SPECTRUM COLLEAGUES
Phil Gerney, Ed. D.
Retired from 32 years teaching physical education
Myers Elementary School and the Elkins Park Middle School , Cheltenham School District, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, USA
Email:
pgrammyg@aol.com
My first exposure to the Spectrum of Teaching Styles was at a Pennsylvania State Physical Education Convention in the early 1970's. I attended a session given by Rudy Mueller of East Stroudsburg University. About five minutes into his energetic presentation I knew that I was seeing something very special. By the end of this experience, I had gone through a profound change in my thinking about teaching. It was an epiphany. Rudy was kind enough to send me information about this new concept - the Spectrum of Teaching Styles.
Not long after this event, I started working with Mike Goldberger of Temple University as a cooperating teacher. Mike was well versed in the Spectrum. A whole new world opened up to me. I had the good fortune to be exposed to and study with Muska and Sara. Over the years, they became not only my teachers but also my colleagues and friends. The Spectrum became the cornerstone of my professional development and teaching on a daily basis. It gave me a framework on which to develop all aspects of my teaching. It forced me to: learn content, develop curriculum, challenge myself and the learners, conduct research, travel, write articles, and teach on the college level. The Spectrum of Teaching Styles made my teaching career infinitely more rewarding and fun!
About Phil
Currently Philip and his wife, Patricia, own and operate The Doylestown Bookshop in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the largest independently owned bookstore in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Philip's publications specific to the Spectrum can be found on the Literature page of this website and his physical education Spectrum equipment designs (many of the designs represent the Discovery Teaching Styles) can be seen in SporTime (www.sportime.com).
Philip Gerney received a B.S. (1966) in Health and Physical Education from West Chester State College in West Chester, Pennsylvania, his M.Ed. (1967) from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and his Ed.D. (1980) in Physical Education Curriculum and Instruction from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philip taught Health and Physical Education in the Cheltenham School District, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, for thirty-two years at Myers Elementary School and Elkins Park Middle School.