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Exercise as a punishment in middle schoolers
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NorthCascades wrote: »
See Jruzer's comment after yours - I was in the same boat as him...5 -
This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
so what do you think the punishment should be for cheating on a game? (which the OP mentioned above)0 -
This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
That is how you interpreted it.
Is the flaw with the implementation or your interpretation?2 -
This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
That is how you interpreted it.
Is the flaw with the implementation or your interpretation?
He was an elementary school kid subject to peer pressure and possibly ridicule from the athletic kids - how else would you expect him to interpret it?4 -
tmoneyag99 wrote: »as a former amateur Athlete I can tell you this discourages no one from exercise. Coaches have been using this as punishment for decades. I still love to play basket ball, my husband still loves to play baseball. We both try to work exercise into our daily lives.
Your behaviors at home effect a child's obesity more than 1hr of gym class.
As a former non-athlete I can tell you from my first hand experience as a youth that it DID discourage me from exercise. Saying that coaches use this as a motivational tool doesn't help. I ran into all kinds of jerky coaches as a youth. I was humiliated all the time in gym class and in little league, and I actively avoided sports and exercise for a long time because of these kinds of behaviors.
My 11-year old loves gym class and is a good kid. If his gym class was turned into nothing but pushups and situps I promise you that he would be devastated. Especially if this was because of other kids screwing around. The fun and recreation of gym class is something he looks forward to every day. If his gym teacher pulled this crap she would be hearing from us. School is for education. It's not a voluntary sports team and it's not the military.8 -
This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
I'm recalling my youth and PE classes...there were always people who were miserable regardless simply because they didn't like PE or sports, etc. It didn't matter if we were being required to run laps or playing a game...they hated being there regardless...
I personally think that consequences for cheating and whatnot is an educational aspect.6 -
A long time ago when I was school this happened all the time. I don't remember ever having a "for the rest of the year" thing but misbehavior in gym was always met with some form of exercise as punishment. "Since you obviously know all this so well that you don't have to listen, maybe you can come and show the class how to climb this rope (or do a chin up, or whatever)." "Since Joe can't follow the rules the whole class can go run laps for the rest of the period" "Since the boys think this is funny they can do calisthenics for the rest of period while the girls play basketball."
It was gym class. It seemed normal.4 -
This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
That is how you interpreted it.
Is the flaw with the implementation or your interpretation?
Implementation. This is lazy teaching. Teachers are supposed to be professionals.2 -
I think the way it was approached from the teacher could have been changed. Instead of these basic exercises as a punishment, the punishment should be no games. This would have the same result (the kids doing the basic exercises), but doesn't put the negative outlook on those exercises.5
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This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
6th grade isn't elementary school in many places. It's Middle school/Jr High.
IF 5 years haven't gotten the message across. It's time to turn up the volume.2 -
This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
You did see that they were cheating.
IMO, that merits more than withdrawal of privilege and rises to merit punishment/retribution.2 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
I'm recalling my youth and PE classes...there were always people who were miserable regardless simply because they didn't like PE or sports, etc. It didn't matter if we were being required to run laps or playing a game...they hated being there regardless...
I personally think that consequences for cheating and whatnot is an educational aspect.
So the answer is, for 7 months of school, we don't play any games or have any fun in gym? Because some of the kids were screwing around?! Did the teacher identify which kids were not following the rules? Did the teacher identify why this happened? Does the teacher have any responsibility here? What does this do to the school's accreditation? How about the teacher's lesson plan?
What are the purposes of physical education in schools? Certainly to get exercise. Learning to play fair and follow the rules are important as well, and I'm in favor of some kind of discipline for the infraction. How about the value of being fit and having a healthy lifestyle? What about the advice that's always offered here - find exercise you like. How does this teacher's punishment fit that guideline?
For me, one of the lessons I learned in PE as a youth was that adults can be cruel, lazy, arbitrary, and indifferent. I suppose that has served me well too, but I'm not particularly grateful to the teachers who delivered those lessons.5 -
My daughter came home the other day (11yrs old, 6th grade) and said that since they didn't follow the rules Friday last week in gym they are only going to be doing exercises--bodyweight stuff--for the rest of the year or until they can prove they can listen and follow rules.
While I agree they need to be given some kind of repercussion for not following the rules I do not think that exercises as a "punishment" is the healthy way to go. Not that working out is bad for them but because they are being taught that working out is a punishment for being bad/not following the rules. With obesity issues all over I think it is better to foster a positive relationship with exercising, not a negative one.
What do you think about using exercising in school PE class as a punishment? Any alternatives you recommend instead if you don't agree with it?
It could be that the 'not following rules' presented a safety concern during the usual group-type gym stuff - and therefore it will be solo activities until they behave.0 -
stanmann571 wrote: »This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
You did see that they were cheating.
IMO, that merits more than withdrawal of privilege and rises to merit punishment/retribution.
C'mon, gym teachers are teachers, right? Aren't they supposed to have curricula, and lesson plans, and goals and objectives for their students? Even if the kids were ALL egregiously cheating, the answer is to throw all the teaching away for an entire school year and just make everyone run laps every day?
I just went through an exercise with my high schooler where he got PE from an online course, for reasons I won't get into. The high school staff objected to this because the students wouldn't be getting the quality education and curriculum that the teachers developed. Ha! I should have told them that situps and pushups every day is a fine plan for PE.3 -
This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
That is how you interpreted it.
Is the flaw with the implementation or your interpretation?
Implementation. This is lazy teaching. Teachers are supposed to be professionals.
Possibly. You are forming an opinion based upon hearsay and inserting a great deal of confirmation bias based upon a personal negative experience.
My 6th grade track coach corrected me for slacking off. I spent the next two weeks running events I had little to no experience in. Sure I was angry at first, but accepted responsibility for my actions. Going through this process was a tremendous learning experience.
It's all how you interpret and learn from the event.5 -
stanmann571 wrote: »This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
You did see that they were cheating.
IMO, that merits more than withdrawal of privilege and rises to merit punishment/retribution.
And this probably wasn't the first time it happened. It probably has been an ongoing occurance. I used to teach elementary music and there were some groups of students who couldn't handle games without cheating and awful behaviour. It sucks for the few not involved but if it's the majority of the class omitting games at least for a while and retesting a few times to see if they handle it is the way to go.2 -
stanmann571 wrote: »This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
You did see that they were cheating.
IMO, that merits more than withdrawal of privilege and rises to merit punishment/retribution.
C'mon, gym teachers are teachers, right? Aren't they supposed to have curricula, and lesson plans, and goals and objectives for their students? Even if the kids were ALL egregiously cheating, the answer is to throw all the teaching away for an entire school year and just make everyone run laps every day?
I just went through an exercise with my high schooler where he got PE from an online course, for reasons I won't get into. The high school staff objected to this because the students wouldn't be getting the quality education and curriculum that the teachers developed.
The curriculum is move 45 minutes a day 3-5 days a week.
Anything beyond that is "health class" not Gym... although there's generally a substantial overlap2 -
seems there is an easy solution: for the rest of the year or until they can prove they can listen and follow rules.
listen and follow the rules and they can go back to playing games...the punishment doesn't have to last the whole year7 -
stanmann571 wrote: »This isn't punishment, but a corrective and instructive measure. Military forces have this ingrained throughout their lives:
Not paying attention? 20 pushups
Last man in line? 20 pushups
Fall asleep in class? 20 pushups
My 9 year old son gets corrected for not paying attention in baseball and the team runs laps.
Punishment on the other hand incorporates an element of retribution.
Except that elementary school kids in gym class are not on a team and are not in the military. They are supposed to be getting educated along with participating in physical activity. This removes the education aspect in favor of a retributive measure. Athletic kids will do fine and probably will blow it off as easy, while the less athletic kids will be the ones who will find it miserable. Perhaps some of those kids will develop a distaste for exercise as a result. Maybe it will take them decades to develop a taste for it.
Ask me how I know.
You did see that they were cheating.
IMO, that merits more than withdrawal of privilege and rises to merit punishment/retribution.
C'mon, gym teachers are teachers, right? Aren't they supposed to have curricula, and lesson plans, and goals and objectives for their students? Even if the kids were ALL egregiously cheating, the answer is to throw all the teaching away for an entire school year and just make everyone run laps every day?
I just went through an exercise with my high schooler where he got PE from an online course, for reasons I won't get into. The high school staff objected to this because the students wouldn't be getting the quality education and curriculum that the teachers developed. Ha! I should have told them that situps and pushups every day is a fine plan for PE.
You have no idea what went on and using the words of an 11 year old to judge the teacher.4 -
So kids are in a PE period. Normally they play a sport or do some other sort of physical activity like running or pushups or w/e. Kids cheat at sport and goof off. Punishment for this is to no longer allow the sport leaving only the running, push-ups etc.
Out of curiosity for those who think this was inappropriate action on the part of the coach and/or the school what do you think the appropriate action would have been given the situation?
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