Posted on 03/12/2005 11:36:09 AM PST by Born Conservative
Some Pottsville Area High School students can forget about climbing the rope, dodging balls or getting sweaty altogether.
Gym class may be a thing of the past for students when the district eliminates the mandatory physical education requirement next school year.
The Pottsville Area School District is planning to scrap the four semesters of physical education required to graduate.
It's a move that will help save the school district money and it also stems from tougher academic standards for school districts.
Schools Superintendent James T. Gallagher said the district is trying to control costs.
And without a sizable increase in money from the state and federal governments, he said rising health care, special education, retirement and energy costs will force the district to scale back some programs.
With about 1,200 students enrolled in the high school, each student at some time was required to take a physical education class.
By changing physical education to an elective, fewer students will sign up.
"It's great. I hate gym," said Alex J. Bulino, 16, a high school junior. "I won't be signing up (next year). Definitely not. A lot of people take it, but I don't like it."
Gallagher said that if the department had a sizable decline in enrollment, then not as many instructors would be needed, but he said the teachers within the seven-member physical education department would not lose their jobs or positions.
"As we have teachers retire, they will not be replaced and it will be a financial savings to the district," Gallagher said.
Although the changes to the physical education department are the most drastic, the district will also cut the mandatory drivers education class.
Charles V. Wagner, high school principal, said the high school will no longer offer the mandated driver's education curriculum next year.
He did say a driver's education course will be offered in the summer for a fee, but it has not been set.
Cutting unpopular programs and adding new courses has been a familiar practice, but Shirley Black, health and physical education adviser with the state Department of Education, has noted a decline in physical education programs across the commonwealth.
"The districts must ensure that health, safety and physical education are provided at a sufficient level," she said. "Schools have to guarantee that the students can achieve a proficient level in these area."
At Blue Mountain High School, high school students must fulfill a two credit requirement prior to graduation, which breaks down to about four days of physical education a semester for five semesters.
"You are required to have some requirements for health and physical education," said William H. Hall, superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District.
At Pottsville, the high school will require students to take a health class.
With growing concerns about health and obesity in the nation, the chairman of Pottsville's physical education department worries about the lasting affects.
"Sound body, sound mind has been a given forever. I think there's some truism." said James K. Steidle, department chairman. "What can you do now that the decision is made? I think they should be taking physical education because of the society we're living in."
Regarding the obesity issue, Gallagher said people need to be accountable for their own decisions.
"There has to be personal responsibility. We've mandated physical education and you cannot force someone to lose weight," Gallagher said. "We teach students about proper nutrition in health. Students are required to take health."
Some students disagree with the policy change.
"I think it should be mandatory because teen obesity is a problem in the United States," 12th-grader Jess L. Paulo, 17, said.
More schools are also shifting attention to the standardized testing or the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests.
Students focusing on class rank and grade point average would be more likely to opt for another course that carries more academic credits.
Amber L. Welborn, 17, a senior, thinks underclassmen will have an advantage.
"Their GPA and class rank will be higher because the quality points for physical education are lower than other electives," she said. "Students will now have an advantage over what we did."
"Students could fill their schedule with an elective that will offer more quality points next year," she said.
Linda R. Dietrich, Pottsville, waited for her daughter outside of the school.
"I think it's a great idea. Gym is not an important part of the life unless you plan on becoming a gym teacher," she said. "I think it should be a choice cause it's not a major subject."
Junior Samantha A. Martz plans to sign up for physical education next year.
"I actually don't like it. I think it would be better if everyone was involved cause, not everyone is involved in sports," she said. "I plan on taking a semester and playing a sport. I don't like to be out of shape."
As students select their courses for next year, administrators and teachers will see how many students enroll.
"I'd like to think as many students as possible can fit it in, but it's a pie in the sky. I don't think it's possible," Steidle said.
Good idea, but lawsuit city.
That's shocking, especially for an area with such HS football tradition.
I was a volunteer coach part/time(during 2 a days, off season liftings, games) for the freshmen at a fairly bigtime HS program(we got 8000+ at a varsity game, and one, maybe two NFL'ers one our team) for 4 years while I was in college. I wasn't an employee. We had other part timers, usually ex-players as I was. At the freshman level, only our head coach (and one assistant during two of the years) was a teacher.
>>The problem is not lack of money. The problem is the schools are getting top heavy with unnecessary administrative personnel and salaries that are gobbling up all the funds for actual education.
The reason school districts keep hiring more administrators is because of the ever-increasing STATE & FEDERAL REGULATIONS that require so much bureaucratic TIME for district compliance. If we could cut the head of the snake i.e. Federal Dept of Education, that would be an effective start to reducing the number of needed administrative educrats.
Right-Wing Librarian
However, the point I was making was that Texas spends way too much money on sports programs - having full time coaches for the major sports (football/basketball/baseball) who "might" handle a class or two of History during the day, but otherwise do coach stuff all day -
Your program, as well as the one where my daughter graduated, used a full time teacher who wanted a bit of extra money on the side - did the coaching after school - it isn't like that in Texas - it is a full time, high paid position, where a couple of winning seasons means you are recruited to move to a bigger school district with a bigger salary and you take your "assistant" coaches with you - Football coaches in Texas, who are winners, are treated like Kings -
So far we don't have any politicians out there willing to dismantle the Federal Dept. of Ed so Ed keeps getting bigger.
And if a politician came along that wanted to give it a serious try, the childish MSM would start printing those stupid "They want to starve children" stories again.
I oughta get a teaching certificate, move to Texas, and become a Dbacks and strength/conditioning coach there.
I have a winning record.....:)
And kill all the lawyers.
Michigan, where I went to high school for three years, required no PE. I arrived to Texas, and the school told me I couldn't graduate on time because I didn't have enough PE and I couldn't take two PE classes at the same time.
I was taking calculus, advanced chemistry, Latin, etc my senior year, but I couldn't graduate due to PE. I took my case to KPRC's answer to Marvin Zindler. Ron Stone said that we had all heard of no pass-no play, well, Channel 2 had discovered a case of no play-no pass. The local school district was shamed into allowing me to graduate. I graduated on time in the top 10% with a full ride to A&M.
That would get you an extra $2,500 over the teacher salary schedule and one extra conference period in a nearby district with five 5A (biggest) high schools.
Only the head football coaches are overpaid. Usually by granting them the title of "Athletic Director". I think the Athletic Director is responsible for scheduling all teams, but what else that job entails is beyond me.
Get rid of gym, and get rid of the school buses. The kids will have to walk to school and thereby stay in shape. Problem solved!
I went to a class A (biggest) high school in Michigan and a class 5A (biggest) high school in Texas. I can vouch that 8,000+ at a Michigan high school game is big time. (I don't think my high school pulled 8,000+ when we played our rival at the last game of the season. And that was counting the rival team's fans, too!) I will also state that 8,000+ at a Texas high school game is below average.
I suppose gym could be a good option, but most of the gym teachers I had in school sucked. I hated gym with a passion. Course, I hated all of my high school with a passion.
You want it, you pay for it. Not popular in today's let's borrow the money politics.
This Texas school district has an above average salary schedule. I assume that its stipends are also above average. Additional info: This district is largely minority (2/3 Mexican). I have a feeling that's why it has to pay more to attract teachers and other staff.
More like: You want it, you sign up for it.
The only difference is that PE is now an elective, not a requirement.
Here's the problem. In my old district, some students are 4 miles from elementary school, 5-6 miles from middle school(6-8 Grade) and 8-10 miles from the high school.
Now high schools can tough it out, but there's no way a 5 year old can handle a 4 mile walk, and both parents oftentimes work these days.
I've heard a lot of stories about Texas HS ball. We were on a playoff run and expected to win it all my senior year. We lost to the eventual state champs in the regional finals. That accounted for a lot of the high attendance at our games.
At the games I coached though, we got the players' families, some JV players getting ready for their game, and a few friends and girlfriends of the players. I coached the freshmen. Big difference.
I never coached for the glory anyway. Some of the ex-players as coaches helped me out when I started playing, and the coaching is my chance to do the same. I'll probably get back into coaching at some point once I have time.
We were part of that crazy tradition too - our daughter had her little cheerleader outfit she wore every Friday - no, she wasn't in High School, she was two years old....;^)
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