Nathan Handy is one of the new health and Physical Education teachers at Davie High School. He attended Starmount High School, where he graduated in 2007. Growing up, Handy was an athletic kid who participated in many sports, dreaming and working hard to go professional. While his dreams were big, he couldn’t quite reach them, which he explained in our interview by saying “I am 5’6—that’s not gonna happen.” Regardless of his dreams, Handy knew his true passion was working with kids.
Regarding his first day of teaching, Handy said, “It was a little nerve-racking obviously, ya know. Going into a new profession is something that you are trained to do but never had a lot of experience with… Here’s your class, now go for it!” He goes on to explain that while that new weight on your shoulder can be intimidating, you eventually get the hang of it. Students may learn from the teacher, but teachers also learn just as much from the students. He later says, “Going in it’s super scary, but after the first two to three weeks, it was like I knew it’s what I wanted to do. I knew that that was the right decision.”
Along with how Handy felt during his first day, he also gave insight into how his kids treated him. “They would ask us questions like where did we go to school, why did we want to be a teacher, why a PE teacher and a coach?” Handy mentioned how his kids were incredibly nice and supportive of him and his decision.
When asked about anything he would want to share about physical education, he said, “Never give up. I think that a lot of kids start trying to get active when they’re not. It’s not an easy path — it’s something you have to truly work at, and a lot of the time, kids and adults give up before they actually start to achieve their goal and start to see results they may be looking for because it is hard. Hard work does pay off and if we don’t push and strive, you’re never gonna reach the goal that you’re trying to obtain.”
This article is only a little part of Nathan Handy’s story and his life of teaching. Teaching isn’t just a book or a handout that they give out. Teachers have to do the hard work to make sure what the child needs to pass gets put into the lesson. He says he has to go home and pick games or sports to play in order to adhere to the curriculum in a limited amount of time. He believes PE should be more than one class a year. Kids and teens need to be active for their health.
He is a very kind and helpful teacher. He was more than happy to talk and give advice about physical education and health in general. The Weekly Talon is happy to welcome him as a proud War Eagle!
