To think PE is a waste of time

[ICantfindagoodusername]

I'm totally prepared to be flamed, but please take the time to read the thread rather than just saying YABU because of the title.
I think PE is a waste of time because:
•Why is it the school's job to make sure our kids get enough exercise? An example of the government parenting our kids for us.
•Why does it always have to be team sports? Schools could do other more interesting PE choices, such as zumba, aerobics, and other things that don't involve running around outside in the cold and rain.
•What good does it do for your education? If a kid is overweight, a couple of hours of standing on a football pitch won't change anything. The time could be better spent covering more of the curriculum. Kids run around at lunchtime anyways.
•PE is supposed to make kids foster a life long love of sports. But in reality, lots of kids LOATHE it, and as soon as they are 16, quit PE, never to do it again.

I agree with Larry that parents need to be made accountable for their attitudes towards sport/PE.

Lots of parents are guilty of projecting their own negative experiences into their children.

It costs nothing to play with children, ball skills. To sign on to a football team it can be as little as £60 for a season. Cricket even less. It's a matter of prioritising.

Really important teaching our young people to look after their bodies -from the day they're born- our bodies are capable of so much and should be respected.

If children don't like PE they must do it as they must do maths/English.

Don't be fooled that doing well in maths and English when it comes to GCSE doesn't cost time and money!!!

As little as £60 for a season

Many, many people would never be able to afford that.

If many parents can't sort out their childs weight, and the evidence is there that they can't, why expect them to also find time to encourage their DC in sport.
School sport is better than no sport.

Many, many people would never be able to afford that

Hmm I know,yet again one half of number is clueless about how the other half has to live, if they consider £60 to be a trivial or affordable sum.

And it isn't just £60, there's boots, shinpads, transport to the games, washing kit and if you have two or three children to fund that takes a huge chunk out of a family budget.

It really depends on the school and the individual child though.

I hated PE but we were taught a range of sports, team sports, both indoor and outdoor, plus trampolining, gymnastics, dance, badminton, tennis etc. This was in the 90s.

My son is also taught a range at primary now and he LOVES PE. I'm really grateful that he gets a chance to try new sports through school because I certainly can't afford to sign him up for clubs/classes.

Best thing about DDs high school PE is that they are in sets. She's top set for everything else and second from bottom in PE, which she is very happy about. As a result, this group of unathletic girls are enthusiastic about the ever changing sports they get to try. She came raving about lacrosse this week of all things. She was so proud of her one good throw, although I don't think she caught the ball once. Being in sets means teachers can focus on coaching the more able and encouraging the less able to run around, try new things and experience some joy in exercise.

I hated it too. Preferred dance and agree with OP about more options. School had pool but we were never given enough time to change and changing rooms were freezing.

Hated being outdoors when it was cold.

Hmmm,

You are making that very negative assumption that you have to choose between sporty and academic/cultured, the jock versus the nerd.

The reality is that hard exercise stimulates neuronal activity, reduces stress and aids sleep, For the academic, musical and cultured, these are all really good things.

This is another wind up thread. PE is good for kids health. Kids are generally quite sendentry these days so a bit of fresh air and exercise is good.

"Really, can you not see how the first and last paragraphs contradict one another? You listed sporting activities that must run up to 100 pounds a month per child even before traveling and equipment is factored in. That's not just some families who are priced out, but a majority."

There are children who do nothing outside school. It does not cost £100s of pounds a month to take a ball down the park. It does not cost £100s to leave the car at home and walk occasionally. Many parents spend £100s on booze and fags. They do have money, it's how they choose to spend their time and money. Even doing one activity outside school would make a difference.

My son's bottom PE set contains children who are significantly worse a PE than him. I would be really surprised if they all have significant medical conditions like Ds. Even if they did have they all have conditions like cp or dyspraxia then that would not explain their awful attitude to learning in PE. Children who know how to behave in maths or history lessons are badly behaved in PE lessons.

I suspect that behaviour like not trying in a PE lesson, constant excuses stems from shitty parenting.

£60 is for the whole year! £5 a month
All about priorities.

Well my dyspraxic dd had swimming, tennis, dancing, riding, gymnastics lessons and a general ball class to help with co-ordination. None of that helped her enjoy PE and the two years she spent at a state comprehensive mirrored my experiences. The teachers humiliated and sport was netball and largely more netball.

Therefore having taken considerable responsibility to help and encourage it wasn't effective. DS loved those opportunities and excelled, DD did not. Same opportunities, same encouragement but two different individuals. If two children in a family have such different experiences and outcomes then it really can't be laid just at the door of the family doing too little.

One can lead a very fit and healthy life without doing PE. Personally I can't think of anything I want to do less than play "catch". MIL who was a teacher thinks it's the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Why? To me it is utterly mindless and pointless.

£1 a week. Almost all clubs have boot banks where boots are reused. It really is not an elitist sport unless you're playing to a high level.

Anyway, I agree getting or your arse and playing with your kids costs nothing
Obviously exceptions if you are physically unable but fortunately school pe is provided .

When was the last time the PE lovers on this thread heard about boys wanting the same opportunity as girls to play netball?

Bumpety - you know that there has been a huge increase in the number of people using food banks? That some people literally can't afford to eat? That there has been an increase in the number of homeless families?

It's not about priorities for some people, it's about parents already surviving the month by drinking tea with four sugars rather than eat because they can't afford enough food for everyone in the household. That's the reality for many families, not the channel five documentary about wide screen TVs and smoking on benefits.

I don't view it as a wind up thread. I hated PE at school, it was humiliating (shorts, being so publicly crap and in line for nasty comments, the way teams and partners were picked). I'm the most active person in the world though, live on my bike, run most days, walk rather than take the bus. It took me years to go running at any time other than at night and on quiet roads so no one would see me thanks to the feelings I got from school - not helpful.

Setting should be par for the course. If you are shit you should still be taught so you could have fun and participate at your own level. I mentioned yoga up thread. Strength training is so important for joint health later in life (particularly for the mega-sporty as they age, most of the 40+ year old runners I know have joint problems that this would help or might have not arisen if they had a yoga routine since youth). It's also great for concentration and keeping calm.

I didn't learn a single thing from school PE and considering I am and always have been an active and motivated person that's a bit shit.

OhTheRoses

Exactly. Mindless and pointless. I see that other people like it, I just don't understand why.

All the more reason to provide children with a well rounded, free education, which includes pe and opportunity to do sports, which parents can't afford.

I

Eddie - I agree with you completely

And of course boys play netball- certainly at primary school they do, why wouldn't they?

Opportunity - yes.

Compulsory? Only if there's going to be a complete overhaul (not that there will be because this government values competition / traditional values / an education system which churns out clones which embody the Tory values)

I liked PE. We played hockey. Loved rounders too! It was fun to not be sitting inside for a couple of hours a week and we played matches on Saturdays at a high level. I would keep it.

I wish they would bin religious education though and fill that weekly hour with home finances i.e book keeping, understanding mortgages, budgeting. Those are things we as adults deal with on a daily basis and so many people haven't got a clue so end up in debt.

Oh my goodness Reallytired your post is awful.

Shitty attitude to PE due to dyspraxia isn't down to poor parenting.

If you are dyspraxic PE is hugely harder for those with it than their peers. It is a hidden disability and can have an impact in so many different ways. It often goes hand in hand with hypermobility. My DC is in pain during and after lessons. I laughed off her pain for years and told her to get on with it. It wasn't until her OT team told me how hard PE was for her and how painful that I realised. More exercise doesn't make it go away or better,there is no cure. We hike miles at the weekend,she lives in the water during the summer and cycles(things hard for dyspraxics to master). I push her but it makes no difference to her enjoying PE or being good at it as her needs aren't catered for. My dd has been belittled and mocked by staff and children which she is expected to ignore. Children who struggle in other subjects don't have to endure this.

I have pushed her in every way academically and physically. She has achieved a huge amount that is just taken for granted. I have her sobbing to be driven to school the mornings after PE as she hurts so much but I make her walk and get the bus as it is good for her to keep moving. I never give in unless absolutely necessary. She is still dreadful at PE. Nothing I do will make her run fast, develop balance or catch a ball. Her attitude isn't shameful but admirable as are her achievements and strength.

Oh and I had to fight for her daily exercise classes her OT team said she needed on her report which she did on top of OT and PE lessons a week. If it had been left to school her disability would have been ignored and she'd have endured years of PE lessons entirely wrong for her and mockery during said lessons. I pushed for her to do more not less.

Both my DCs' schools rotate through a wide range of PE activities each term. They both enjoy their lessons despite being disastrously unsporty. Organised team sports are reserved for after school clubs which seems much more sensible.

I chose Jane Fonda workout as my PE selection when I was at school and thoroughly enjoyed it. The fact that it was on audio cassette tape tells you just how long ago that was, so the notion of letting children pick the PE that suits them is not a new one.

OP not been back?
I predict this will be a news story next week.