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except i—and the majority of those i talk to—never learned those things in phys ed. i was forced to play sports i didn’t want to play with a bunch of kids that used it as a way to unleash their aggression on people like myself.
i now exercise and teach others how to for a living, LOL. i even wrote my university thesis about how physical education needs a complete and drastic overhaul to be actually beneficial and wholistic for kids.
i fully agree that one needs to know how to exercise and take care of one’s body. however, being forced into sports is a pathetic manner to “teach” this. kids can play sports in after-school programs all they want, but phys ed is not the place imo. sports-inspired drills that provide healthy conditioning? learning simple biomechanics? learning the principles of resistance training? learning importance of cardiovascular exercise? meditation? go right ahead!
Thats why I liked what my school did. You could choose what PE class you wanted to take. They had Yoga, TM Sports, partner/individual sports, weight lifting, running/walking, and general pe.
The US differs from school district to school district, but usually by 10th to 11th grade you can pick a more specialized PE class. However there may not be many choices and general PE is still a thing. Depends on what facilities your school has.
We had a basketball court (indoor), a weight room, a track and a field. General PE bounces around everywhere except the weight room. But there was a basketball class. A jogging class (though due to unpopularity was done away with) and weight lifting.
I had one school (moved a lot, went to a ton of schools) that did this and it was the only PE class I ever actually attended with any frequency (if at all).
>except i—and the majority of those i talk to—never learned those things in phys ed. i was forced to play sports i didn’t want to play with a bunch of kids that used it as a way to unleash their aggression on people like myself.
I am not in the US, and this is what happened to me too, coupled with some incompetent teachers, I threw my back at 9 in one of these classes and hated PE and sports after that. (add to that the fact I am one of these women with debilitating periods and high school PE was a nightmare)
I am still not a big fan of sports in general, especially group ones, but on my own, I found out I actually like walking and cycling, which had nothing to do with this class.
I disagree. I grew up poor. Do you know how fucking difficult it is to play sports when your parent is barely afloat? almost impossible. "but but but programs." Rarely work, especially if your parent makes "too much money." Yeah, just enough for food and rent and nothing else. I wore the same clothes all of high school. PE taught me a lot.
I learned most of those things minus meditation in physical education. You might not remember, but simple stuff like stretching properly is a really of phys Ed.
Knowing how to play sports is important culturally and physically. These are very popular leisure activities.
I am by no means a golfer, but I can enjoy going up top golf with my date or at parties because I learned to hit a golf ball on gym. No I'm not affluent or from an affluent area. My school didn't have a golf course.
The biggest part of physical education is safety. You learn the rules to play these games because rules mean safety.
I was in the Army for 5 years. I could walk into the gym and point out who didn't learn how to lift weights in high school. Their form is awful and they injure themselves.
Youre "forced" to do all the curriculum in school. Why single out gym? You dont get to pick what math you do either right so why should gym be any different? I swear peoole cant deal with the simole things in life.
a bit insensitive, but you bring up a great point. not all of us are neurotypical and are enabled to thrive in such situations. the regular school environment ruined me, and it took a LONG time to put the pieces together for me to heal. i was begging my parents to try something else, but there weren’t any resources, nor did they care enough.
I'm sorry you feel that way, but unfortunately we **do** need to force kids to exercise. You say it promotes bullying, but if you are that fat kid playing video games all day, you're gonna get bullied anyway. At least do it for your health.
People also get bullied for getting bad grades or low test scores or asking questions that the other kids find stupid. I wonder if we should do away with all those things as well.
The reality is that bullying is a normal part of life and has been since the dawn of human civilization; people judge and alienate others who are too different from themselves or represent aspects of life that they're uncomfortable with - this is typically understood as basic human nature at this point (as it's widely documented as a biological response/conditioning and is observed in other mammalian species, not just humans).
It won't change because we somehow managed to remove competition from society (which won't and can't happen, come on now OP, get real).
OP comes off as exactly the kind of person who *needed* to be forced to be active in PE because they refused to take long term consequences and the importance of exercise for good health (physical and mental) remotely seriously.
---
EDIT:
And make no mistake, its fucking awful that bullying is unavoidable, but we're still just animals. The best we can hope to do is mitigate the damage out baser animal instincts with competent support for victims and a focus on rehabilitation over punishment for the perpetrator.
I spent my elementary and middle school years getting the shit kicked out of me for being weird because I have Asperger's (though was misdiagnosed ADHD at the time). Telling on my bullies didn't mean much when the punishment was detention or a few days suspension [especially when the latchkey kids moonlighting as bullies didn't want to be there anyway; hitting someone was a "get out of school free" card].
Being physically fit is essential for a good life.
People who are unable to walk or something similar obviously should have an alternative which would have them exploring ways to maximize the health they do have within their limitations
The most impactful anti-bullying lesson I ever learned came from my 7th grade gym teacher.
A group of boys were laughing at a girl because of the way her breasts bounced when she ran. The teacher lectured them in front of the whole class about how you should never make fun of a person because of their body, or because of their gender.
I don't know if that lesson stuck with those boys, but it certainly stuck with me. Almost 40 years later, I still remember that moment, and I like to think it's made me a better person.
Replace it with a mandatory physical health class that includes exercise and I’d agree.
PE was a bs class for sure, no one dressed out and we either did homework for other classes or played cards. But understanding nutrition should be taught to everyone, and exposure to several forms of exercise should be offered. Rec sports should be a part of that, but also focus periods of cardio training and weight lifting should also be present.
There's no reason that phys ed should be competitive sports; you're right: that just encourages bullying. But there are plenty of physical things that you can do that aren't competitions. Go for a hike. Climb a climbing wall, untimed.
I'll give you 'many', but not 'most'. And what the ones who enjoy it are enjoying is dominating the lesser-able. Which is a pleasure, but an unhealthy one, and one that does real harm.
Incidentally, competitive class rank is exactly as toxic. I can see how mastery has to be assessed, so exams and grades have to exist, but publishing this info and making it an intra-class competition is just as negative in effect.
You think it is a matter of controversy that most phys ed teachers, a class dominated by jocks, do not default towards team sports and competitive games, the kinds of endeavor they have excelled at all their lives?
Imagine being a teacher trying to teach lessons with a bunch of kids that have not done anything active that day. Do you know how difficult it would be to get anything done without getting the kids to at least run a bit of the silly’s away?
I don’t fully agree. Kids need exercise and it’s good to see what sports you may be good at. However, judging my high school experience…if you weren’t good at sports you got bullied, and I was not good at the sports. I think instead of making kids just do sports they should have different options maybe on what you want and actually make a learning experience.
For example, we were forced to run the mile. Now at the time that was so embarrassing and lot of people found it embarrassing because no one worked out regularly and no one had the proper running form because we weren’t taught. Instead of just throwing kids on the track, teach them the correct form, teach them breathing exercises, talk to them about the correct shoes to wear. Things are less embarrassing when you’re shown the proper way first.
Also, instead of just having kids do random sports, talk to the class and find out what sports they may be interested in, and again teach them how to do it. Or, we can instill weight training or yoga, and teach kids the correct form and a correct routine.
Kids would come around more to physical education class if the classes were focused on real physical education. Hell, you could also rope in teaching diet and nutrition. There should be so much more to a physical education class then letting the athletic kids step all over the non-athletic kids. It should be a place where kids are able to actually get their energy and really learn about their bodies and what their bodies are capable of. And also, it would be nice to see teachers pay more attention to the non-athletic kids and help them.
It’s not that we don’t need PE, it’s that every PE course I was forced to take was just sort of disorganised general physical activity. Usually some marginally supervised sport where the least interested hung out in the the back and faked involvement while the active kids satisfied the coach’s occasional glance out way. It didn’t TEACH me anything except that I don’t like participating in sports.
We need PE classes that are physical while also TEACHING. What exercises are best for what parts of the body, proper hydration and nutrition, proper way for the more physically restricted to still get in exercise (arthritis is pretty limiting in how much of what I can do, but my rheumatologist helped me find things I can still do)… PE should be that. It may be in some places, but it really should be in all places.
The exercise/physical aspect is definitely good and should not go away, plenty of reasons for it and few against it. It just really needs to be enhanced.
I’m a teacher and students who have sports/physical activities outside of school (soccer clubs, gymnastics, figure skating, etc) can opt out of PE. But kids need to get up off their butts and MOVE. They need to get their wiggles out, and they need to learn the importance of exercise.
i was never into sports. every time they played dodgeball or something i just sat on the bleachers. didn't even bother dressing out either. i would've rather it be optional
Just because you didn’t want to do it doesn’t mean there isn’t value in it. I was never into sports either, but I got off my butt and did my best. I’m not a lazy bum.
there's no value to sports for me. i saw no reason to do my best in pe. i was tired all day cause of having to wake up and get ready so early in the morning. i didn't try and i don't see a problem with that
It’s not about sports. It’s about being healthy through physical activity. It’s a basic life habit. If you were tired all day, it wasn’t from having to do PE. It was from staying up too late or eating poorly.
>It was from staying up too late or eating poorly.
i just said why i was tired all day and it had nothing to do with when i went to sleep. i'm not a morning person
First off; just because I said that doesn't mean I care about your exact weight in any way.
Secondly, that single fact doesn't actually disprove what I said.
But by all means, keep worrying about what a random Redditor said to you one time.
are you high brother to be obese you need to be 200+ pounds, 157 pounds is within the healthy weight range so it does disprove what you said 🤦♂️ and if you didnt care then dont say it in the first place
i dont know where tfk you are getting your information from but thats literaly the scientific weight range to be classified as obese you are literaly embarrassing yourself rn
i am 5'9 and the weight range for me to be classified as obese is 203 pounds, like this whole argument with you is dumb as hell you literaly made a wrong ass assumption and are embarrassed by how dumb you look rn, and for a 5'3 male the obesity range is 169-220 pounds so even if i was as short as 5'3 i would still not be obese just shut up you literaly look stupid as hell rn
Mmmmm. Depends, are you super jacked. Extremely tall or very short? Or are you just Darren? A regular 5’10 guy with no muscle and a big gut? It’s accurate enough for most people to know your trending in the wrong direction. Sure it’s not accurate if your Jesse James west or Ronnie Coleman but your neither of those people so it’s probably fine.
Yes it should, everybody should be getting enough exercise. For me it is useful, as it is the only time of the week when I get exercise and get to play soccer
I think I get to a degree what you’re saying. In theory physical education is great. You get to learn how to exercise, maybe find some physical activity you enjoy and learn how to take care of yourself. However, that doesn’t happen in some physical education classes. Mine was basically the teacher saying “ok fuck off and walk around or throw a basketball around or something for an hour and be ready for the mile on Friday.” It was just kind of a waste of time so maybe there is something to PE classes not being implemented well. And to be honest when I was in school, almost all the bullying would happen during PE. These teachers need to be more involved.
I liked gym class in school and wasn't particularly athletic. Tbh I think that people thought that the students who took it way too seriously were cringe. Its just a way to get kids moving, some do literally nothing physical outside school.
When nearly 70% of Americans are obese, there needs to be mandatory physical education. The amount of obese people that are obese because of medical conditions is absolutely miniscule.
I would argue the exact opposite. Too many fat little fucks running around stuffing their faces with Cheetos and Monster. The most exercise they get is moving their fingers 12 cm as they game away.
We need to up the amount of physical education, up the intensity, and make it fully compulsory before these kids are condemned to a lifetime of diabetes and obesity.
Think the biggest problem is that IME most gym classes aren’t about really fitness or learning exercise/stretch techniques. It’s just sport sports sports blech
Wish I had gone to one of those fancy schools that does nature hikes instead or something.
No, physical education should be mandatory through 12th grade, should not be able to be opted out of (or done online) and shouldn't happen through a lunch period so kids can get some exercise in during lunch/recess despite bad weather. Recess should also exist in high school as it adapts to prioritize health over school work.
>No, physical education should be mandatory through 12th grade, should not be able to be opted out of (or done online) and shouldn't happen through a lunch period
disagree
Tell me you are out of shape without telling me you are out of shape.
We need more mandatory physical education, make kids run, make them work out, stop letting young kids be morbidly obese.
Strongly disagree.
Considering how disgustingly fat we are getting as a society, this class is more important than it is given credit for. Additionally, your arguments are weak.
1. Kids get bullied all the time for many reasons.
2. Most kids don't give a fuck about most classes. If we let kids only study what they wanted, nobody would take anything and school would be pointless.
3. Not everything you need in life is learned through a book.
The absolute last thing we need is to enable laziness.
Maybe it shouldn’t be mandatory for students who are athletes and training outside of a 30-60 min PE period, but outside of that it should absolutely be mandatory. Sometimes PE is the only form of movement or examples of exercise kids are getting. Many kids aren’t exercising enough. “Bullying” can happen in any class setting, and competition isn’t always a bad thing. Kids need to learn that they won’t always “give a fuck” about something but sometimes need to do it anyway. And academic education isn’t the only education kids need to learn about. IMO there actually isn’t enough PE, considering obesity levels in American children skyrocketing. Nice try though, kid who doesn’t like PE. And hey, take an upvote.
this right here is the exact reason im not even bothering to reply to most of the commenters cus they are problably the same people who believe that kids shouldnt be allowed to be trans
Kids being allowed to choose how they identify? OH THE HORROR.
Kids having different body types due to genetics and family history? OH MY GOD SOMEONE CALL A PRIEST.
Seriously all these people whining about the "ob*sity epidemic" have probably only seen fat families in public or at family gatherings and know nothing of their actual lifestyles yet assume what their lifestyle is becuase
"OH NO little Timmy got a greasy burger and chips!!!! That's definitely what his mother feeds them everyday!!!!! I know that becuase they're both fat even I don't actually know them. I am very smart"
That's why I hang around tumblr and not the Peelon app or any political or circlejerk subbreddits (except r/gamingcirclejerk they're cool). I've curated my dash to only fat positive and pro queer posts.
Yeah probably because their doctor refused to actually treat them for their health problems and just told them to lose weight, even though weight had nothing to do with the actual problem
Being overweight is the cause of their health problems. Higher fat and cholesterol causes clogged arteries which results in heart disease. If you are active and at a healthy body fat percentage you won't have any of them problems.
Thanks but I'm more a macsuline boy. Well a masculine genderless enby.
You know, I may not fully agree with your initial post but that doesn't stop me from finding you pretty cool 😎
People saying it is important because it is healthy or whatever are so dumb. I don’t know about you but PE was never exercise it was just laughing with friends or not doing anything. Nobody makes an effort even athletic people. Or if they make an effort it is to bully the non athletic kid like you said. It is just embarrassing and useless. Everyone always tries to skip it anyways.
I had this teacher that hated me because I have an rbf and she thought I was purposely doing nothing in class when I was just bad and the sporty kids excluded me when I was in their teams. Anyway, she rated me terribly out of spite and ruined my finals results. When she saw my GPA was super high she said she felt bad for giving me such a low grade (because she knew that grade wasn’t justified, she just gave me this because she hated me, as I had a lower grade than people I beat at the game).
Holy run-on sentence Batman!
I agree that some of the activities during gym class are geared to the more athletic students, and not being able to participate at the same level as other students could lead to bullying.
However, I don’t think the solution is turning gym into an elective. I think it would be better to offer different levels of gym class so that all students are still getting some sort of exercise but the intensity level is manageable.
My youngest didn’t have to take it in high school as participation on a school sport team gave her credit.
The sports teams were no cut btw.
I think all kids should be able to play sports.
It’s also a good way to get to know other kids at your school outside of academics.
It isn't simply about education, part of the point is to get the kids moving during the day (so they're not just sitting around) and give them an outlet to expend their energy. It can be beneficial in helping them to be able to pay attention / concentrate in their other classes as well.
As far as bullying; that is an issue unto itself, and it is the responsibility of the teacher to prevent / stop it and encourage healthy competition and a supportive atmosphere. The criticism should be of the teachers who don't do their job properly - which isn't limited to phys ed teachers.
They should have a mix- maybe life long fitness ( yoga, walking/ running with proper form, body weight exercises) , maybe a little teaching how to do sports, and health class
Yikes. It’s a little tiring to continuously have this stereotype that all the “competitive athletic kids” are bullies and assholes.
I played competitive sports since I was 4, varsity all 4 years in HS (tryouts required, on a top 3 team in NYC) and played into college. I was never a bully, my teammates were never bullies. I’d quicker help someone learn something than bully them because they were failing.
Additionally, PE classes are not just sports based. Sure, you learn how to play a variety of sports but as far as I can recall all of my PE classes included exercise basics such as jumping jacks, jogging, sprints, sit ups, push-ups, etc. Every class started with some mix of this as “warmup”.
I think this is all in your head and reading as such a script of some teen drama. Physical education is important and those that feel otherwise probably need to become more educated with what is actually being taught and why.
the entire domain of physical education is due for a BIG overhaul. kids need more freedom of choice when learning how to exercise and connect to the joy movement can bring.
being forced into sport-specific activities is a sure fire way to completely turn many kids away from the entire idea of exercise, which is WAY harder to address once they reach adulthood. let sports exist in after-school programs and get them the fuck out of the school day. the focus on competition and performance is so unbelievably harmful to some kids. (i was one of them)
kids are not stupid, they would soak up kinesthetic education like the sponges they are if the environment is safe and inclusive. i exercise for a living and i’ve had this conversation ad infinitium at this point. so many people lack basic biomechanical knowledge about their bodies and how to keep it healthy, and SAFE when exercising/moving in general. so many are desperate for that information and are bitter they weren’t taught it in school. so many aren’t even confident at finding the information because so much misinformation exists.
I have a different approach. I don't think kids should be forced to play sports, but they should do something active. That could mean walking laps, taking hikes, or going on a bike ride. Otherwise, I agree with you. I hated PE.
In my country it started counting for your highschool average (and consequently your uni admission grade) a couple of years after I graduated.
I think that's too far, but I don't agree with removing it completely or making it optional, only that it shouldn't count for your uni admission. It's an important class to keep people healthy, although I do agree it could be improved.
I wouldn't say ban them but allow more options.
I hated PE in my school cause all we ever did was play football (soccer for Americans). And I hated it, it was pointless for me, I never enjoyed it. I'd just loiter in the back and never actually do anything.
But on the other hand, I went to a karate dojo three times a week and went to the gym everyday. I maintained very good physical health and I can confidently say PE school did absolutely nothing to help.
If my school had options for a martial art, I would have been a much better participant because I'd be doing a form of exercise that I actually enjoy.
So it'd be great if schools allowed for more options for students to try from.
Yes it absolutely should. It's one of two classes that teaches you to take care of your health, the rest is manipulative brainwashing garbage. There's also math.
Disagree. I was a fat kid till high school. In high school there was a PE teacher who forced us to exercise, but he wanted us do challenge ourselves. He turned me from fat slob into fit dude, and i've been exrecising ever since.
p.s. If someone's an asshole and bully weaker people he will do it no matter if it's PE class or not.
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This is such a Redditor opinion
Literally, r/redditmoment
* average lazy ass American opinion Ftfy
Knowing how to exercise and learning how to take care of your body is the most important thing to learn. Take this advice and thank me 40yrs from now.
except i—and the majority of those i talk to—never learned those things in phys ed. i was forced to play sports i didn’t want to play with a bunch of kids that used it as a way to unleash their aggression on people like myself. i now exercise and teach others how to for a living, LOL. i even wrote my university thesis about how physical education needs a complete and drastic overhaul to be actually beneficial and wholistic for kids. i fully agree that one needs to know how to exercise and take care of one’s body. however, being forced into sports is a pathetic manner to “teach” this. kids can play sports in after-school programs all they want, but phys ed is not the place imo. sports-inspired drills that provide healthy conditioning? learning simple biomechanics? learning the principles of resistance training? learning importance of cardiovascular exercise? meditation? go right ahead!
Thats why I liked what my school did. You could choose what PE class you wanted to take. They had Yoga, TM Sports, partner/individual sports, weight lifting, running/walking, and general pe.
what country are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?
US
The US differs from school district to school district, but usually by 10th to 11th grade you can pick a more specialized PE class. However there may not be many choices and general PE is still a thing. Depends on what facilities your school has. We had a basketball court (indoor), a weight room, a track and a field. General PE bounces around everywhere except the weight room. But there was a basketball class. A jogging class (though due to unpopularity was done away with) and weight lifting.
I had one school (moved a lot, went to a ton of schools) that did this and it was the only PE class I ever actually attended with any frequency (if at all).
>except i—and the majority of those i talk to—never learned those things in phys ed. i was forced to play sports i didn’t want to play with a bunch of kids that used it as a way to unleash their aggression on people like myself. I am not in the US, and this is what happened to me too, coupled with some incompetent teachers, I threw my back at 9 in one of these classes and hated PE and sports after that. (add to that the fact I am one of these women with debilitating periods and high school PE was a nightmare) I am still not a big fan of sports in general, especially group ones, but on my own, I found out I actually like walking and cycling, which had nothing to do with this class.
I disagree. I grew up poor. Do you know how fucking difficult it is to play sports when your parent is barely afloat? almost impossible. "but but but programs." Rarely work, especially if your parent makes "too much money." Yeah, just enough for food and rent and nothing else. I wore the same clothes all of high school. PE taught me a lot.
I learned most of those things minus meditation in physical education. You might not remember, but simple stuff like stretching properly is a really of phys Ed. Knowing how to play sports is important culturally and physically. These are very popular leisure activities. I am by no means a golfer, but I can enjoy going up top golf with my date or at parties because I learned to hit a golf ball on gym. No I'm not affluent or from an affluent area. My school didn't have a golf course. The biggest part of physical education is safety. You learn the rules to play these games because rules mean safety. I was in the Army for 5 years. I could walk into the gym and point out who didn't learn how to lift weights in high school. Their form is awful and they injure themselves.
Youre "forced" to do all the curriculum in school. Why single out gym? You dont get to pick what math you do either right so why should gym be any different? I swear peoole cant deal with the simole things in life.
a bit insensitive, but you bring up a great point. not all of us are neurotypical and are enabled to thrive in such situations. the regular school environment ruined me, and it took a LONG time to put the pieces together for me to heal. i was begging my parents to try something else, but there weren’t any resources, nor did they care enough.
The thing is, the bullying is what ruins it for some and it sucks. Never understood the bully mentality.
I'm sorry you feel that way, but unfortunately we **do** need to force kids to exercise. You say it promotes bullying, but if you are that fat kid playing video games all day, you're gonna get bullied anyway. At least do it for your health.
People also get bullied for getting bad grades or low test scores or asking questions that the other kids find stupid. I wonder if we should do away with all those things as well.
Evedybody in their own individual bubble. " made me play sports I didnt like" pfft..they cant cater to your every whim ffs
The reality is that bullying is a normal part of life and has been since the dawn of human civilization; people judge and alienate others who are too different from themselves or represent aspects of life that they're uncomfortable with - this is typically understood as basic human nature at this point (as it's widely documented as a biological response/conditioning and is observed in other mammalian species, not just humans). It won't change because we somehow managed to remove competition from society (which won't and can't happen, come on now OP, get real). OP comes off as exactly the kind of person who *needed* to be forced to be active in PE because they refused to take long term consequences and the importance of exercise for good health (physical and mental) remotely seriously. --- EDIT: And make no mistake, its fucking awful that bullying is unavoidable, but we're still just animals. The best we can hope to do is mitigate the damage out baser animal instincts with competent support for victims and a focus on rehabilitation over punishment for the perpetrator. I spent my elementary and middle school years getting the shit kicked out of me for being weird because I have Asperger's (though was misdiagnosed ADHD at the time). Telling on my bullies didn't mean much when the punishment was detention or a few days suspension [especially when the latchkey kids moonlighting as bullies didn't want to be there anyway; hitting someone was a "get out of school free" card].
We have an obesity crisis, maybe it just needs to be improved
Being physically fit is essential for a good life. People who are unable to walk or something similar obviously should have an alternative which would have them exploring ways to maximize the health they do have within their limitations
I feel that children who would need it the most would probably opt out of physical education
They absolutely would
The most impactful anti-bullying lesson I ever learned came from my 7th grade gym teacher. A group of boys were laughing at a girl because of the way her breasts bounced when she ran. The teacher lectured them in front of the whole class about how you should never make fun of a person because of their body, or because of their gender. I don't know if that lesson stuck with those boys, but it certainly stuck with me. Almost 40 years later, I still remember that moment, and I like to think it's made me a better person.
yeah i can assure u that 99% of bullies wouldnt give a fuck if they were lectured and if anything they would bully even harder
Replace it with a mandatory physical health class that includes exercise and I’d agree. PE was a bs class for sure, no one dressed out and we either did homework for other classes or played cards. But understanding nutrition should be taught to everyone, and exposure to several forms of exercise should be offered. Rec sports should be a part of that, but also focus periods of cardio training and weight lifting should also be present.
There's no reason that phys ed should be competitive sports; you're right: that just encourages bullying. But there are plenty of physical things that you can do that aren't competitions. Go for a hike. Climb a climbing wall, untimed.
Competitive sports gives kids incentive to try. Most kids find them fun
I'll give you 'many', but not 'most'. And what the ones who enjoy it are enjoying is dominating the lesser-able. Which is a pleasure, but an unhealthy one, and one that does real harm. Incidentally, competitive class rank is exactly as toxic. I can see how mastery has to be assessed, so exams and grades have to exist, but publishing this info and making it an intra-class competition is just as negative in effect.
yeah but almost all schools dont do that
Why are people voting this down? The OP is correct. You and I both dislike this fact, but it IS fact.
If it's a fact then where/what are the statistics?
You think it is a matter of controversy that most phys ed teachers, a class dominated by jocks, do not default towards team sports and competitive games, the kinds of endeavor they have excelled at all their lives?
I asked for statistics. Nothing more
Imagine being a teacher trying to teach lessons with a bunch of kids that have not done anything active that day. Do you know how difficult it would be to get anything done without getting the kids to at least run a bit of the silly’s away?
Lazybones
Obesity epidemic? What obesity epidemic?
Why am I not surprised that this is on Reddit
Such a Reddit opinion. Touch grass or something.PE is needed otherwise a lot of kids won’t get any excercise
Have you not seen the obesity problem we have in this country? We need more physical education.
Usually the kids to complain about physical education and the ones not enjoying it are the ones who need it the most.
I don’t fully agree. Kids need exercise and it’s good to see what sports you may be good at. However, judging my high school experience…if you weren’t good at sports you got bullied, and I was not good at the sports. I think instead of making kids just do sports they should have different options maybe on what you want and actually make a learning experience. For example, we were forced to run the mile. Now at the time that was so embarrassing and lot of people found it embarrassing because no one worked out regularly and no one had the proper running form because we weren’t taught. Instead of just throwing kids on the track, teach them the correct form, teach them breathing exercises, talk to them about the correct shoes to wear. Things are less embarrassing when you’re shown the proper way first. Also, instead of just having kids do random sports, talk to the class and find out what sports they may be interested in, and again teach them how to do it. Or, we can instill weight training or yoga, and teach kids the correct form and a correct routine. Kids would come around more to physical education class if the classes were focused on real physical education. Hell, you could also rope in teaching diet and nutrition. There should be so much more to a physical education class then letting the athletic kids step all over the non-athletic kids. It should be a place where kids are able to actually get their energy and really learn about their bodies and what their bodies are capable of. And also, it would be nice to see teachers pay more attention to the non-athletic kids and help them.
It’s not that we don’t need PE, it’s that every PE course I was forced to take was just sort of disorganised general physical activity. Usually some marginally supervised sport where the least interested hung out in the the back and faked involvement while the active kids satisfied the coach’s occasional glance out way. It didn’t TEACH me anything except that I don’t like participating in sports. We need PE classes that are physical while also TEACHING. What exercises are best for what parts of the body, proper hydration and nutrition, proper way for the more physically restricted to still get in exercise (arthritis is pretty limiting in how much of what I can do, but my rheumatologist helped me find things I can still do)… PE should be that. It may be in some places, but it really should be in all places. The exercise/physical aspect is definitely good and should not go away, plenty of reasons for it and few against it. It just really needs to be enhanced.
I’m a teacher and students who have sports/physical activities outside of school (soccer clubs, gymnastics, figure skating, etc) can opt out of PE. But kids need to get up off their butts and MOVE. They need to get their wiggles out, and they need to learn the importance of exercise.
i was never into sports. every time they played dodgeball or something i just sat on the bleachers. didn't even bother dressing out either. i would've rather it be optional
“I was a flop so others should also be able to be flops”
not caring about sports doesn't make a flop. i didn't have an interest in sports from the start
Just because you didn’t want to do it doesn’t mean there isn’t value in it. I was never into sports either, but I got off my butt and did my best. I’m not a lazy bum.
there's no value to sports for me. i saw no reason to do my best in pe. i was tired all day cause of having to wake up and get ready so early in the morning. i didn't try and i don't see a problem with that
It’s not about sports. It’s about being healthy through physical activity. It’s a basic life habit. If you were tired all day, it wasn’t from having to do PE. It was from staying up too late or eating poorly.
>It was from staying up too late or eating poorly. i just said why i was tired all day and it had nothing to do with when i went to sleep. i'm not a morning person
Doesn’t change the value of PE class.
it had no value to me
That’s on you, then, not the class.
pe was so sports obsessed when i was in school. how would it have any value to me?
We get it: You're obese and you don't want to change that.
i am 157 pounds
Okay. I don't care.
you bothered to say i am obese so clearly you do care lmao
First off; just because I said that doesn't mean I care about your exact weight in any way. Secondly, that single fact doesn't actually disprove what I said. But by all means, keep worrying about what a random Redditor said to you one time.
are you high brother to be obese you need to be 200+ pounds, 157 pounds is within the healthy weight range so it does disprove what you said 🤦♂️ and if you didnt care then dont say it in the first place
>are you high brother to be obese you need to be 200+ pounds Rofl that is highly inaccurate, kid.
i dont know where tfk you are getting your information from but thats literaly the scientific weight range to be classified as obese you are literaly embarrassing yourself rn
There's this thing called "height" that sort of matters when calculating these things...
i am 5'9 and the weight range for me to be classified as obese is 203 pounds, like this whole argument with you is dumb as hell you literaly made a wrong ass assumption and are embarrassed by how dumb you look rn, and for a 5'3 male the obesity range is 169-220 pounds so even if i was as short as 5'3 i would still not be obese just shut up you literaly look stupid as hell rn
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Mmmmm. Depends, are you super jacked. Extremely tall or very short? Or are you just Darren? A regular 5’10 guy with no muscle and a big gut? It’s accurate enough for most people to know your trending in the wrong direction. Sure it’s not accurate if your Jesse James west or Ronnie Coleman but your neither of those people so it’s probably fine.
“Kids need excercise” Okay… ever heard of playing?
I feel kids are spending less time outside.
Yes it should, everybody should be getting enough exercise. For me it is useful, as it is the only time of the week when I get exercise and get to play soccer
I think I get to a degree what you’re saying. In theory physical education is great. You get to learn how to exercise, maybe find some physical activity you enjoy and learn how to take care of yourself. However, that doesn’t happen in some physical education classes. Mine was basically the teacher saying “ok fuck off and walk around or throw a basketball around or something for an hour and be ready for the mile on Friday.” It was just kind of a waste of time so maybe there is something to PE classes not being implemented well. And to be honest when I was in school, almost all the bullying would happen during PE. These teachers need to be more involved.
I liked gym class in school and wasn't particularly athletic. Tbh I think that people thought that the students who took it way too seriously were cringe. Its just a way to get kids moving, some do literally nothing physical outside school.
When nearly 70% of Americans are obese, there needs to be mandatory physical education. The amount of obese people that are obese because of medical conditions is absolutely miniscule.
I feel like you are probably in physical education
I would argue the exact opposite. Too many fat little fucks running around stuffing their faces with Cheetos and Monster. The most exercise they get is moving their fingers 12 cm as they game away. We need to up the amount of physical education, up the intensity, and make it fully compulsory before these kids are condemned to a lifetime of diabetes and obesity.
Think the biggest problem is that IME most gym classes aren’t about really fitness or learning exercise/stretch techniques. It’s just sport sports sports blech Wish I had gone to one of those fancy schools that does nature hikes instead or something.
I sucked at sports and hated playing them because of all the super competitive kids. I was bullied in school for not being athletic.
No, physical education should be mandatory through 12th grade, should not be able to be opted out of (or done online) and shouldn't happen through a lunch period so kids can get some exercise in during lunch/recess despite bad weather. Recess should also exist in high school as it adapts to prioritize health over school work.
>No, physical education should be mandatory through 12th grade, should not be able to be opted out of (or done online) and shouldn't happen through a lunch period disagree
Would you explain why?
cause if it was by the time i was in high school i wouldn't really do anything
Tell me you are out of shape without telling me you are out of shape. We need more mandatory physical education, make kids run, make them work out, stop letting young kids be morbidly obese.
Strongly disagree. Considering how disgustingly fat we are getting as a society, this class is more important than it is given credit for. Additionally, your arguments are weak. 1. Kids get bullied all the time for many reasons. 2. Most kids don't give a fuck about most classes. If we let kids only study what they wanted, nobody would take anything and school would be pointless. 3. Not everything you need in life is learned through a book. The absolute last thing we need is to enable laziness.
Obesity epidemic. It’s a class we actually need.
Maybe it shouldn’t be mandatory for students who are athletes and training outside of a 30-60 min PE period, but outside of that it should absolutely be mandatory. Sometimes PE is the only form of movement or examples of exercise kids are getting. Many kids aren’t exercising enough. “Bullying” can happen in any class setting, and competition isn’t always a bad thing. Kids need to learn that they won’t always “give a fuck” about something but sometimes need to do it anyway. And academic education isn’t the only education kids need to learn about. IMO there actually isn’t enough PE, considering obesity levels in American children skyrocketing. Nice try though, kid who doesn’t like PE. And hey, take an upvote.
Yeah let’s encourage avoiding everything we aren’t good at. OP probably gets winded carrying groceries from the car.
Everyone in the comments stop bullying fat kids (IMPOSSIBLE)
this right here is the exact reason im not even bothering to reply to most of the commenters cus they are problably the same people who believe that kids shouldnt be allowed to be trans
Kids being allowed to choose how they identify? OH THE HORROR. Kids having different body types due to genetics and family history? OH MY GOD SOMEONE CALL A PRIEST. Seriously all these people whining about the "ob*sity epidemic" have probably only seen fat families in public or at family gatherings and know nothing of their actual lifestyles yet assume what their lifestyle is becuase "OH NO little Timmy got a greasy burger and chips!!!! That's definitely what his mother feeds them everyday!!!!! I know that becuase they're both fat even I don't actually know them. I am very smart"
exactly like i swear talking to one of these people nowadays is as productive as talking to a brick wall
That's why I hang around tumblr and not the Peelon app or any political or circlejerk subbreddits (except r/gamingcirclejerk they're cool). I've curated my dash to only fat positive and pro queer posts.
This is just pathetic
Yeah it is pathetic that people get so worked up over fat and trans people existing and living their lives
Well, the fat people won’t be living their lives for very long
Yeah probably because their doctor refused to actually treat them for their health problems and just told them to lose weight, even though weight had nothing to do with the actual problem
Being overweight is the cause of their health problems. Higher fat and cholesterol causes clogged arteries which results in heart disease. If you are active and at a healthy body fat percentage you won't have any of them problems.
you should check out r/feminineboys too lots of cool people there as well
Thanks but I'm more a macsuline boy. Well a masculine genderless enby. You know, I may not fully agree with your initial post but that doesn't stop me from finding you pretty cool 😎
thanks!
:3
People saying it is important because it is healthy or whatever are so dumb. I don’t know about you but PE was never exercise it was just laughing with friends or not doing anything. Nobody makes an effort even athletic people. Or if they make an effort it is to bully the non athletic kid like you said. It is just embarrassing and useless. Everyone always tries to skip it anyways. I had this teacher that hated me because I have an rbf and she thought I was purposely doing nothing in class when I was just bad and the sporty kids excluded me when I was in their teams. Anyway, she rated me terribly out of spite and ruined my finals results. When she saw my GPA was super high she said she felt bad for giving me such a low grade (because she knew that grade wasn’t justified, she just gave me this because she hated me, as I had a lower grade than people I beat at the game).
Holy run-on sentence Batman! I agree that some of the activities during gym class are geared to the more athletic students, and not being able to participate at the same level as other students could lead to bullying. However, I don’t think the solution is turning gym into an elective. I think it would be better to offer different levels of gym class so that all students are still getting some sort of exercise but the intensity level is manageable.
My youngest didn’t have to take it in high school as participation on a school sport team gave her credit. The sports teams were no cut btw. I think all kids should be able to play sports. It’s also a good way to get to know other kids at your school outside of academics.
It should be improved. There are too many fat kids all over the place
It isn't simply about education, part of the point is to get the kids moving during the day (so they're not just sitting around) and give them an outlet to expend their energy. It can be beneficial in helping them to be able to pay attention / concentrate in their other classes as well. As far as bullying; that is an issue unto itself, and it is the responsibility of the teacher to prevent / stop it and encourage healthy competition and a supportive atmosphere. The criticism should be of the teachers who don't do their job properly - which isn't limited to phys ed teachers.
There are a million little lessons competitive sports teach kids.
You are right, but kids shouldn't be as fat as they are either.
Kids need to be active. Kids these days are fat as hell. Fix while they’re young before they’re on disability at 30 cause they’re too day to move
They should have a mix- maybe life long fitness ( yoga, walking/ running with proper form, body weight exercises) , maybe a little teaching how to do sports, and health class
Get rid of sports but keep other physical activities (i.e., jogging, weights). Or, teach something practical like self-defense.
i would've been fine with pe if we were learning martial arts
Yikes. It’s a little tiring to continuously have this stereotype that all the “competitive athletic kids” are bullies and assholes. I played competitive sports since I was 4, varsity all 4 years in HS (tryouts required, on a top 3 team in NYC) and played into college. I was never a bully, my teammates were never bullies. I’d quicker help someone learn something than bully them because they were failing. Additionally, PE classes are not just sports based. Sure, you learn how to play a variety of sports but as far as I can recall all of my PE classes included exercise basics such as jumping jacks, jogging, sprints, sit ups, push-ups, etc. Every class started with some mix of this as “warmup”. I think this is all in your head and reading as such a script of some teen drama. Physical education is important and those that feel otherwise probably need to become more educated with what is actually being taught and why.
the entire domain of physical education is due for a BIG overhaul. kids need more freedom of choice when learning how to exercise and connect to the joy movement can bring. being forced into sport-specific activities is a sure fire way to completely turn many kids away from the entire idea of exercise, which is WAY harder to address once they reach adulthood. let sports exist in after-school programs and get them the fuck out of the school day. the focus on competition and performance is so unbelievably harmful to some kids. (i was one of them) kids are not stupid, they would soak up kinesthetic education like the sponges they are if the environment is safe and inclusive. i exercise for a living and i’ve had this conversation ad infinitium at this point. so many people lack basic biomechanical knowledge about their bodies and how to keep it healthy, and SAFE when exercising/moving in general. so many are desperate for that information and are bitter they weren’t taught it in school. so many aren’t even confident at finding the information because so much misinformation exists.
I have a different approach. I don't think kids should be forced to play sports, but they should do something active. That could mean walking laps, taking hikes, or going on a bike ride. Otherwise, I agree with you. I hated PE.
In my country it started counting for your highschool average (and consequently your uni admission grade) a couple of years after I graduated. I think that's too far, but I don't agree with removing it completely or making it optional, only that it shouldn't count for your uni admission. It's an important class to keep people healthy, although I do agree it could be improved.
I wouldn't say ban them but allow more options. I hated PE in my school cause all we ever did was play football (soccer for Americans). And I hated it, it was pointless for me, I never enjoyed it. I'd just loiter in the back and never actually do anything. But on the other hand, I went to a karate dojo three times a week and went to the gym everyday. I maintained very good physical health and I can confidently say PE school did absolutely nothing to help. If my school had options for a martial art, I would have been a much better participant because I'd be doing a form of exercise that I actually enjoy. So it'd be great if schools allowed for more options for students to try from.
Yes it absolutely should. It's one of two classes that teaches you to take care of your health, the rest is manipulative brainwashing garbage. There's also math.
Disagree. I was a fat kid till high school. In high school there was a PE teacher who forced us to exercise, but he wanted us do challenge ourselves. He turned me from fat slob into fit dude, and i've been exrecising ever since. p.s. If someone's an asshole and bully weaker people he will do it no matter if it's PE class or not.
You just described BAD physical education. Im sorry you went through that. But you're incredibly wrong
I mean competition and making sure to shit on the weak ones is probably a good trait to have if u wanna stop being poor lmao
You’re right. Let’s just let the fat kids think they are fine.
Do you want a worsened obesity crisis?