Michael Wright, 2007-2008 Outstanding Teacher

You might say that physical education is in professor Michael Wright’s blood—and you’d be right.

The 2007/08 Outstanding Teaching Award recipient’s parents met at Chico State, where they both studied physical education and became physical education instructors. Wright followed in their footsteps, not only graduating from Chico State but becoming a physical education teacher as well.

“I’ve never been one to sit around,” says Wright when discussing the reasons for his career choice, as well as his free time—he’s an avid golfer and fly fisherman.

After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education from Chico State, he taught physical education in Chico and Red Bluff to junior high/high school students. Wright went on to Oregon State, where he got his Ph.D. in sports pedagogy.

One of Wright’s goals in the classroom is to immediately eliminate negative stereotypes about physical education. “A lot of students come in with a pre-conceived notion that physical education is a place for dumb jocks who just play sports,” he says. “I try to impress upon them that we are here to educate children, to teach them about healthy lifestyles.”

He also encourages candor and criticism from his students about his teaching methods. “I provide them with an opportunity to be honest. There’s always another side to everything, and I appreciate their perspective,” Wright says.

But Wright is also honest about the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of the job. “I’m a realist,” he says. “I’ve been there, teaching the kids; I share the trials and tribulations of the job, as well as the joy.”

So what’s the major difference between teaching physical education as opposed to teaching P.E. teachers? “I used to go home physically exhausted,” Wright says. “Now I go home mentally exhausted.”

Wright, whose specialty is teaching assessment, is excited about the development of an instructional analysis lab within the College of Health and Human Services. “Students will be able to analyze videotapes of themselves and their colleagues in order to improve their teaching methods.”

Wright credits any professional successes he’s had to the support of his department and college. “Anybody that does well does it with the support of other colleagues, and that’s true in my case,” Wright says, who also credits support at home from his wife and two children as instrumental to his success.