Mills tries to tell every child in his class.
Mills, 46, a father of two, teaches physical education at the Regency Park Campus of Yew Chung International School of Shanghai in the Pudong New Area, which has students from Kindergarten through Lower Primary, while Upper Primary and Secondary students study at the schools’ Century Park Campus.
“As a PE teacher, my responsibility is to get every child interested in sports and to see sports as an exciting and important part of regular routine,” said Mills, who taught in Australia for 20 years and moved to Shanghai with his family last year.
Mills received his education training at Griffith University and the University of Southern Queensland. Before coming to Shanghai, he was deputy principal of Tallebudgera Beach Outdoor Education School in Australia.
Although he has been with YCIS for just over a year, Mills has made great contributions to the school, such as creating an annual run activity and creating sports teams for younger children to play friendly matches against other international schools.
“Back in Australia, part of the responsibility as a physical education teacher is not only to run the school’s sports carnival but also to do what we call in Australia a cross-country run or long-distance run,” Mills told Shanghai Daily.
Mills said he decided that he wanted to add a long-distance run to the athletic program at YCIS, so he started planning and got the idea of the Founders Day Run as an exciting way to promote physical activity.
“It was a successful event. All the kids, from Year 1 to 4, participated in the race, which promotes a healthy lifestyle,” said Mills.
About 380 students at the Regency Park Campus joined the race in October. The Primary students all participated in the race doing activities appropriate for their age. Students competed with each other, but more importantly, as Mills said, every one of them was involved in the race in some way.
According to the regulations, primary school students at all international schools in Shanghai must wait until Year 6 (Grade 5) to participate in China International Schools Sports Association sports activities.
Mills, who is also in charge of after-school activities, found children of lower grades are also willing to represent their school, so he initiated the idea of playing friendly matches against other international schools in Shanghai. He selected a boys’ soccer team and a girls’ soccer team from Year 3 and 4 students. After Christmas, a basketball team and a T-ball team will be selected.
“The friendly matches can help kids create the experience of competing, and they can know what it feels like to represent a school,” Mills said.
As a father of a boy and a girl, Mills knows how to encourage girls to participate in sports. “Girls are just as good as boys," he said, and they need as many chances to participate in sports.
In his class, Mills would sometimes arrange for girls to play against the girls and boys will to play against boys, “when it is most beneficial to the children to do so.”
“We all have different strengths and weaknesses. It is important to encourage the girls as much as possible and show them they have the skills,” Mills said, using the example of the dance and gymnastics classes in which girls may have more experience.
Mills always keeps in mind the children who have the potential to become more excited about PE classes.
“Sometimes these children just need to develop their skills and confidence,” he said. “If you focus on things they are doing well, you can certainly use some examples and demonstrations to make them feel good about themselves and build confidence.”
While helping children develop a healthy lifestyle, Mills also instills the spirit of teamwork, communication and being supportive.
“I have a strong focus, with every game we play, on teamwork. It is important to teach children that it is not just about competition and it is not just about winning,” Mills said.
He said being a PE teacher is an ideal occupation for him because it combines what he enjoys the most, children and sports.
“It’s easy to be enthusiastic about my job because children are enthusiastic. When you get to do things you enjoy, your job is no longer a job,” Mills said.
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