13GEM Mission

1.  Help students develop confidence, self-esteem, Life skills, & positive health benefits through Physical Education.

2.  Provide an all-inclusive physical activity environment that enhances all four human domains (social, emotional, cognitive, physical).

3.  Provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to enhance the health of self and others throughout a Lifetime.

4.  Provide a Physical Education program based on full inclusion, ability perspective, & potential seeking process.

5.  Provide a sport and fitness environment focused on fun and learning while being founded on respect, teamwork, positivity, perseverance, honesty, communication, constructive feedback, etc.

6.  Utilize Physical Education as a solution to social dilemmas of childhood obesity (physical/cognitive deficiency) and bullying (social/emotional deficiency).

​7.  Provide a Physical Education program that is affordable, accessible, and beneficial to all who wish to participate by eliminating barriers-to-entry

13GEM Philosophies

FULL INCLUSION

Refers to the fact that all children, regardless of current ability level and/or adaptive needs, should participate and succeed in sports and exercise.  Everyone shares the ball with everyone because the point of this program is not to teach students how to dominate and win, rather how to use collaboration and sharing to achieve communal success.  In 13GEM PE Programs everyone participates the entire class period, nobody sits out unless a break is requested.

ABILITY PERSPECTIVE

Refers to the fact that all children possess inherent talents and skills and that those inherent abilities should be identified, strengthened, and highlighted by the Physical Education Teacher to build confidence and self-esteem.

POTENTIAL SEEKING PROCESS

Refers to the fact that a great teacher should focus on a child's potential rather than current ability and/or deficiency.  Great teachers should seek potential and draw greatness out of a child who did not see that potential or believe in that greatness.  A great teacher should be able to teach anybody anything that he/she can do.  Our focus is on what you can do and are capable of, not what you can't do.

Coach Jacob

Founder, Lead PE Teacher

     My personality and skill set caused me to gravitate towards the field of Education and more specifically Physical Education.  First and foremost I am a leader and function best in leadership roles.  I enjoy the responsibility and accountability of being a leader.  There is no greater responsibility or area of accountability than teaching children how to become healthy contributors to society.  The reason I chose Physical Education is because my favorite activity to participate in is playing sports.  I always wanted a job that afforded me the opportunity to do what I love every day  and teaching Physical Education affords me that opportunity.  The combination of helping others improve themselves while engaging in sports and exercise makes being a PE Teacher the ideal job.  My enjoyment and enthusiasm for this profession combined with a natural talent for teaching creates an enjoyable class atmosphere that empowers all students to reach new levels of achievement.  It is important that students have positive exercise experiences early in Life to increase the likelihood of engaging in a health enhancing level of exercise into adulthood.  

     My primary mission is to help students cultivate the skills, knowledge, and intrinsic motivation to maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity for a Lifetime by engaging in sports and exercise.

     I graduated from the University of Georgia in May 2007 with a Bachelor’s in P-12 Health and Physical Education.  I have nine years teaching experience in a wide variety of teaching situations: public, private, special needs school, urban, suburban, in the classroom, in the gym, contracted teacher, substitute teacher, literally all grades PK3-12, academic classes, and an after-school program to name a few. 

The Ronin Philosophy

Forging Masterless Masters

13GEM has chosen the "Ronin" as its mascot.  Ronin is a Japanese term that translates as "samurai without a master", which I feel is an apt description of what we aim to turn our students into.  Another interpretation of "Ronin" is "Masterless Master", and that is the one we focus on.

Wisdom

We start by providing students with the Wisdom to "know what to do" by teaching the sports, exercise, and Life skills necessary to achieve personal standards of success

Strength

We build physical, cognitive, social, and emotional skills through repetition in complex and challenging activities so students have the Strength to "do it"

Discipline

We set the realistic process expectations of "listening to and following instructions" without compromise for all students because learning is not possible without these Disciplined behaviors

Integrity

We seek to strengthen students' moral compass through activities that require
"self-officiating" and challenge students to adhere to rules in the face of adversity (when the temptation to "cheat to succeed" is the greatest)

Responsibility

We teach students the importance of striving with best effort while facing and Responsibly dealing with the outcomes of all chosen behaviors and actions

A Bit More Info...

  • 13GEM is the first organization focused on improving the quality of Physical Education being provided for the general public.  
  • Our innovative Online PE Curriculum is designed for students to practice and master sports and exercise skills at home in backyards, on driveways, and in living rooms.  Eventually, students will be able to apply for and gain legitimate Physical Education credits from the comfort of their homes.  
  • Building students knowledge base and confidence is just as important, if not more so than learning the purely physical skills so activities are designed to allow maximum practice time to achieve mastery and fun enough that students are intrinsically motivated to engage the curriculum.  
  • We aim to reverse childhood obesity by providing future generations with the knowledge and skills necessary to maintain a healthy Lifestyle.  
  • We also aim to reverse bullying by providing students with a proper social-emotional education that reinforces cooperation, teamwork, integrity, perseverance, competition with self, and positive communication.

Physical Education is our modality for Organizing, Uplifting, & Empowering the Collective!

13GEM- The Documentary

This is the literal origin story of 13GEM.  I always wanted to open a gym and teach PE on my own, but there was no social mission behind what I wanted to do.  When I tore my ACL in August 2015 and had to move back to Georgia to heal I had lots of free time on my hands and decided to go into Atlanta and help those who needed it.  Unbeknownst to me, I was uncovering my Life's Mission.  This is the street corner I vow to return to and build a 13GEM facility.