Featured Teacher
Mr Matthew PollOck Pushes
His Students Towards Excellence
“You don’t stop playing because you grow old; you
grow old because you stop playing.”
~ Unknown
enjoy playing sports, and we
encourage more of it because it makes
them happier.
Share with us four successful sporting
activities that are popular among
your students. Why are they popular?
Four sporting activities that are very
popular among my students are:
F
or many students, Physical
Education (PE) is mainly
one of two things: a time of
great enjoyment or a time
that they would rather spend doing
something less active. Mr Matthew
Pollock, Head of Physical Education
at Al Bateen Secondary School has
employed creative ways to ensure that
his students not only enjoy their PE
sessions, but also look forward to them
with excitement and anticipation.
As an educator with over ten years of
teaching under his belt, he integrates
a number of useful strategies in his
lessons, to keep his students alert and
drive them to excel in the subject. He
also plans school activities that focus
on promoting good health practices
among staff members and students.
He is also a member of the school’s
committee, which spearheads a
whole school Olympics to be held on
February 5, 2015. The entire school will
join in a range of sporting activities
that are tailored to ensure that
everyone can participate in some way.
Activities include football, athletics, an
obstacle course, beach volleyball and
swimming among others.
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Jan - Feb 2015
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Mr Pollock, originally from Yorkshire
Dales in the UK, now the doting father
of a 13-month-old son, shares with
Teach UAE Magazine some of his tips
and strategies for engaging students
during PE classes.
Why did you become a teacher?
Teaching allows me to do the things I
enjoy the most. I was always interested
in playing sports since I was at school
and I enjoyed the school environment.
I enjoy helping people and seeing
them make progress.
What are two ways in which
you encourage your students
to participate in sports while
maintaining academic excellence?
I encourage my students by creating
opportunities for them to play sports
within the school environment –
whether it is after school in school
teams (as part of the CAS Programme),
or internally in House teams or in PE
lessons. All students are involved in
some way. We try to make all students
aware of the benefits of playing
sports, which encourage teamwork,
perseverance, communication and
organisation. Generally, students
Class Time
• Football: it’s the National Sport
of the UAE and is popular with
parents.
• Rugby/Touch Rugby: this requires a
level of bravery and commitment,
different to that of other sports.
• Netball: it’s great for girls to develop
teamwork, communication and
respect.
• Swimming: it demands discipline,
a high level of commitment and
training at unsociable hours.
In a society that is increasingly
focused on technology, many
students are spending a lot more
time on their phones, tablets and
computers playing games. How do
you get your students excited about
extracurricular activities?
We make the activities fun. If it’s fun,
the students are always keen to take
part. We also try to educate them
to make them aware of why we are
encouraging it. Students know that
when a person feels as part of a team
or something greater than oneself, the
body slowly releases a hormone called
Serotonin.
This induces a feeling of belonging.
On the other hand, when they spend
time on their gadgets the hormone
Dopamine is released, which is linked
to addiction. Mr Pollock has a very busy
year ahead. However, he is already
taking it in his stride by ensuring
that he stays healthy and happy as
he concentrates on motivating his
students to succeed both academically
and in their personal development.