The Long Road

I taught my hardest PE lesson of the year this week to my elementary school students--the kettlebell deadlift. Here's how and why I taught this fundamental strength movement along with the psychology behind it. Strength matters. Moving well matters. Let's roll. *Photo: Ron Jones

I took some time last night on a crisp evening to sit on my gazebo by a little fire. I had time to reflect on how life is like music where the music is not the actual notes themselves but the "space" between the notes. It's been written that many new ideas can come from just sitting around to think--as well as some rejuvenation too. Here are some random thoughts on sitting by a fire...or sitting a...

I started reading "The Phantom Public" by Walter Lippmann (1925). In just the first few pages--I was stunned by the quality of his writing...he was truly a wordsmith and a gifted journalist. I've shared just a few passages in hopes to encourage good writing and quality communication. *Photo by Ron Jones

In the latest round of fragility and triggering topics, apparently worksite health initiatives that promote excess body fat reduction are triggering and cruel to those obese or morbidly obese. The youngsters on the forefront of the complaint side of fat are telling us that being obese has no bearing on health and that they are just as productive as any other employee. FALSE. After 15 years in corp...

"Affirm the truth. Scratch the lie." -Edward Bernays (1940) Edward Bernays wrote an important essay in 1940 at the onset of WWII entitled, "Speak Up For Democracy: A Program Outlined for Patriots...Group Leaders...Believers in America." Bernays was the father of the modern public relations industry and was known for the development of modern propaganda methods. Bernays was also one of the most inf...

"It is part of our democratic American heritage to abhor censorship." -Edward Bernays (1938) Edward Bernays wrote an important essay in 1938 entitled, "Public Education for Democracy." Bernays was the father of the modern public relations industry and was known for the development of modern propaganda methods. Bernays was also one of the most influential people of the last 100 years, and many of h...

In today's show, I'm reading from a vintage book in my collection written by American educator and musician John Erskine in 1915 entitled, "The Moral Obligation To Be Intelligent." This particular section was a commencement address delivered to college students focused on "The Call To Service" where he warns us about making new science a sort of religion as more and more of our intelligence is rem...

This show is about the deeper value of growing up in an era when I was required (and motivated) to "hold the light" for my father while he was working on projects like car maintenance, home remodeling, or camping excursions. While some of the specific skills I observed then are a bit fuzzy now, the real point of the show is to underscore the importance of developing this sort of hands-on analog ph...

I had a research zealot moment and was reflecting on how much reading I did years ago on endurance sports hydration. I was digging around a bit again and came across an interesting study on dog hydration by exercise science great D.B. Dill who was part of the former Harvard Fatigue Lab about 100 years ago which did a significant amount of research on endurance runners. Dill went on to work at the...

I've been doing a very deep research dive on the history of social psychology and public relations in order to understand how so many people in the last two years were changed so rapidly--and many times without even questioning the changes or mandates. This research led me to Josiah Royce who was a prominent philosopher and historian during the late 1800s. I'm sharing a book section of his today r...

We were watching a nature clip on TV last week when the wild male animal started rolling around in the dirt and throwing the dirt all over the place. My wife laughed and said it was like me going out on our property! I got to thinking deeper about this and decided it was worth a share because I've been conducting this experiment on myself since moving to the country and doing so much work on our f...

Some positive volleyball PE updates as I share my students learning "through the physical" as emphasized by ancient Greece. I also offer a few behavioral psychology tips from a professional perspective, and these tips can be helpful whether you are a coach, teacher, parent, or even the end user coaching yourself. *Photo Credit: Richard Olson Negatives, Box 001, Image 0007-CA Women Beach Volleyball...

I made a valiant effort to teach two basic volleyball skills to my elementary PE students this week. Here's what they learned and what I learned. *Photo Credit: Richard Olson Negatives, Box 001, Image 0007-CA Women Beach Volleyball (Circa 1920)

One of my 3rd grade country girls in PE came up to me last week and excitedly shared, "Coach Jones-I shot a deer." I'm like...well okay then! We had a conversation about her experience, and the more that I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to share the story here and highlight all the practical skills she had to learn with her father to go hunting and shoot her own deer. Whether you a...

There are a lot of ponds in Oklahoma. Many people here have large lots or acreage, so it's pretty common for people to have their own private ponds. Some of the ponds are really nice--they have gazebos, benches, docks, and even small shacks on the edge of them so people can sit and relax. I realized after a year of seeing all these ponds with their sitting areas that I have yet to see a single per...

My thoughts on Thanksgiving...I'm thankful to even be alive! I'm also thankful for a new start in life made possible by a major effort to completely change my state of residence and local environment.

What's the key question for working in education in my rural area--can you love our students? That's what the parents want to know, and if you do love and care for their kids, they will support you. At least here in the country school in Oklahoma--it's easy to love my students and look forward to them every day. Here's what they taught me so far beyond my history and educational studies.

A senior lady I know has significant postural issues along with some internal organ digestive problems. When she asked her medical doctor if there could be a possible relationship between her poor posture and distended waist, her doctor explained there would be NO connection between her postural and gastric problems. This is absolute medical ignorance that goes deeply into medical and health histo...

The "Hip Hinge" (or the athletic ready position) has been called the most important sports movement. There are many ways to teach the hip hinge. I prefer teaching it using a light two-pound "SandBell" disc. Due to some recent inquiries, here's a fairly detailed explanation of how I teach the Hip Hinge with SandBells plus a link to one of my videos on this topic for further review. *SandBell Figure...

I use drums and percussion equipment in my PE classes. Why? Initially, I wanted to use drumming to help teach my students rhythm, but then I realized over time that there were MANY valuable life lessons and life skills they could learn through drumming far beyond rhythm like: fine motor control of hands and fingers, social skills, love of music, teamwork, situational awareness, energy awareness an...

At one time, America had the greatest physical education in the world and also manufactured the best PE and fitness equipment too. In today's PE programs, most of what I have seen purchased is absolute crap! Here's some history of what PE equipment used to be, what it is today, and what to do about it.

Here's some more wisdom from the 1914 book by Col. WM. C. Hunter entitled, "PEP: Poise-Efficiency-Peace...A Book of Hows Not Whys For Physical and Mental Efficiency." Today, I explore Chapter 17 and Col. Hunter's thoughts on "hypochondria" and thinking yourself sick--or well.

I have three simple rules for my PE students: 1-Be Kind; 2-Be ACTIVE!; 3-Know YOUR Body. I'll explain why I use these and how they apply to UPlifting overall culture plus go into the historic origins of my class credo which is, "Be strong to be useful."

Malcolm X addressed a group of black high students on December 31, 1964 about how they needed to "think for themselves" and if they did not--they would be talked into "hating their friends and loving their enemies." It's a rather profound statement in 2022. Look around...the truth bell is ringing; here are a few words of wisdom by Malcolm X to inspire some deeper thought. *Source: "Malcom X Speaks...

With a major hurricane crashing into Florida within hours, I got to thinking of my recent PE lessons on "hanging" for my kids in grades 3,4,5. Hanging is one of the many "survival skills" I teach in PE. Here are some thoughts about hanging and survival through my classical PE lens. If you are in FL and surrounding areas this week, best of luck with Hurricane Ian.