Education - Restorative Justice

[Netpackrat]

PE "teachers" should all die in spectacularly painful manners.

[Jered]

PE "teachers" should all die in spectacularly painful manners.

I don't hate them that much, but, I did hate that class.

[Precision]

In my view PE is exactly that Physical Education. Working on the BODY.

I think I will clarify it as mandatory physical (body/mind) training. Obviously the choices will have to have some limits due to staffing etc. But a well run school of 100+ kids can often get volunteers for such things.
Options
classic organized sports football, volleyball, tennis, baseball, basketball...
Solo sports - running, wrestling ... Also in many states, school districts the charter or private school kids HAVE to be allowed to join the (insert activity here) team of the public school. So many of those thing can be done there too.
Get 4 or more kids interested in an activity, get a sponsor or coach and the ability to do it regularly; then I will hear the idea for the desired PE.

I think a Martial Art should also be mandatory
contact martial arts - boxing, judo, karate ... which could also qualify as PE
non martial arts - pistol shooting, rifle shooting, fencing, Tia Chi, Archery...

As Vonz said, this is just as important as book activities or band. Helps make for a more well rounded kid. For some it will add an area to excel, for others an area to find humility, but it will expand the experience and when started young will reduce the amount of suck.

Which also brings up the music component. That would be mandatory too. Not necessarily band persay, but consistent study of some instrument or singing to include reading of music and public performance.

[randy]

Get 4 or more kids interested in an activity, get a sponsor or coach and the ability to do it regularly; then I will hear the idea for the desired PE.

So, if I read that correctly, scouting activities such as I described (and participated in as a kid, not that the "coaches" gave a damn) would qualify? I used to get extra credit for reading extra and ham radio activities, so expanding that to PE would be a good idea.

Which also brings up the music component. That would be mandatory too. Not necessarily band persay, but consistent study of some instrument or singing to include reading of music and public performance.

Again, using myself as an example, you apparently hate music teachers and wish to inflict audio torture on them?

I used to say the only way I can carry a tune is home from the record store in a sack, but most youngin's these days don't understand the reference . I've often said that I got into heavy rock and metal so that no one would complain when I sung along since they wouldn't hear me.

[Netpackrat]

I am pretty sure I won't be enrolling my kids in your school or anything like that.

[Precision]

I am pretty sure I won't be enrolling my kids in your school or anything like that.

Nothing works for everyone and it would be a long commute from Alaska.

[Precision]

So, if I read that correctly, scouting activities such as I described (and participated in as a kid, not that the "coaches" gave a damn) would qualify? I used to get extra credit for reading extra and ham radio activities, so expanding that to PE would be a good idea.

Yes, there would be some activities that would not be considered but mainly due to lack of consistency. Scouting that involves sitting in a classroom and talking 95% of the time would not work. It there were weekly hikes and... then yes. If the butt is up, moving and outside consistently it would probably be a PE credit.

Again, using myself as an example, you apparently hate music teachers and wish to inflict audio torture on them?

I used to say the only way I can carry a tune is home from the record store in a sack, but most youngin's these days don't understand the reference . I've often said that I got into heavy rock and metal so that no one would complain when I sung along since they wouldn't hear me.

You and I share that. Music would most likely be like most schools do foreign languages. mandatory number of credits and some minimum degree of fluency. The goal here is not to make musicians but to create cultural literacy in music as well as to reinforce the math through music. Then if someone is particularly good or inspired, they have that as an outlet to excel.

Among the many failing of the public school system, and they are many and legendary, is the narrow focus. Things are often dumbed down for the ease of teachers. By opening up a multitude of avenues for students to excel and achieve, they will. When a student excels in one area, it helps them to do better in areas they are less good in and tolerate the ones they are not good in at all. My days of teaching at the school for misfits taught me that in spades. It only took ONE AREA where the kid didn't suck and reinforcing their accomplishments there to dramatically reduce misbehaving and to bring up grades in other places.

I had one kid move from being a C,D,F student to a C,B student just because no one went hunting or fishing if they had less than a C in any class. His passion was the outdoors and his "parent" couldn't care less. At first I had to prove that my club was more than a dream. When he took his hunter safety course and got to camp that weekend, a door of hope opened. When the party boat fishing trip was announced (6 weeks in advance) his grades jumped. When gun range trips, hunting scouting trips, hunting weekends, fishing trips... were announced he was first on the sign up list and first to remind other students that poor grades and poor behavior got you removed from attending. He recently finished a 4 year tour in the Army. He did not re-up, but did well and IIRC made E-4 and still has a security clearance in his post military job. This from a kid who was headed down the slow road to prison previously.

It wasn't that we never had issues with him, but they stopped being on purpose and became only teenage stupid not active maliciousness. For other kids it was other things. But, non-standard areas to excel made a huge difference for lots of those kids.

[randy]

Music would most likely be like most schools do foreign languages. mandatory number of credits and some minimum degree of fluency. The goal here is not to make musicians but to create cultural literacy in music as well as to reinforce the math through music. Then if someone is particularly good or inspired, they have that as an outlet to excel.

That sounds like the classes I took in elementary and Jr High. By high school the musically inclined were participating in various band activities. My musical career consisted of spinning records as a DJ at the local radio station (and being the on duty station engineer) as one of my part time jobs.

(One of the advantages of growing up in small town Iowa in the 60's and 70's is that "progressive" fashions and fads in education had not made it's way in from the coasts and urban areas. So I was spared "new math", "whole word reading" or whatever they called it, and had separate government, history, civics, biology, chemistry and physics classes available rather than generic social studies and science courses.

I didn't realize how lucky I was until I was in the Air Force and interacted with folks that had the "advantages" of more "enlightened" educational practices.)

[Termite]

I would just like high schools to teach a mandatory actual civics class again. My ninth grade civics teacher was SERIOUS about it.

She even quoted Jefferson:

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."

Come to think of it, I bet Hillsdale College would be happy to assist teaching a high school civics course. At the Jedi Knight level...

[Greg]

You had me until mandatory PE, which is effectively welfare for jocks, and creates an environment in which bullies thrive.

B.S.- PE is extremely important. It is often/mostly done wrong, but that is besides the point as the same could be said about every other subject.

A real education has to include getting kids out of their comfort zone and that includes making athletic kids in the academic classes and geeks in athletics.

This. Very much so.