For the love of movement
For the love of movement
When you have a passion for movement and enjoy working with kids, becoming a physical education teacher is a dream job. That’s the case for PE teacher and UNI alum Caitlin Schoville and UNI PE major Peyton Major.
“I just do what I think is best for my students,” said Schoville, a seventh- and eighth-grade health and PE teacher at Pleasant Valley Junior High in LeClaire, Iowa. “I’m not seeking out any awards or anything like that.”
For Major, who is in his third-year at UNI and also has minors in health and strength and conditioning, the desire to become a PE teacher is heavily driven by the positive experiences he had in PE growing up.
“I always felt welcome in PE class,” he said. “It was just a way for me to burn off energy. I've always loved playing games. I was always a “let's go play games, let's have fun and make memories” kind of guy. So I'm hoping I can provide the same experience to my own students someday.”
Schoville has similar goals for her own students.
“One of the biggest things I hope I can instill in them is the joy of movement and that they can do whatever they put their mind to,” she said. “I want them to always believe in themselves. I want them to know that they always have someone in their corner that's cheering them on.”
Schoville’s placements in a variety of schools as a UNI student helped prepare her for success once she started leading her own classroom. Her second student teaching placement also convinced her she wanted to teach at the middle school level, just as she does today.
“I would say both of my cooperating teachers were phenomenal in helping prepare me for what teaching was going to be like,” said Schoville. “I felt like I had a lot of freedom to teach how I wanted to teach, but also a lot of guidance and encouraged reflection. So going from a student to a teacher, UNI definitely had us very well prepared.”
Another aspect of her UNI career that helped her transition seamlessly to full-time teaching was her involvement with the Physical Education Club. Major is also part of the club, this year serving as its president. He has worked hard to ensure the club is as active and beneficial to all its members as possible.
“We're volunteering more outside of school, and then we also have a bunch more guest speakers coming in that help us prepare for the future,” he said. “Because of them, we know what to ask in interviews. We're learning how to actually make real-life lesson plans, how teaching is different from college, what to expect, how to successfully manage a classroom — and we’re learning it all from teachers out in the world right now. So a lot of the PE Club now is extra information that really boosts your knowledge and your confidence in teaching.”
Since graduating from UNI in 2012, Schoville has received multiple honors, including SHAPE Iowa Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year, Central District Teacher of the Year and recognition as a national finalist for Middle School Teacher of the Year. One of the accomplishments she is most proud of is helping fundraise for an obstacle course-style playground for her middle school students to utilize during PE and to help bring back junior high recess. But above all, Schoville is proud of the joy she finds in being an educator.
“I think what I'm most proud of is finding a career that I'm very passionate about,” she said. “I really enjoy my job.”
Although he hasn’t started his career yet, Major has already begun to establish himself in the field. He’s presented at a national conference, is involved with the local YMCA and has coached youth basketball and baseball.
Whatever role he’s in, he consistently prioritizes setting an example and mentoring students.
“I get to inspire these younger kids,” he said. “I can teach them life lessons and how to be active their whole lives.”
Now both Major and Schoville have another honor to celebrate, being inducted into the Elinor A. Crawford and William R. Thrall Hall of Excellence, which annually honors alumni in the fields of physical education, kinesiology, public health, recreation, tourism and nonprofit leadership.
“This award showed me hard work does pay off,” said Major, the inaugural student honoree. “I’ve put in all this extra work without realizing how much it truly will pay off. So that award is really refreshing to receive, and it really motivated me to get through the end of the semester.”
