Gym teacher makes 9th Graders do Insanity Workout
Options
Replies
-
I prefer insanity over dodgeball anyday
and i'd be all like
they'd all be like
0 -
As a kid who struggled through many a gym class (so uncoordinated), I love this idea. A program like Insanity makes the kids focus on themselves and not what everyone else in the class is doing. I think this is a benefit to those kids who feel uncomfortable being forced to play a team sport they suck at, letting the team down, and then ultimately being teased for it.
This is how I feel about it.
I had a very brief stint in PE before my mom threatened to sue the school and pulled me out. ( have a mild form of CP and the teacher never read my flagged file). Playing sports was boring and rather hellish. It made me not want to be active.
Thankfully my mom promptly signed me up for PE classes at the college instead where I could I could be graded on effort and attitude instead of how well I played a sport I am incapable of playing due to disabilities. If my middle school did stuff like insanity both myself and my mom would have kept me in the class.0 -
I think you had a knee-jerk reaction to the name of the program. Have you done it yourself? Do you know what the program consists of?
I think it's a great idea to expose kids/teenagers to a wide range of physical activities and sports.0 -
I am not sure what exactly you or the girls parents are mad about. Insanity is indeed a challenging program, but it is only a combination of calisthenics, plyometrics, cardio, and yoga-like exercises. Exercises which are done in any warmup for organized sports. Also, is the teacher just having them do one of the DVDs in the series? or the entire 63 day program?
I have a teenage son who is into football, basketball, track, and lacrosse and he tried one of the DVDs with me recently. I do not see a problem when these activities are "at your own pace". He said it was hard, but compared to his warmup drills in basketball season "not-so-bad". He actually said he would do a few to get ready for the season.
I do understand that by the teacher allowing the students to do an Insanity DVD that there is no creativity, and they are not teaching them to do the normal status quo sport activities, but seriously be happy there is even a gym program at the school. With all the cut backs and removals of art and gym programs some of the school systems don't even have enough money to hire a teacher "exclusive" to a school gym program. Some are just filling in where there is a need. I'm not saying that practice is right, but seriously why be so up in arms about teaching kids to get up and move. Just like the adults that are doing the program...Shaun T says throughout...take breaks...hydrate...go at your own pace...and focus on correct form.
I did not read thru all of the responses so I apologize if this has been answered, but I am curious OP...have you even sat down and watched one of these videos? The exercises in the videos are not exclusive moves for adults only. JMO0 -
So.... Your kid complained about gym class and you set up a meeting with the principal? Putting aside the *entire* issue of whether its an appropriate exercise, holy dramatic reaction batman!!
How about, instead:
1) Asking your teenager to talk to the teacher. Maybe learn more about the plan. Maybe I dunno, solve her own problem? She's not a 4-year-old, she's a teenager. This is an opportunity to learn to deal with things on her own.
2) If that doesn't work, you talk to the teacher! Not the principal - no need to escalate this. She/he may be able to completely address your concerns - but only if you let her. Also, as a former teacher, it's disrespectful to not approach the teacher first. It sends a clear message that you don't respect the teacher, and that you're a bit high maintenance. How would you feel if someone had a problem over your work and, without ever mentioning it to you, went straight to your boss to pull rank?
I hate to say stuff like "this is what's wrong with these kids today," but, this is what's wrong with these kids today. Wah, mom, things are hard, and parents jump in to rescue them. Then we wonder why they flounder in their 20s - because they've never had to solve their own problems. My kids are in elementary and I've never so much as emailed a teacher about a concern until after they talked to the teacher about it first. I've gone with them to talk to the teacher, and helped them plan what to say, and supported them. But if I raise a kid with no problem-solving skills, I will have failed them as a parent.0 -
Yes insanity is considered extreme but it's high intensity cardio, there aren't weights involved. I don't see what the outrage is it's just exercise a few lunges, pull ups and burpees won't kill a ninth grader.0
-
Pretty much all supplements and commercial exercises have 18+ disclaimer, that's more about limiting legal liability than anything else. Kids do gymnastics and other potentially more dangerous stuff than Insanity from an early age. I say it's good that a teacher takes the initiative to do something different.
I'm beginning to get frustrated by these "it's the parents' job" arguments. It's ultimately parents' responsibility to educate their children, but the fact that you send your kids to school instead of homeschooling them means you are shifting some of that responsibility to teachers. As long as your kids are not being abused, you need to let them do their job.
It's parents' responsibility to keep their kids healthy by eating healthy food in reasonable proportions, but if they fail to do that at least schools shouldn't perpetuate bad habits learned at home. My tax money better not be used to promote bad eating habits, which creates an overweight populace that I subsidize again later with my insurance premium.0 -
As a kid who struggled through many a gym class (so uncoordinated), I love this idea. A program like Insanity makes the kids focus on themselves and not what everyone else in the class is doing. I think this is a benefit to those kids who feel uncomfortable being forced to play a team sport they suck at, letting the team down, and then ultimately being teased for it.
This is how I feel about it.
I had a very brief stint in PE before my mom threatened to sue the school and pulled me out. ( have a mild form of CP and the teacher never read my flagged file). Playing sports was boring and rather hellish. It made me not want to be active.
Thankfully my mom promptly signed me up for PE classes at the college instead where I could I could be graded on effort and attitude instead of how well I played a sport I am incapable of playing due to disabilities. If my middle school did stuff like insanity both myself and my mom would have kept me in the class.
^^^^ this
a majorly important aspect of PE in school should be to introduce kids to as wide a range of different physical activities as possible, so they can find something they like and will continue with outside of school and after they leave. Not everyone is cut out for team sports, and if that's all that schools ever do, then some kids grow up hating PE and exercise, because all it ever was was misery for them as they had lesson after lesson of the same sports that they were not really cut out for. I'm a really sporty person, but there are certain sports and athletic activities that I really hate and choose not to do. I've always chosen to do the ones I enjoy. But for some people they never find out that there are sports out there that they might enjoy.... school is supposed to educate kids, that includes opening their eyes and minds to new possibilities... exercise is no exception to that.
Also re the difficulty of programmes like insanity... just as when doing track and field, kids who are unfit will walk halfway round the track when doing the 3000m, because they can't run the whole way, the unfit kids will step in place or stop to get their breath back while doing insanity. The difference is that some of the kids who hate running round the track might actually enjoy insanity and get motivated to challenge themselves to improve. The more different kinds of sports/exercises a school gets the kids to do, the more kids are going to end up discovering at least one form or exercise that they enjoy.0 -
I am 43 years old and overweight and can do Insanity. There is no reason that teenagers shouldn't be able to do this. My daughter's high school PE class did P90X. She didn't like it, but she is really lazy.0
-
I don't see anything wrong with this. The program is scalable so it's only as difficult as the individual can handle. If you need a break you take one.0
-
Got to say I like the idea of bring something else into gym class! Why not try Insanity? and other things as well. Kids need to be more active!0
-
lazy gym teacher.
insanity isnt for kids. Ive done it, I am in pretty good shape and it is nothing to laugh at.
its actually dangerous to make kids it if they arent ready for it.
teacher should use his or her degree to actually devise a program suited towards kids.0 -
My kid's class did Insanity in 6th grade. No one died. Get over it and quit *****ing at teachers for every little thing.0
-
Geez, whatever happened to teaching kids how to play basketball, floor hockey, soccer, volleyball, etc.? It seems to me like their PE teachers are slacking in their curriculum design. While not all kids are great at sports and sure, you will get kids that prefer to do as much standing around as possible rather than participating, you can make 'em do laps! That way, your course at least encourages physical activity without falling back on high-intensity mass-marketed workout videos (that aren't really approved for anyone under 18).
yup!0 -
yeah when I was in high school (insanity wasn't out back then!), but we had to do P90X in gym class but we only did half a workout or DVD0
-
lazy gym teacher.
insanity isnt for kids. Ive done it, I am in pretty good shape and it is nothing to laugh at.
its actually dangerous to make kids it if they arent ready for it.
teacher should use his or her degree to actually devise a program suited towards kids.
Based on what do you say it is actually dangerous? You're more qualified than the gym teacher to determine that?
If you'd actually done insanity you'd know there's breaks and tor each interval you do what you can do. So one person is jumping high and rapidly the next person low and slow with lots of breathers.
Way better to introduce an enjoyable lifelong activity rather than team sports only. Some kids aren't competitive and team sports turn them off. As an adult how many of us still play football?
This is a wonderful opportunity. It is quite lazy thinking to reject it out of hand and label the teacher as lazy. simply because you didn't like Insanity.0 -
I wish I had that teacher as a kid. Anyway I get the whole liability thing.0
-
Gym teachers. I know how many times my daughter came home last year complaining about gym class, including the days her teacher insisted she jog with the rest of the class on a badly sprained and swollen ankle. I remember my own gym teacher forcing me to run through an asthma attack in middle school. They're kinda brutal.
Insanity is pretty extreme for grade nine.0 -
So you think cardio is dangerous?0
-
take it to my kids school, that will teach em to back chat their mum!0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 398 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 976 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions