Physical Education Programs--The Old StyleToday we look to physical education professionals to help us stem, and even reverse, the serious lack of physical activity in children. But, physical education programs may be missing the mark. Most of the college curriculums, which train our educators, do teach the core skills needed to be a physical education professional. However, once young teachers get into the classroom they cannot apply what they have learned. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost, classes are too large. It is extremely difficult to try and elevate the skills of young people when you cannot give them one-on-one attention. Second, physical education classes often meet only once or twice a week for about 1/2 hour. By the time students get into the class and settle down, there is very little time left for actual activity. As a result, physical education classes are often reduced to game playing. For example, teachers may have students play kickball. Yes, a lot of students can participate, but the game does not develop skills. It is simply children running around and burning off a little energy. To make things even worse some physical educators rely on an old style method of teaching, almost a boot camp approach. They bark out orders and ask children to follow along. They throw a ball out and watch the children volley it or kick it about. They tell them to run around a track or do sit-ups. None of this helps children learn the critical skills needed to be physically active for a lifetime. They do not teach things like balance, agility or kinesthetic awareness. They do not teach the core skills of running, throwing, catching, kicking and the like. They take the easy way out. In short, they are lazy and give physical education a bad name. As a result, this vital part of education is being cut back at a time when our children need it most.
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