PE in our school district is required in 7th-10th grade and during 7th grade is your first experience in a typical kind of PE class. You have to wear a uniform, usually run about once a week, stretch and play some kind of sports game or just walk for a whole period. PE can be enjoyable if you know someone or have a friend to spend time with and I’ve found that I might have an acquaintance and I end up getting to know them much better during that class period as you are constantly doing something with a partner or merely standing around and just talking to someone. But honestly this experience hasn’t been very effective. PE means physical education and being in a broad PE class very activities vary don’t always align with students interests.
Seventh through tenth graders are some of the youngest and immature through their teenage years so having a PE class is a mental break from the rest of their schedule but also a way to get some energy out so I still think it should be required. But it’s not an effective class in the sense of teaching. I’ve had many amazing PE teachers but the system to be effective could be very different. PE is some of the only exercise many students get during the day so a PE class should probably teach them how to implement an exercise they like into their life or they may choose in the future. Yes we have body works and weight training available to sophomores but any younger grades don’t really get a choice in their class.
PE could be more effective if there was a variety of classes to many grades including different sports like tennis, running, maybe even soccer where students who either participate in these sports get some extra work and direct guidance on rules and techniques for the game or students not wanting or couldn’t be on that team for the school get exposure to a new activity. But exercise isn’t just sports there could me more classes on weights, crossfit, yoga, pilates and many other forms of exercise available. Equipment and enrollment could arise as an issue but it may offer smaller class sizes unlike general PE classes with 40 or more kids. Also these classes could be arranged in beginner to advanced levels so an athlete wanting extra learning options in a sport like baseball isn’t learning rules like other beginners may need.
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Kennedy, I agree with the points you made about making PE better. I liked how you talked about adding variety to PE classes, and adapting to students/athletes with different skill levels. It is a good way of making more students interested, and you explained it well. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteHi Kennedy, you make a lot of great points in this blog. I completely agree as I believe that P.E is so systematic to the point where it doesn’t benefit everyone. It would be so much more helpful if there were a variety of other P.E activities and levels, as you said. Thank you for your insight! Good job :)
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