"The national PE standards define a "physically literate individual" as a person who "has learned the skills necessary to participate in a variety of physical activities," "knows the implications and the benefits of involvment in various types of physical activities," "participates regularly in physical activity," "is physically active," and "values physical activity and its contributions to a healthful lifestyle"
I had a hard time keeping track of reading all the standards for a physically literate person, let alone trying to think of schools I have seen them in. In CPS schools (that I have been in), these standards do not exist. Students do not have the luxury of knowing or being physically literate, and they are not to blame. Gym class is very important in every student's life, but the students only spend half an hour in gym; only twice a week! Setting unrealistic standards or ideas that are impossible to achieve can hurt the students in many ways. Not because they are not able to, but they are not offered the right tools. Which brings me to my next quote that I spotted on page 78.
"students must demonstrate positive self-belief or self-efficacy that would allow them to take on such identities."
After reading this quote, I got upset. I could not read anymore standards or expectations of students. The system sets such high standards and ideas for students but fails to offer any guidence or resources. I see students being punished daily and being discouraged from being active. In gym class, the whole group or class has to stay together and on task; there is no freedom or room offered for their chocie of physical activity. The other problem is the classroom. I do not understand how anyone can expect a child or young adult to sit in a chair for several hours straight without moving. They have to be quiet, stay still, and pay attention. I can't even do that! and I am 22 years old.
Expecting a child to grow in a healthy way or achieve any of the ideas that were talked about in this article is a joke. Classroom lessons need to have more physical movement in them to motivate students and help them develop an intreset in school.
I am very upset that I am reading all of these great ideas knowing that the students I work with may never have the chance to do them and are not offered enough resources in their schools.
Questions:
1) Have you seen any good gym classes/schedules in schools you have been to? How often did students have gym class on weekly bases?
2) Do you think it is beneficial for the students to move out of thier seats every once in a while?
At the elementary, middle, and high school that I went to we had gym every single day. We learned so many sports, and in middle school would run 2.5 miles a week. I went to school in the suburbs. I have yet to be at a CPS school that even has gym daily. They are restricted to only having physical education once a week because they just do not have the space or teachers for everyone to have gym class on a daily basis. I think it is extremely beneficial for students to get out of their seats and release some energy. In a few of the classrooms that I have been in I have seen the teachers use gonoodle.com which provides kids dance videos for them to dance along to and earn points. This has helped immensely especially with the younger kids. Kids are supposed to be energetic! Schools need to provide them with ways to release some of their energy other than recess.
ReplyDeleteThat's how my experience was. I had gym every single day which is why I know how important it is for kids! I'm so glad that you have seen teachers incorporate physical activity into their classroom!
DeleteHey Darin,
ReplyDeleteI love how strongly you voiced your opinion and I couldn't agree more about the unfairness with physical education being implemented in schools. My kids only go to gym once a week and they absolutely love it. Unfortunately, once a week is clearly not enough time to foster physical literacy. I always see a major difference in behavior as well when my students do get to be actively engaged through the day. After gym they are always awake and eager to participate during class time. Kids need to be able to release energy to support a healthy mind and body.
Lastly, I definitely think it would be beneficial to have students move during or in between lessons. In fact my teacher has them do "brain breaks" where they jump up and down, stretch, and even dance for a few minutes to get them back on task.
That's a great idea!! So glad your mentor teacher is thinking of different ways to get the students moving and release some of their energy during class.
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ReplyDeleteHi Darin,
ReplyDeleteThe school I'm currently in only have gym once a week for about 45 min, and they would have about a 15 min recess. Personally, I don't think that is enough for the students. I feel that students should be able to have gym everyday as a way for them to let out all that energy they been holding during class. Sure, they do have recess everyday, but when the weather is bad they are stuck inside the auditorium. On top, if they are not able to perfectly and quietly walk in line, they will have to practice walking in line until it is done correctly. Therefore, most of the time, their recess time are spent on how to walk correctly in line. This even limits their overall recess time. Fortunately, I like something that my teacher does to help the kids. My mentor teacher would put on those exercising/dancing video and have the kids dance to it. I really like this because it gives the kids an opportunity to release those extra energy in them if they didn't have the chance to enjoy their recess.
Hey Darin,
ReplyDeleteI see your point about kids not having the opportunities to get a great physical education class. I actually really liked the article because it tells you that kids shouldn't embody the expert but instead do the things that an expert would. But I think the problem like you said was that unfortunately that is not what we see being carried out in CPS PE classrooms. This is unfortunately the case for most of what we learn, they are great ideas but rarely do we have the resources to carry things out. I know the school where I am currently at offers PE once a week but we also have swim once a week. The kids here have a better chance to be active but it still could be more.
Hi Darin,
ReplyDeleteI love your post. Sorry, I thought I had commented, but it didn't go through the first time. Anyways, students at McClellan attend gym class for at least three times a week, depending on the grade level. Some middle school grades (I believe the sixth grade) only go to gym twice a week. I think it's really important for students to move out of their seats, because it helps them stay focused. For instance, my teacher sometimes makes students get up at the start of class to stretch and do some simple exercises. I found that when the teacher does this, it helps keep students focused for the rest of the day.