Discussion
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Comments
As a soon to be PE certified teacher, a health teacher, and family consumer science teacher, I would love to see all of these professionals in a school collaborating. Unfortunately in a lot of districts they are eliminated the FCS teacher due to budget cuts, and they feel its not necessary however, just as you just explained part of PE is the health and wellness piece which FCS touches on. As a PE professional it is hard to fit in everything you need to teach in one PE class 2 - 3 times a week and sometimes less. But if at all possible I think some form of nutrition should be taught to young kids in a fun way, such as hands on experiences, letting them cook. They can create there own healthy meals, this is something that unfortunately parents do not do anymore. THey are so busy that they just buy meals on the go. By properly planning and grocery shopping you can save money and calories by doing it yourself. So what I would love to see is more skills that children can use and then go on and teach their families. Yes, participating in physical activity is important but when teaching wellness there is so much more.I think if there was this piece in class that students would want to be more involved and would come to class. Especially those few that hate changing and running around.
Jamie, I love how you are looking outside the box for a solution to the PE/Health problem. Somehow we need to create a learning experience for children to enjoy learning about their health and nutrition while incorporating physical activity into the equation.
I personally can understand how children who are overweight are unwilling to participate in PE. I was one of those kids who was embarrassed because of my weight. I would avoid some aspects of PE because I couldn't run as fast, or jump as high as most of the kids. It was easier to miss the class than to feel ridiculed. I am sure my experience wasn't unique, and that most of the kids who are obese feel the same way. Perhaps the area that needs to be changed is that of feeling accepted regardless of your size so that these children are willing to get involved in the activity, where they ultimately can enjoy being active.
I am not a P.E teacher, but I hope I will be down the line. Can you take field trips? Maybe going to a local gym and have a personal trainer show them around and talk about nutrition. The kids will be able to physically see how it has affected the personal trainers life, it fair to assume the trainer will be in good shape. Also, guest speakers. Someone from the community who has knowledge of the proper way to eat and live. Just having a new face talk about health and nutrition would be helpful, sometimes the message gets lost when hearing it over and over from the same person. Last idea, having the kids do a experiment. go to P.E class for a week with there normal eating habits, and record how they feel. Then give them a eating plan for the next week with healthy options and lots of water. Again they can take notes about how they feel each day. Compare and contrast the two weeks and see how they feel. I bet they have more energy the week that they eat right.