This Week in Review:
"Peandme.com"
A case for American Physical Education
This week, I decided to take my pursuit of all things teacher far beyond the familiar confines of English, Technology, Literature, and desks for that matter. This week, I took my website review to the gym. The School Gymnasium, to be specific. "Peandme.com" makes a strong case for the support of Physical Education.
Graham Mallen, a PhD student from De Montfort University currently based out of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, introduces his website with a post titled "Teaching the Most Important Subject to Students: A Secondary Schools Approach to Student Wellbeing in 2016-2017." In it, he calls for a public school Physical education that is more on par with other subjects. Mallen states “As an education system we can do far more. When I hear of schools getting rid of some PE lessons for students to do more Maths and English I genuinely scratch my head in amazement. As important as Maths is it is surely not as important as your health?
Now I will be the first to admit, it took a bit of time working through Graham Mallen’s website to be convinced our students are in need of more time in the Gymnasium. My P.E. class consisted of kickball, dodge ball, kickball, and more dodge ball. As a high school elective, it was simply a blow off class that kept us out of the classroom and away from any sort of course that would require us to put pen to paper at home. However, that isn’t the sort of gym class that he advocates for. Furthermore, this experience that I am sure many other students have shared is not a reason to deny an education that supports the body as well as the mind.
The Takeaway:
Taking a look at a website whose emphasis is physical education, was certainly a journey outside of my pedagogical comfort zone. Moreover, I have absolutely no plans on becoming a P.E. teacher of any sorts. However, I can’t deny the fact that “PE and ME” makes a solid argument. Can we really claim to have a “holistic” system of education or be producing “well rounded” students when physical education is optional or worse, schools are “ [. . .]getting rid of some PE lessons [. . .]”
In the same way that we, as teachers, are encouraged to create lessons that encompass a range of learning styles for a range of needs, why don’t we address the human needs for exercise and movement? Now I’m not saying we should make students run laps for poor exam scores, but would a little bit of moving and shaking hurt anyone? The mind and the body need to work in conjunction, if the body is not well maintained, should teachers really be expecting well performing students? Give the kids a moment to stretch between activities, chapters, or lectures.
Under the website’s “Teaching” tab, is a section called “Lesson Starters.” In it, we are introduced to a “Thunk.” A quick and easy way to get your students’ mind moving as well as their bodies.
Graham Mallen can be reached through his Twitter at @PEandME