Friday, March 8, 2013

Hard Grader or Not Easy A anymore!!

So this past week in PE I've heard things that please me:

"This is PE, why are we doing all of these extra things.  Why can't it be like my old school where we just play sports and that's it.  I don't like all this extra work."

"I heard you (Mr. L) were a hard grader for this. And why does African Dance have a grading rubric?"

"Why do we have so many assignments in class, it's only PE"

YES!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!! AND YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS is what should be coming out of students mouth if they are receiving the NEW and IMPROVED type of Physical Education!!! The credited, assessed, and valid Physical Education the new generation of students NEED!!!!  Why?!?! Because no longer do we live in a world where kids will go out and play on their own and get the natural physical activity I got as a kid playing tag for 2-3 hours STRAIGHT!!!! I never even knew I was doing interval training, which is what ALL tag games are!!! You sprint hard for 1-2 minutes, take a break, sprint again, take a break!!!  Who knew!!!:):):)

I hear my 11/12th grade students say thankfully we didn't have to do this when I was in PE, oh you mean actually LEARN something in class!!  Instead of doing the same thing over and over, year and year out!!  I remember my high school experience was focused solely on sports and barely anything outside of that, like heart rate, muscles, over training, etc.!!!!  I loved it, but looking back at it what did I get from it?!? Barely anything!! It wasn't until college that I opened up my eyes and realized, wow, I really didn't get that much out of PE like I thought!! There is SO much more to physical education than just learning sports, sports, and some more sports on top of that!!  Why does your body react to that, why does your heart beat faster or slower for these certain things!! What the heck is this muscle and why do we use it?!! Oh you mean we should be challenging ourselves more and more after each session in the fitness room to actually grow stronger?!?!

At the end of the semester Physical Education students ACTUALLY have to take a test, assessing them on all the knowledge they gained throughout the year!! WHOA, shocker!!!  And it's not just a test asking what are dimensions of the court or how many fouls can you get before you're out in a basketball game!!  It's actually pleasing to hear comments like this, KNOWING, that these students actually have to work for their grade in PE, and NOT receive the "Easy A"!!!  Fail Physical Education?!?! Heck yes!!  You don't put forth the effort and work, you bet you'll fail!!  Not that I am promoting students failing, obviously that is not the point!! I will help them with everything and anything!! BUT, they don't put in the work and/or effort and you better believe they will earn the grade they receive at the end of the year!!  The stigma of "Easy A" is no longer associated with Physical Education at Woodstock!!  Students are working and LEARNING at the same time!!!

Like I said, students more than ever now need to be equipped with knowledge about their bodies and how to stay healthy, because we are heading towards a very lazy future generation!!!  Unless some changes happen!!!!!  Oh and I definitely love when even teachers say "wait, you're doing what in PE????"  Yeah, this is a whole new generation of PE, and the old school/outdated way of teaching one dimensional is OUT of here!!!!  To a HEALTHIER and more ACTIVE future!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)

HAPPY SMILING AND BEING ACTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):):):):):)

Oh and the VERY first thing I do in the beginning of the year is cut out an A and tell them to try and get it!!! Then I proceed to run around the entire court, making sure they have to WORK to get it!!  Thus, setting a tone for the year and getting the point across, yeah not so EASY to get an A in PE is it!!!:):)

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