I do agree with this but also: god it'd be great if there were a way for kids to tap out of certain subjects early and go "look, I am never ever going to excel at this, I need the skills to be BASICALLY FUNCTIONAL as an adult, nothing higher-level." that would have been me at PE, others at maths
I think of people I know with dyscalculia who suffered thru years of not understanding trigonometry. for what? what was the point of that? they needed to be drilled in using a calculator to figure out their budget. I needed to be introduced to the "writer's walk" & not made to play effing NETBALL
So PE may be skipped altogether.
Until adulthood I thought I was literally physically incapable of running more than about ten feet because PE does not teach you how to run; it just assumes you already can! …and it turns out I really enjoy running
There are other ways of approaching it. My colleagues who teach physical education for primary teaching decided some years back to address the dance shaped hole in the curriculum. They ended up arranging a three year residency with a dance theatre company. The kids loved what they came up with.
Absolutely. I keep seeing so many friends commenting that the first time they've used a certain set of skills in ~30 yrs is to try and help their kids learn it, while meanwhile most folks I know still have regular nightmares about hs calculus. I did not need to take AP Chem to be a history prof!
Me at BOTH PE and maths (also chemistry) but I have developed an entire theory about how PE should be taught that would have revolutionised the experience for me, growing up. (In my head. I am obviously not a PE teacher.)Me at BOTH PE and maths (also chemistry) but I have developed an entire theory about how PE should be taught that would have revolutionised the experience for me, growing up. (In my head. I am obviously not a PE teacher.)
A friend went to a school which did something like 16 GCSE level qualifications. Which was, I suppose, useful for the 1-2 people who were good at all of subjects and good at exams, and disastrous for the confidence (and grades) of lots of others who should have done a normal number of GCSEs.
The thing about PE is that it’s treated as uniquely important and indicative of character. Can’t do geography? You just can’t do geography. Can’t do PE? You lack character. Team spirit. Are suspicious all round. When it’s really uniquely unimportant.
Agree with this. Schools should have some equivalent of the doctor's 'first do no harm', along the lines of 'do NOT put kids off subjects for life'.