Although Brandie Green is in the middle of her fifth year as a physical education teacher, that wasn’t her career plan.

“I started out as an elementary education major,” she said in her office at the gymnasium at Iola Roberts Elementary School.  But things changed for the Jacksonville State alumnae when she enrolled in a tumbling class.

“I was a cheerleader in high school and at JSU, and I was always involved in sports, so I thought it would be a fun extra class.  Once in there, I realized that the others were all P.E. majors.  Well, that wasn’t what I was going to do, but as the class went on, I decided I liked it.  As I took more P.E. classes, I felt where I was meant to be was in physical education.”

She still feels that way as she works with local youngsters.  “I see all 400 students every day for 35 minutes at a time. All of our students are getting physical education every day, and that’s a good thing.”

On a recent morning, before her first class of the day, Green explained the purpose of physical education, identified its greatest challenge, and discussed the rewards that come with teaching.

The purpose of physical education:  “It helps with physical well-being and cognitive and social development, and it gives kids a means to be active.  Not every kid loves full-out sports or team organized sports.  We do those, but the focus is on lifetime activities and a healthy level of fitness.  At the elementary level, it lays the foundation for the kids to learn the skills they need to be able to someday play any sport or participate in any activity they want to.”

How important is it for children to be active?  “Anybody can read the statistics about where are our children are when it comes to obesity.  If I don’t do all I can to help them at the elementary level, it won’t be long before I’ll see them later as overweight adults.”

A P.E. teacher’s biggest challenge:  “Depending on what I’m doing, it can be a challenge to motivate students.  Not everybody loves to be active or exercise.  I’ve never had a child say they’re not going to participate in any of the activities we do here, but I sometimes have to be creative about how to motivate them.”

The most rewarding part of teaching:  “Seeing kids truly enjoy being active.  Having them come in and tell me about what they did over the weekend or break that was active.  That’s when I feel like they get what I’m doing here.”

The family business:  “We’re a family of educators.”  Her mother teaches fourth grade in Cherokee County, and her sister is a student at Jacksonville State with plans to be an English teacher.

How she describes herself:  “A hard worker.  I believe in hard work.  Positive.  At the end of the day, I try to find the positive in everybody.  I believe everyone is here for a purpose, and my purpose is to educate young minds.  Education is where my heart has always been.  I knew early on that’s what I was supposed to do.”

How she stays active:  “Walking, running, and having family over for backyard games.  We’re crazy people on the beach throwing the Frisbee.  At this point in my life, I like doing the fun stuff to stay active.”

On her reading list:  Textbooks, “Dave Ramsey financial stuff, and Nicholas Sparks.  I like sappy love stories and beach books.”

Her favorite beach:  “Gulf Shores, hands down.”