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Why a Girls' School is a Safe Place to Build Strength

Beverly Blackwell, Physical Education Department Chair
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do.  It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” – author unknown

STRONG. Get Strong. Be Strong. Throughout my career as a physical education teacher and coach, as well as in my own personal fitness, I have focused on being STRONG. My main emphasis was on physical strength. I believe that if you get your muscles stronger, get your heart stronger, get your lungs stronger, you will improve your health.
 
What does this mean to a GPS girl who is walking through our halls on crutches, wearing an aircast? In my physical education classes, even girls in an aircast look forward to getting into the pool where she can be free of the cast, let her body heal while still getting strong. No matter our life’s challenges and stresses, we must draw from strength to overcome them.

I find this to be true in my own physical fitness. The discipline of being dedicated to my personal strength and wellness has helped me grow in the following areas:
 
  • Self-confidence
  • Self-control
  • Stamina
  • Courage
  • Determination
  • Compassion
Several of these attributes are embedded in the GPS mission statement. We seek to inspire each girl that we teach to “lead a life of integrity and purpose.” We do so by “cultivating her strengths” and “nurturing her self-confidence,” among other ways we engage her. The very heartbeat of our school’s mission is building a girl’s unique strengths so that she may boost her self-confidence. Our hope and our belief is that by doing so, she will change the world. 

I see this play out in my classes, especially when my students must run a timed mile. When coaching the girls, I let them know I believe in them. Will they 
feel frustrated and emotional at times? Yes. Will they be angry and feel like giving up when they can’t accomplish an activity like the timed mile? Yes. But through group discussion and personal journals, I see the girls work through their feelings and find new strength to try again. Sometimes we have to fail at certain things in order to succeed — especially if it’s something we’ve never done before. Our physical education classes are safe spaces in which to try and try again. This is the space where strength is built. 

On February 1, 2017, we will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. At GPS, every day feels like a celebration of girls in sports. Although the research indicates girls receive approximately 1.2 million fewer opportunities than boys in high school athletics,* at GPS, this is not the case. Athletics for girls is not our weakness, it is our strength. The 600 girls who are empowered every day with limitless opportunities to build strength tell this story.
 
My advice to our GPS girls and to girls everywhere: Be strong, be tough, be smart, but still be a girl. #girlstrong
 
Beverly Blackwell is chair of the physical education department and coaches track and field.
 
*High School Athletics Participation Survey Conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (2016)
 
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