PE/Recess time mandates

Naomi Pardue wrote in message
Uhhh... so you don't think that it might be, in some way, helpful for kids
to
learn how to play soccer/softball/baseketball/volleyball/ etc.

Not at all. Getting picked last and hating every minute of gym class to play
those stupid games and get humiliated did nothing for me as an adult. I'd
much rather have today's PE have aerobics/weight lifting or training/eating
healthy/swimming for an all around healthy attitude. If the kids are
interested in soccer or other team sports, there is enough after-school
activities in those areas to fill a lifetime of sports for the kid. If a PE
class wants children to know the rules of games, then something like that
could be in a book form and have written tests.

--
Sue
mom to three girls

"toto" wrote in message
...
On 27 Sep 2003 12:36:09 GMT, OSPAM (Naomi Pardue)
wrote:
Uhhh... so you don't think that it might be, in some way, helpful for
kids to
learn how to play soccer/softball/baseketball/volleyball/ etc.

Frankly, no. I see no reason to learn these games unless you like to play
them.

But how would you ever know whether you like to play them if you don't ever
learn to play them?
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [18mo] mom)

This week's special at the English Language Butcher Shop:
"She rose her eyebrows at Toby" -- from "O' Artful Death", by Sarah Stewart
Taylor

Daddy: You're up with the chickens this morning.
Aurora: No, I'm up with my dolls!

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman

In article zFHdb.4204$hp5.1888@fed1read04, Circe says...

"toto" wrote in message
.. .
On 27 Sep 2003 12:36:09 GMT, OSPAM (Naomi Pardue)
wrote:
Uhhh... so you don't think that it might be, in some way, helpful for
kids to
learn how to play soccer/softball/baseketball/volleyball/ etc.

Frankly, no. I see no reason to learn these games unless you like to play
them.

But how would you ever know whether you like to play them if you don't ever
learn to play them?


OK - Barbara - let's go parachute jumping TOMORROW. Then we'll go visit Stever
Irwin and wrestle snakes. What?? Why not?? - how would you know if you don't
try :-)

While I've allowed that a legit purpose of PE would be to expose kids to various
sports, I can perfectly well understand that many people who don't like
athletics much, and/or dont' like team sports much, could reasonably conclude
that they won't much like yet another team sport.

Also - unless PE is set up for a substantially long time on a single sport with
a substantial amount of coaching - the kids will not be learning how to play the
sport anyway.

Banty

On Sun, 28 Sep 2003 13:38:58 -0700, "Circe" wrote:

But how would you ever know whether you like to play them if you don't ever
learn to play them?

You can learn enough about them to know you won't like them without
ever playing them at all.

I liked some sports and not others. And I knew that without having
to play them in gym.


There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Well, that addresses part of the problem. But then you have the less
talented
players - this expression being especially appropos here - standing out in
left
field!

Only if the PE teacher allows it. Ok. this month the kids are playing
softball. Today, Susie plays left field. Next class, she plays first base.
Next week,she's on second base, and so on. Everyone plays all the positions.
(And in other team sports, where the activity levels are more equitablly
distributed than in softball, this is even less of an issue.)

So it's really only good for the purpose of getting kids exposed to the
sports
and rules. That's a pretty good argument for team sports in PE

I'd say that there are many goals for PE, with that being one of them. As long
as team sports aren't the only thing being done in the class, I don't see a
problem with them.


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

Not at all. Getting picked last and hating every minute of gym class to play
those stupid games

Soo... did you hate gym class because you were picked last (which I already
said was a bad way to run team sports), or because you had to play the games?

I was not athletic in school. (Not athletic now either.) but team sports were
really no worse for me than anything else. We DIDN"T pick teams by having the
captain pick kids most of the times (and yeah, whnen they did,I was usually
picked last, or nearly so, and hated it).


Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

In article ,
OSPAM (Naomi Pardue) wrote:

Well, that addresses part of the problem. But then you have the less
talented
players - this expression being especially appropos here - standing out in
left
field!

Only if the PE teacher allows it. Ok. this month the kids are playing
softball. Today, Susie plays left field. Next class, she plays first base.
Next week,she's on second base, and so on. Everyone plays all the positions.
(And in other team sports, where the activity levels are more equitablly
distributed than in softball, this is even less of an issue.)

Speaking as a non-athletic sort, this would have been even worse! It's
bad enough to be shuffled to a position where your inadequacies will do
as little damage to your team as possible. If you are stuck in a key
position, where everyone can REALLY see and concentrate on how bad you
are -- and where you have a higher chance of making an error that will
cost points for your team -- it is downright humiliating. And my fear
of being humiliated kept me from being able to learn any skills -- it
really froze me.

I didn't know until I was in grad school that I'm not totally inept. I
finally had a chance to play games with people who had a different
attitude, and it gave me a chance to really try without fear of being
laughed at (at worst) or just disappointing my teammates (at best).
Until then, my fear of being humiliated really dominated my involvement
in any team sport. I'm still not much good -- and these days I also
have some physical limitations that would keep me on the sidelines,
anyway -- but I wonder what skills I might have been able to develop
under other circumstances.

I did OK in PE when we were doing individual activities, and especially
non-competitive ones (like dancing -- which I know CAN be done
competitively!) But all I learned about team sports in PE was to
detest, loathe and fear them.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

In article ,
OSPAM (Naomi Pardue) wrote:

Not at all. Getting picked last and hating every minute of gym class to play
those stupid games

Soo... did you hate gym class because you were picked last (which I already
said was a bad way to run team sports), or because you had to play the games?


Speaking only for myself --

Both. I hated playing the games, I hated knowing that no one wanted me
on their teams (no matter how the teams were chosen), I hated the
disappointed groans of my team mates when they saw the ball coming
towards me (and the laughs and derision when I made an error), I hated
knowing I was no good and not likely to get better . . .

I probably ought to add that I was incredibly unpopular in grade school,
and things didn't get better for me until about my last year of high
school. PE was only one arena where that played out, but it gave other
kids LOTS of opportunities to let me know what they thought of me.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

: I did OK in PE when we were doing individual activities, and especially
: non-competitive ones (like dancing -- which I know CAN be done
: competitively!) But all I learned about team sports in PE was to
: detest, loathe and fear them.

Ditto.
--
ColoradoSkiBum

: I hated playing the games, I hated knowing that no one wanted me
: on their teams (no matter how the teams were chosen), I hated the
: disappointed groans of my team mates when they saw the ball coming
: towards me (and the laughs and derision when I made an error), I hated
: knowing I was no good and not likely to get better . . .
:
: I probably ought to add that I was incredibly unpopular in grade school,
: and things didn't get better for me until about my last year of high
: school. PE was only one arena where that played out, but it gave other
: kids LOTS of opportunities to let me know what they thought of me.

I don't know how old you are, but I'm betting that those experiences have
had an enormous effect on you as an adult. Why would anyone want to put
their child through that, just so they can grow up with a complete lack of
self-confidence?
--
ColoradoSkiBum