Is physical education
getting stale?
Growing up my physical education classes were very much
sports based. We rarely strayed from team based games. And it was always the same thing every time.
In grammar school it was always a consistent schedule, it was kick ball,
dodgeball, basketball, volleyball, and softball. High school all these games
were also there but included flag football and soccer. And teachers wonder why
kids no longer like physical education? It is a stale consistent schedule. Yes,
of course there are kids who just in general dislike the class in general. But
for most they are just bored. There has to be something done to spice it up.
Kids goof off because they are bored.
Now there is the other side of things where students did not
like physical education because they are not as athletic as the other kids. The
gym should be a safe place for a child to learn the different skills of the
sport and have the chance to improve. This should be able to eliminate that
self-consciousness they have about not being as athletic. Children are most
likely to find a sport they like in their physical education class and this
should be the place to get the basic skills they need and the chance to improve
those skills, but because the schedule stays the same, students are not getting
the chance to broaden their horizons and sports skill sets by teachers doing
the same thing every day, every year.
I loved my physical education classes, however, I really liked the team sports and I’m generally capable of playing most of the games. However, I did get tired of the same old, same old. Similarly, as much as I loved the team sports, it really wasn't a ‘physical education,’ it was indeed more of a general sports education. I think maybe once we threw on some heart rate monitors but we never really did anything with them or the information. I also remember that the teams always had the few really good players take over and all the other kids just kinda walked around. I totally agree that the gym should be a safe place for kids to learn how to play the sport and give different things a try. The way that most classes are set up these days don't allow that safe place to happen, and thus the athletic get more athletic and the confused get more confused.
ReplyDeleteLike Aurora I loved physical education. It was my favorite time of the day and I loved all the activities. I think it comes down to the class though honestly. I was in an advanced PE class for my Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year. In the class we would lift Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then play a sport on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My Sophomore year we played knockout every Tuesday and Thursday for the entire year. No one ever got bored of it and we had a blast. But that was not the case my other two years in the program. I think it is up to a teacher to see what his or her class enjoys and do a bit more of what the class appreciates.
ReplyDeleteI, for the most part, enjoyed PE class in high school. I can remember that the students in the class felt like they were "too cool" to be in PE.To go back to what you said, students compare themselves to their peers. This creates a sense of competition but sometimes not in the best way. The students start to feel doubtful and they don't really try the different activities right before them. I feel like if we could eliminate the tension of who is athletic and who is not athletic, PE classes would be more enjoyable. Because I know I didn't really try as a freshman who was in a PE class full of seniors. PE class is suppose to be fun and educational, not something to dread.
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