SHAPE America EDI Committee

When one of my students was finding the adjustment to kindergarten difficult, one of his observations was that “being white is better.” At 5, he had already been bombarded with messages that made him acutely aware of systemic racism. His specific grievance of the moment: the fact that Band Aids are designed for white people. Hearing a kindergartner make this observation is heartbreaking, especially when we know there are students who don’t have the words to describe what they are feeling. What is even worse is not being approachable as an educator and/or doing nothing to address these very valid concerns.

While I can’t solve systemic racism, a small action I took in this case was to create a Black history fitness trail and invite my superintendent to visit it. This work is always ongoing but little things can make a difference, and I’m grateful to have sensitive, intelligent students who help me grow too.

In the community where I teach and serve, sport and physical activity opportunities are not as readily accessible as you might find in a more affluent neighborhood. The lessons I learned as a child through my participation in sports and physical education have helped guide me my entire life. As a result, I take full responsibility in offering my students a chance to learn these same lessons.

As an EDI practitioner in health and physical education, I accept the importance of my position as a Black male, and the impact my representation has not only on my students, but also on my peers and the surrounding community.

I am an Asian female from Tokyo who speaks English as a second language. When I face obstacles as a minority person in many ways, “sport” (women’s soccer in my case) has been a tool and force for me to meet people and pursue my career that I love and am proud of. I know and have witnessed that sport (including physical education) has a power to bring people together and foster EDI.

That is why I am passionate about EDI in sport and physical education: It helped me to become who I am and get to where I am today.

I am committed to EDI work because I see a need in our field, at both the K-12 level where students have historically been underserved, and at the university level where certain racial/ethnic groups continue to be underrepresented in our PETE programs. From a personal standpoint, I strive to be a change-agent in education for my daughter and other kids like her, who should never experience the feeling of being treated differently because they happen to have two (awesome) moms (or dads)! Education, especially physical education, should be a safe and inclusive space for all students.

Growing up, my family moved a lot to air force bases across the country — and I used sports as a social bridge to make friends, escape the academic struggles of new classrooms, and fulfill a dream of eventually coaching college athletics. During all my sporting experiences through college, never once did I have a coach of color or a male teacher of color to guide me. I never saw, heard, or received the perspective of an educator of color to motivate and inspire me. None of my coaches or professors could say, “I know what you’re going through. I’ve walked in your shoes and have shared the same struggle.” This would have made an enormous impact on me mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

I am committed to the core principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion because I know firsthand what it feels like — experientially — not to have it.

My personal and professional life is grounded on the belief that equity, diversity, and inclusiveness are part of the fabric of our society that trickles into the school communities I serve. I am proud to be able to have a voice and presence for this work, and that attitude is important and vital to the growth and development of all the students I am responsible for educating.

The work of EDI should be embedded in everything we do, and this approach will hopefully help make this world a better place … one day at a time.