PE teachers getting the boot

Nutsack McGee wrote:

If it’s a private school, then none of the teachers have to be licensed...

"PE teachers getting the boot" and "when/if schools return" doesn't fit in the context of a singular private school.

Good try, though. I'll give you a C- for the effort with obvious points taken away for poor comprehension and thinking.

They should “double down” on PE in schools...maybe even triple down. I’m pretty sure if they did that, and added a serious finance class we might not be in the trouble we are in right now.

I'm for good PE in schools, and I define good as functional strength and mobility in addition to team sports, but the truth is that as a parent it is my job to make sure my kid gets enough exercise. I'm also all for stopping any group activities that don't allow for social distancing in schools. My son's school stopped all classes that shared a room like music, gym, and lunch and kids remain in the same room with the same kids all day. In the short term that is a good solution.

I will never rely completely on the school system to teach or reinforce healthy habits, I will do that.

Primo Numero Uno wrote:

What a shame. The biggest line of defense we have against the virus, might as well put the nail in the healthy living coffin. Covid and many other conditions would be far less serious if we weren't such an unhealthy population. If the last 4 months had been spent focusing on healthy diet, obese people losing weight, and addressing the cause of our health concerns 95% of the population would be at much lower threat to COVID then they currently are. This would be far more effective at fighting the virus than these shutdowns and masks. This would also benefit our daily lives in many other ways and greatly reduce healthcare costs. Or we could just pretend having 40% body fat is normal and there is nothing wrong with it.

I heartily agree with the italicized part above. The initial point is good in principle but as someone else already has posted, the current PE/health education has been generally dismal in long-term effectiveness.

I'm not sure what is currently happening in the USA in regards to health and fitness but I can guarantee you that if there wasn't any physical education at all...it possibly would be a lot worse.

The best thing about covid is that people are thinking about their health. In Australia there has never been more bikes sold and the nature reserves are packed with people that were never there before.

For those that like to belittle the profession I would simple state that to motivate individuals to be physically active is incredibly difficult but once you do there no better feeling in the world. Steering a student in the right direction is as good as it gets.

Project fatties wrote:

As if PE In schools for the past decades hasn’t resulted in obesity. Just look around.

...And industrialized food production (GMOs, inclusion of corn products, antibiotics, steroids, etc.) hasn't had anything to do with the negative changes in overall body composition related to unnatural metabolism issues (diabetes, etc.) in the most vulnerable segments of the US population....Oh wait....

This is a fact wrote:

I went to high school in a Midwestern Red State.

One of the things we did in PC class was square dancing.

My wife took square dancing in a highly liberal university town within a midwestern swing state.

not true wrote:

teachnomore wrote:

We either have to accept another position (SPED or substitute) or be furloughed. When if schools resume no health or PE classes.

B.S.. This isn't true at all.

SPED is an entirely different endorsement. Substitutes don't even have to be licensed.

Bad troll.

Each state is different. My state requires substitutes to be licensed. SpEd is a different endorsement in my state, but you can get a 1-year temporary license.

I am a high school PE and Health teacher in a Southwestern state. I agree that what we (PE and Health teachers) have been doing hasn't worked for the masses, which is disappointing. I try very hard to focus on fitness in PE (lots of body weight exercises along with running and cardio) with sports skills and games to supplement fitness. In PE, I also require that students learn basic fitness principles and terminology.

In health, I teach practical health knowledge and skills that students can use to make wise decisions, as teenagers and adults. An example would be to recognize signs of depression/suicide in someone and how to get help. Another would to analyze your current diet and make realistic changes to improve overall diet.

In both disciplines, you would be amazed at the amount of false facts that students have learned. I work to give science based information to students so that they are not only getting their info from for-profit companies and random people on the internet.

Honestly, though, it has always felt like I'm banging my head against the wall. By the time students get to me as 9th graders, they already have so many set patterns that it is hard to get any students to make any meaningful changes in their lives. It is just difficult. Add into the fact that I will only see health students for 45mn for a semester (18 weeks) and PE students for 90mn for a semester, it is a challenge.

If our society put more emphasis on PE and Health, so many problems could get better:

*Obesity

*Diabetes

*Heart Disease

*Suicide

*Depression

*Socialization

If more people would get off their butt and exercise, have some restraint in their food choices, and keep an eye out on others, our society would save billions of dollars in health care and people would live longer, more productive lives.

I could rant more, but if I don't go run now, I'll finish in 90+ degree heat. Bottom line, more focus on exercise and health skills could greatly improve our society!

runkeller

getalife wrote:

You may be able to do 15 “pull-ups” easily but 15 proper pull-ups from a dead hang on each one is really impressive. And 15 easily means close to 20 maxed out.

45 last year, strict -Age 50. I love pullups! Don't believe Guiness - much stricter rules here, with grip limits, camera on chin level, etc.

Runkeller, rantaway and continue to do what's best for our students and our profession.

Unfortunately our administrations by and large don't care and don't support us. Parents are even worse.

Keep up the good fight.

B.S.. This isn't true at all.

SPED is an entirely different endorsement. Substitutes don't even have to be licensed.

Bad troll.[/quote]

No son - its true.

We would be classroom assistants to the SPED teacher. We would be substitutes so the system would not have to hire the fresh meat for the students to torture.

We will find out later today after the board meetings.

Two years ago our school system in MD stopped serving french fries at llunch because kids were getting two servings of fries and that was it for lunch.

You would have thought we were cutting off everyone's right arm the way the kids and the parents reacting. Parent were coming in and trying to drop off bags of McDonalds fries for their kids and then throwing fits when they were told no.

The parents were dropping off fries through classroom windows - hiding them in bushes for the kid to pick them up.

No wonder 90% of the kids looked like Jabba the Hut

You are spot on. With all of the "reporting" out there, not a single journalist that I've seen has talked about the reasons we are so devastated by this: we are fat and grotesquely unhealthy.

Funny how COVID-19 is just growing to increase the divide between the stupid/lazy and the motivated/somewhat successful in every way. The libs hate these inequality gaps but their lockdown forever is going to make them much worse. In this case the fat will get fatter while the ones who maintain a reasonable level of physical health and fitness will keep that level if not improve on it.

For PE class the lessons should be on improving health fitness first. Not learning how to win at basketball.

While P.E. classes were not typically sites of much activity, and hence, not of great use, the cutbacks in P.E. over the years meant that kids might be sitting for 6 1/2 hours or more per day at school and maybe get out for 30 minutes, maybe not. Most days the older kids at my daughter's school don't have P.E. at all. We undervalue exercise for kids at school and then we keep them in our sight at all times outside school, meaning that they are sedentary, on their devices to keep them quiet and inside because we're too lazy to go outside.

Countries that are as fat or fatter, like Kuwait, Bahrain, and other Middle Eastern nations, have done far better with COVID. We are doing so badly primarily because of rank competence and arrogance on the part of our Republican leaders.

PE fell apart when the "everyone gets a trophy" and "liability" reared its ugly head. I had gymnastics, running, baseball, soccer and every type of sport during gym. Now since schools don't want to be sued they literally do nothing. They go to the track and walk for 40 minutes - with their headphones on. If they're sitting after 100 yards and you say something about getting up they get sassy - if you try to fail them forthe day, you get called in the office and the parent screams at you and the principal says next time just let it go.

I'm a sensible liberal democat - but I think they should do what they would do to us in the early 70's - if you fail out or drop out of school - the army recruiter would be waiting for you at the door and off you go to Vietnam.

Let's review the current trends for the last 10-20 years:

Cut out script - go to block writing only

Use of text language in classroom , homework and term papers

Childhood obesity - rising in ages 8-18 at an alarming rate (play video games much?)

Removing PE classes - i man, why not? Every friggin parent gives an excuse from the doc for their pasty white, doughy, overweight little (big) , diabetic boy. They don't have to exercise!

So, seeing this trend - we can see that kids are getting fatter, and more reliant on engine searches for everything. Which means, slower, fatter, dumber.

Don't believe me?

Ask to see any 5th-9th graders homework. Look at the spelling and if they even do it, handwriting.