Get Schooled

By HS Teacher Too

February 22, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this

Laura, Can’t pick teams; someone might have their feelings hurt.

Actually, sarcasm aside, I know almost nothing of the phys. ed. curriculum so I can’t really talk. I’ve been intrigued by the fact that students choose classes, though (walking, weight-training, team sports, etc.) as compared to the northeast, where we took gym for the year, and did “units” where we rotated through each of those things. I’m not sure which is the better way to go. But I do wonder what on earth “online” physical education can possibly do to force exercise. (I understand part of physical education’s goal is to teach healthy habits about exercise, etc., but I look at an online class and think “what a way for the lazy/awkward/anti-phys.-ed. kids to get out of having to do it!”)

By SET

February 22, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this

What happened to Dodgeball and Kickball is that the schools decided that competition is OUT. As part of the liberal indoctrination the feminist-socialist-collectivist operators of the schools are conducting they got rid of anything - including the boy’s adventure books - that exposes children to individual achivement and competition. These things have been done systematically, no accidents here.

Remember, the purpose of the Public Schools in this Brave New World is not to prepare the students for military, industry and higher education. It’s to prepare the children for collectivism. You just can’t have the kiddies competitng with each other because that makes them harder to indoctrinate.

By The truth

February 22, 2008 10:30 AM | Link to this

Parents, pull your kids out of government schools. This is classic feminist liberalism overtaking government schools to turn boys in to girls. The PC police are at it again. Little Johny might get hurt. The wussyfication of American children.

Set, You said it well.

By Janine

February 22, 2008 10:41 AM | Link to this

HS Teacher,too: it wasn’t just the northeast! I grew up in Va. and in high school we did the same rotation….and in those awful gym suits! In elementary school, we didn’t have P.E., just RECESS! We went outside and sometimes the teacher organized a dodgeball game or some other group activity, other times we played on monkey bars, “flip pole”, swings, or got into games of “tag”, etc. with a few other kids. *and SET”, I think you’re right, for as we all know, competition has all but been removed from the classroom as well! G-d forbid that we recognize someoneas being superior in any way! Also, re: P.E., schools are terrified that a kid will get hurt and the parents will run to file a lawsuit claiming negligence!

By Coach

February 22, 2008 10:49 AM | Link to this

I like competition, it is healthy for the kids. I believe this country was discovered by competition to see who discovered what first?! Kids love games, games get everyone involved and you try sitting 30 kindergarten kids down for yoga and tell me how that goes! Sports get kids active and moving, not to mention these kids need a break from classroom learning and time to unwind a little. We have more discipline problems with students who sit in a classroom for hours on end and don’t have the opportunity to expend some of their built up energy. And, believe it or not, sometimes kids just want to be able to whip other students in a game of friendly competition. Kids want a winner and winning builds confidence and character. Losing, actually, breeds strategy (how can I beat that guy/girl?, what can I do differently to win this game?) Competition is healthy and we use kickball and forms of dodgeball and others sports to engage the kids interest in activity. I am not saying that yoga is bad, but they can keep it and we will keep using competition!

By just a teacher

February 22, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this

I grew up in APS and we had the same year-long rotation model described up through middle school; separate classes started in high school.

As for the online classes, my students report that they are actually kind of tough. The students have to wear heart monitors and get their heart rates up to a certain level for a set amount of the each day. Hardly foolproof, but there’s at least some accountability.

By Tony

February 22, 2008 11:14 AM | Link to this

As a school principal, my preference for PE is for all kids to be as active as possible during their PE time. We use activities such as dodgeball as an incentive for better participation during the week. We also use kickball as part of the PE curriculum in the spring for 4th and 5th grades. The downside of competitive games is that not all kids get to play, so there is little activity for several kids. All kids need to exercise during PE.

Our daily PE classes incorporate a number of exercises and activities that have all the kids moving. That is the key to improving fitness for all students. We do not (and will not) do yoga or online PE.

By Jeff

February 22, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this

Tony:

Back in the day, we might have 15 people on a kickball team, but EVERYBODY played. Why can’t ya still do that?

Do they still do that Presidential Physical Fitness thing? I remember doing that back in ES, and it was ROUGH!!!

I think the LEAST I was EVER allowed to do in a PE class was walk the perimeter of the basketball court the entire period. Even then, the rule was if you stopped moving, it was an automatic trip to ISS for the remainder of the day.

By V for Vendetta

February 22, 2008 11:22 AM | Link to this

I’ve talked about this before on here, so let me go over a few points I’ve made in the past:

The state of physical education is beyond pathetic in public schools. Phys Ed has been reduced to a ridiculous shell of its former self, and all on account of government PC silliness. It’s the wussification of America, one grade level at a time. I have a good friend who is a elem. PE teacher, and I hear about this all the time.

No more team sports — period. someone might get his or her feelings hurt. If they DO play anything even resembling a team sport, there can be no score, no winner. That way, they avoid any possibility of making anyone feel less than wonderful. Their field days, where kids run a variety of events and/or races, have nothing more than “participation” ribbons in most cases. You will hardly ever find a school that gives anything for winning an event, much less has any kind of ranking in place. To add an even thicker layer of absurdity on top of it all, my friend told me that at some schools, the teachers are instructed to STOP THE KIDS from playing any type of competitive sport on the playground. Not to mention, they don’t provide the kids with the equipment, in an attempt to prevent it at the most basic level. I’ll also mention that a lot of this stems from sped requirements and IDEA laws. You can’t exclude the mentally handicapped kids, they might feel bad, too!

As a former D-1 college athlete and gifted/AP student, I find this trend sickening. Life is competition, from the moment you pop out of mommy until the moment you croak. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves or believes in some kind of fate. What the heck are we preparing these kids for? Will they be hired for every single job they apply for just because they look nice? Will everyone always like them just because they’re human? Of course not.

The cruel reality of life is that some people are better at some things than other people. Some people are better looking, more athletic, smarter, or just plain nicer to be around. Conversely, some people suck, are hopelessly unathletic, or complete and utter morons. That’s the way it is. You can pretend it’s not all you want, but it won’t change a damn thing.

We’re paying the price for it already, and it won’t be long before it all adds up to the complete and utter failure of the American workforce. Don’t believe me? Talk to an elem. PE teacher. It will blow your mind.

By Mark

February 22, 2008 12:10 PM | Link to this

Some of you guys are crazy! Do you know anything about schools at all???

Sure there are some units in PE that involve things other than competitive games, but that concept is certainly nothing new! Does anyone else remember the horrible square dancing units, lasting for weeks that were mandatory in PE back in the sixties and seventies?? Or, how about the tumbling unit?…or during the Kennedy and Johnson eras…the “Go you Chicken Fat, Go!” records we had to exercise to??

The kids at our school regularly play basketball, football, kickball and run competitive relays during PE.

Good grief!!

By Mark

February 22, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this

Actually a video-based exercise program is not too bad. It would sure beat the heck out of those records we had to exercise along to back in the ‘60’s!!

By V for Vendetta

February 22, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this

Mark, your school is the exception, my friend. The schools around here are expressly forbidden to play ANY competitive sports. I know my county is not the only metro-area county to implement such a directive. Sorry if we appear to be blowing up over something that isn’t readily clear to you, but around these parts, it’s a pertinent issue for sure.

By Mark

February 22, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this

Some of you all listen to WAY too much Boortz and apparently believe everything he says.

By erin

February 22, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this

Oh my god, I remember the square dancing and tumbling units and I was in elementary school in the 1980s!

Funny thing is, I actually enjoyed the tumbling!

But … PE? yeah, it’s a joke. It has been a joke. Preventing kids from having their feelings “hurt” by not winning isn’t doing ANYONE any favors. These kids are going to get a very brutal wake-up call someday and the results ain’t gonna be pretty at all.

In fact, we’re already seeing the results of some of this stuff. Some of these people I see coming out of college now just can’t believe it when they’re told something is merely “good,” because they’ve been told they’re nothing less than fantastic all the time since birth … and heaven forbid if they hear something they do truly isn’t even “good,” but “not so good,” to “bad” or even “horrible.”

By HS Teacher Too

February 22, 2008 12:58 PM | Link to this

Coach, You’re exactly right — the experience of losing teaches many very important lessons. It’s a travesty that we try to “protect” our kids from that experience these days. Kids should learn early in life how to handle losing.

Just a teacher — thanks for clueing me in a little bit about the online phys. ed. classes. The heartrate monitors actually makes a lot of sense. Cheaters will still cheat, as you said, but at least there is an effort to monitor (no pun intended) that the students are, in fact, doing something “active.”

By V for Vendetta

February 22, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this

Boortz? Other than having to look at his ugly mug on billboards, I can assure you I don’t know much else about him. I prefer music when in the car. Political commentary isn’t on my list of relaxing things to listen to while driving.

By jim d

February 22, 2008 1:05 PM | Link to this

This is insanity. Again I must fault parents. Whose damn job is it to look after the overall health of the kids? The schools? I think not

What the hells wrong with people that expect the schools to do it all? Where’s the personal responsibility for bringing a kid into this world?

OK, Jm. Disagree with that one!!!

By Old School

February 22, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this

Geez! Whatever happened to “Go, You Chicken Fat, Go!”?

Most PE classes I’ve seen in high school lately consist of girls sitting around doing each others hair while a few boys play basketball…all unsupervised because the “teachers” are in meetings watching football game films.

By Tony

February 22, 2008 1:24 PM | Link to this

Yes. We still have the Presidential Physical Fitness program each year. We present the awards during our end of year ceremonies. It is still a tough award to earn.

A sound physical education program can not be built solely around competitive games like kickball and dodgeball. Just like mathematics cannot solely rest entirely on geometry. There are many skills and activities related to fitness.

By V for Vendetta

February 22, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this

Jim D

Responsibility is checked at the door (to the bedroom) when the dolts are allowed to breed unchecked. Perhaps linking the amount received from wellfare to the number of kids in a family was a mistake, eh? Parents haven’t a clue these days, they’d rather plop their kids down in front of a Xbox or Playstation. At least they have strong thumbs!

By jim d

February 22, 2008 3:04 PM | Link to this

V,

Not all parents! I know many that are involved in activities like Scouting and athletics with their kids.

That 2 mile / 1,800 foot elevation gain towards the top of Blood Mountain really gets the blood flowing. :-)

By JustMe

February 22, 2008 3:08 PM | Link to this

What’s happened to PE is the same thing that has happened to all classes in school….

We focus so much on what the kids ‘like’ we forget about what the kids ‘need.’ Educators (even PE teachers) have become nothing more than glorified entertainers, trying to hold the attention of kids with no manners and ZERO attention span. Today’s kids have been trained (by TV, playstation, whatever) to get immediate reward and to be constantly stimulated visually.

I cannot imagine any of these kids in any sort of job that requires concentration on any level (surgeon or even factory worker).

By Phil lawler

February 22, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this

PE is changing in parts of the country and the change is for the better

Our district has 20,000 students - 3 years ago we tested 1500 freshman, our rate of overweight and obese combined was 3% (national average 35% and rising) We play sports but the theme is Fitness Intergrated through Sports - the program meets the needs of all children not just the athletically inclined. Are students are not only actively engaged, we test them on congitive information - so they understand how to take care of their bodies after they graduate. We are also doing research with Harvard - improving math and reading scores through physical activity - plus other academic classes.(Read the book SPARK by Dr John Ratey)

When our students graduate, they receive a 15 page health profile tracking from 4th grade through 12th grade. All students are fitness tested twice a year. The high school fitness test includes all the basic fitness test plus body composition, blood pressure, nutrition anaylsis, hydration rate, and optional test include cholesterol screening and EKG testing.

Parents in our district have rated PE the number one curriculum for satisfaction above scince,math, and English.

Your PE experience might have been bad or good - but times are changing and so it PE - some schools are making good changes - others are still trying to find “Best Practice”

The children of your community deserve Best Practice - for more info: visit www.pe4life.org

By jim d

February 22, 2008 3:14 PM | Link to this

Tony,

A sound physical education program can not be built solely around competitive games

I couldn’t agree more.

NW New Mexico hiking 80 miles in july or spending a week on the Colorado—rafting the Grand Canyon with various and sundry side hikes, or even just walking 10 miles of Lake Michigan shore line can add inmeasurably to a fitness program. Needless to say those are not activities generally sponsored by the schools and would require parental (shall we say)encouragement.

And what about all that time teachers have off in the summer? :-)

Whose to keep the kids fit then?

By jim d

February 22, 2008 3:19 PM | Link to this

JM,

“Today’s kids have been trained (by TV, playstation, whatever) to get immediate reward and to be constantly stimulated visually”

That can easily be accomplished standing at 4,400 feet above sea level looking down upon the landscape. (More parents should try it) Or standing at the bottom of a 200 ft waterfall looking up.

By HS Teacher Too

February 22, 2008 4:17 PM | Link to this

Jim d, I don’t think anyone today is saying that schools are supposed to be entirely responsible for students’ health and fitness. We’re just answering the question of what happened, after all, to the competitive sports aspect of physical education, and bemoaning the fact that we’ve become a nation of whining, hand-held wussies who can’t possibly risk being on a losing team, not getting a trophy, or, dare I say it, having our feelings hurt.

That’s all.

By Tony

February 22, 2008 4:20 PM | Link to this

jim d, I couldn’t agree more. I prefer walks on the coastline of Florida, though. I am not advocating that it is our job to keep kids fit. While the kids are in our care, we know that exercise not only benefits the body, but the brain, too. Besides, who wants to be cooped up inside doing pencil and paper stuff all day.

Have a good weekend all!

By JustMe

February 22, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this

To add on to what I said in my last post….

Activities that we enjoyed while in school (kickball, etc.) require a bit of patience. You have to wait your turn ‘at bat’. You have to wait for the pitch. You have to stand in the outfield and wait on the possibility of the ball coming your way. And so on.

Today’s kids just won’t stand for this….especially in school PE. They demand constant and immediate stimulation - or they will find it themselves and get into trouble. Of course, then it will be the teacher’s fault, right?

That is likely the main reason for this yoga craze and the video fitness craze. Kids are constantly engaged - no patience needed.

I really fear for this generation and our future. The kids are continuously pampered, tended to, and told that they are wonderful and the best. They end up with egos the size of a house and feel that everything must revolve around them. Imagine an entire generation like this - scary!

By CiCi4

February 22, 2008 5:26 PM | Link to this

I much prefer the Physical Education classes my students get over what I had. We had the PE teacher once every two weeks. PE consisted of attempting to climb a rope or pole or swinging from the rings. We did square dancing and Chicken Fat. All of this done wearing a skirt!

In Junior High and High School there was more emphasis on team or competitive sports. All that time learning Field Hockey, Gymnastics, and Basketball really helped me out in my life. Not to mention the time in the swimming pool.

My students go to PE every fourth day. They have units based on different skills - ball handling, aerobic fitness, stunts and tumbling, jump rope, etc. All of the students move from the time they enter the gym until the 50 minute period is up. They move from one activity to the next without pause. That beats all the team sports where a player gets to move only occasionally.

The idea here is to teach about how to be physically active. All of my students look forward to PE because they know they will get to move around and have a good time.

As for competition being taken out of school, we just had a Spelling Bee. One winner for the school. We are about to have a Math competition. One winner for fourth and one for fifth grade. We still have honor roll. At least twice a week, I have some sort of competitive game, usually involving Math computation. We have a winning team and the other learn to lose graciously.

I don’t know where some people dream up these ideas about feminist-socialist-collective ideals in public schools. Again, I have never been at a school that banned students from playing kickball at recess (which I would agree is woefully lacking in GA schools). However, I can see that happening if the kids can’t check their arguments at the school door. We do not allow our fourth graders to play basketball with guarding because it too often becomes a physical argument. They are allowed to shoot for points.

I just think any change that helps all students become more active is a good change.

By HB

February 22, 2008 5:43 PM | Link to this

As a complete klutz who was always among the last picked for kickball and dodgeball and who hated P.E. until college, I think it’s great to get some noncompetitive activities into the P.E. curriculum. There’s clearly room for both competition and activities that focus more on a individual’s improvement than on winning and losing. Competition is good to a degree in both academics and athletics, but there need to be realistic goals for those kids who will never be at the top. When I was in school, P.E. was all competitive sports.

I’ve read a lot of complaints on this blog that students should be grouped at least somewhat by academic ability. I agree, and they did when I was in school. But I always wondered if the kids who were bad at math didn’t have to be in my 8th grade algebra class, why did I have to run track with the star of the basketball team? College fitness classes were far more beneficial to me. Instead of running myself into an asthma attack or being picked last for the team and kept on the bench for as long as possible (yeah, that helped me get in shape), I could take fitness classes that involved lifting weights or walking 3+ miles per day at a very brisk pace. Fitness tests didn’t require that everyone reach the same goal speed or lift the same weight. You set a baseline at the beginning of the semester and every few weeks had to improve. I loved it and got into great shape, although I never became a great athlete (coaches can’t work miracles — like other teachers, they are limited by what the students have coming in). Friends who were more athletic than I also enjoyed these classes, but some of them took more competitive courses and enjoyed those too.

All students, regardless of ability can benefit from some competition, but as Tony rightly stated above, there’s a lot more to fitness than just competitive games. No need to go to one extreme or the other as schools apparently have done — a nice balance can happen.

By Betheroo

February 22, 2008 6:35 PM | Link to this

Dodgeball and kickball are all well and good, but there are lots of other activities that kids (and adults) can participate in now. We’re talking about physical fitness, not competitive sports here.

Jumping rope, dance classes, running, and yoga all provide much more physical acivity than a game of kickball. Kickball is sort of a stop/start game like baseball.

And I wouldn’t worry about today’s students being deprived of the opportunity to compete. You obviously haven’t noticed the proliferation of t-ball, baseball, football, soccer, gymnastics, lacrosse and other leagues that children of all ages participate in, sometimes beginning before elementary school.

By retired

February 22, 2008 9:17 PM | Link to this

We already have too much emphasis on computers,and now online P.E. Gym class was mandatory when I was in school. We all did calesthenics for the first part of the period,under the teacher’s direction,then unstructured activity the rest of the period,so everybody was actively involved. Apparently,something was done right,compared to the present day,as I was exercising at the local YMCA recently and a man young enough to be my grandson approached me for advice on learning how to do one ‘pull-up’ so that he could meet the entry requirements for a branch of the military service.

By mmm

February 22, 2008 9:52 PM | Link to this

My 5th grader is presently learning square dance. What is wrong with that?

By JustMe

February 23, 2008 4:01 AM | Link to this

Another possible reason for this move towards video PE is legal stuff. A kid gets hurt playing kick ball and the parents may sue the school. A kid gets hurt mimicing a video and who will the parents sue? The video?

I spoke to a kid here in the US for one year from Germany. He said that school there starts about the same time and ends at 1:30 PM. They don’t have a PE class, but rather the community (not the schools) offer extra activities that are optional after 1:30 PM. I wish we could do something like that. Let the schools focus on academic content. Let the community do social stuff and sports.

Funny that German schools end at 1:30 yet they score higher than the US on most every test. He did say that they have tons of homework, though, compared to US schools.

By WFC

February 23, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this

I coached coompetitive interscholastic football, basketball and baseball from 1976 to 1993 so I certainly love sports. My HS PE classes, not so much (circa 1965.)

Here’s the deal back in the day. Our PE coaches were sadists. I can only imagine how the non-athletic kids felt. All 9th graders had to take team oriented PE. The only 11th and 12th graders in the class were the “punks” dumped in PE so that they wouldn’t ruin academic classes. Our PE coaches thought it amusing to match the 9th grade jocks (I was one) against the 11th and 12th grade “punks” in football! I’ll never forget our first game: we jocks with me at QB beat the punks 77-7 with yours truly throwing about 8 TD passes. I also got the living hell beat out of me both on the field and in the locker room afterwards. I hope that the SWD coaches enjoyed it because I sure didn’t.

By jsmom

February 23, 2008 8:41 AM | Link to this

My personal fitness class in high school showed us different ways that you could get in shape. The teacher had us run on certain days, weight room on certain days and then on Fridays he would have us do ‘other’ sports to show us that there is more to fitness than running and lifting. We did a video (Cindy Crawford I believe to get the guys on board…), Ultimate Frisbee, gosh I think we even played a game of Tag on the football field. It was nice for those of us that hated running in circles for no purpose.

By C.R.H.

February 23, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

School in Germany is also probably year round. School here couldn’t release at 1:30…some kids would be out running around causing problems. Come to think of it, by 1:30 some kids haven’t even had lunch yet!

By catlady

February 23, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this

German schools also sort. So, if you are behind in 6th (or whatever) grade, you get funneled into a vocational program,rather than having even a chance at college. Also, I don’t believe Germany (or Japan) have the “safety net” that will reward nonachievement and laziness that we “progressive” Americans think is so important. That is, if you don’t put out effort to do well, you won’t have housing, food, etc. provided like we do here. Perhaps things are different there now, but that is the way it used to be done. They will find, if they adopt our ways, that their achievement will go down the tubes, too.

By catlady

February 23, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this

Also let me point out that in Germany schools are not pressured to “give” students an education. They are expected to go after it themselves. Also, i doubt that teachers are told to “make” students successful by lessening their workload or dumbing down the material. Finally, I doubt teachers are told to “expose” their students to a topic. They are allowed to teach it to mastery.

By C.R.H.

February 23, 2008 4:18 PM | Link to this

I also don’t think Germany (or any other country for that matter) have laws like NCLB. Hmmm…coincidence?

By HB

February 23, 2008 6:27 PM | Link to this

Depending on the overall high school core requirements, I can see online P.E. being a good thing. I was required to take one semester of high school P.E. — no real need for an online course there.

I’ve seen an online model in Washington state, I believe, where the courses were added in to help older students free up electives. The schools required P.E. every year (maybe even every semester), and some juniors and seniors were having to skip AP courses and college joint-enrollment to fit required PE in. Arts classes, like band and drama, were also losing their jrs and srs to PE. Older students could take online or simply “independent study” P.E. courses such as jogging, walking, swimming. They had to keep exercise logs that were signed by a parent or teacher (many exercised on school property before or after class). They also had to meet with a teacher periodically, and sports practice sessions (school-related or not) could sometimes count as exercise time. The general set-up seemed a lot like community service projects that some public schools require. I think both freshman and sophomores had to take regular, on-site P.E., so online/independent did not replace traditional P.E. entirely. Not a bad solution really.

By V for Vendetta

February 25, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this

catlady,

Great comments on the German school system. We could all learn a lesson from their model. They consistently produce some of the most driven, highly-educated workers in the world. They are known for the attention to detail and committment. We should all be so fortunate.

Oddly enough, I have a German exchange student myself right now. Her attitude towards our schools over here makes me sad. I’m sad because everything she says is right on the money. I’m thinking I might need to move to Germany!