SAMPLE AND DARE I SAY IDEAL HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUMS Matthew Cummiskey West Philadelphia HS/Temple Univ. Please sign in with address

Improvement Ideas “To answer the question...I did something schools never do: I asked the children. Because they know.” »Robert Fulghum

Methods Undergraduate students in a personal health class were required to write two- page paper addressing: –Factors for poor fitness of America’s youth (28) –K-12 experiences in physical education (235) 131 female respondents and 104 male respondents Papers were read by two researchers (reliability) and coded into positive and negative subcategories

Results

Discussion - Points to Ponder Too much emphasis on traditional sports and not enough lifetime activity. –“There was very little focus on fitness, and most of the activities revolved around team sports.” Too much repetition of activities at the same level. –“Ninth grade physical education was the same thing as all the previous years.” Explain the WHY of physical education –“The focus of PE class was not very clear to anyone.” Provide activity choices –“One thing that made my experience more positive was the fact...I got...to decide what we were going to do.” –“I enjoyed being given a choice and I usually liked the activity that I picked.” Grading was subjective and participation oriented. Students did not understand the purpose of fitness testing and objected to the lack of follow-up. –“We did the tests but we never furthered it by practicing anything.”

Points to Ponder Not enough time for meaningful activities: –“Classes usually last forty-five minutes, with a good twenty to twenty five of those minutes changing clothes, taking attendance, and getting equipment. Then more time is taken either picking teams or just getting organized.” Favoritism towards athletes: –Non-athletes felt treated like “second class citizens.” –“It seemed the teacher…catered to only those that were talented.” Students deplored a lack of teaching and teachers who merely rolled out the ball –“They would give brief instructions and then sit back and watch us play for the whole period. The never seemed to get involved with the class.” Aversion to sweating –“Most of the other girls hated gym class because they didn’t want to sweat. So class was never very competitive.”

Points to Ponder Marked shift in enjoyment of physical education across grade levels. –“When I reached high school, I noticed that myself and others began to lose interest in physical education.” –“During elementary school, my friends and I used to get excited to attend phys. ed. During seventh and eighth grade, gym class stared to become ‘boring.’” Physical education was boring and now challenging (73). –“In high school, gym class was a joke.” –“The same things are covered year after year and everyone just fooled around.”

Group Work

Suggestions for Secondary Physical Education Create an elective program through the guidance or existing classes. Improve alignment and cohesiveness at the high school level (take charge). Seek and incorporate student feedback (suggestion box, papers) Base grades on objective assessments, not participation and effort (portfolios, rubrics, video analysis, quizzes, etc.) Incorporate more lifetime activities and non-traditional activities. Incorporate more fitness instruction and follow up the fitness tests with related instruction. Monitor the level of competition and challenge students on a daily basis. Incorporate other activities like CPR/First Aid, power walking, yoga, pilates, ultimate frisbee, mountain biking, personal defense AND continually adapt to reflect adult choices. Assign a paper on first day: “The Purpose of Physical Education.” Lobby for longer class period either through block scheduling or combining traditional classes. Address the issue of physical activity decline directly after high school.