Amber Portwood

Current Issues

Dr. Metzler

October 23, 2016

 There is an age old saying that goes “to each, his own” meaning everyone is entitled to

their own opinion, regardless if you agree with it or not. When it comes to physical education,

there has been a lot of controversy lately, and where there is controversy, you can bet there is

opinions. Physical education is centered around our nation’s youth, but there are many other

parties that generate opinions on what physical education is, how it should be taught, and if it is

even worth it to continue teaching it. Here we will examine various parties and their perceptions

of physical education and what we can do as physical educators to improve their opinion on the

value of P.E.

The first and perhaps most important group is the P-12 students themselves. Beginning

early on, elementary students see P.E. as a time to have fun, socialize, and take a break from

their other classes. They come excited expect for their teachers to have fun games to play.

Secondary students often see P.E. as boring, a waste of time, and quite often embarrassing.

Changing in crowded locker rooms and being expected to play sports they are not good at does

not make P.E. fun for these high schoolers. That being said, according to the 2015 SHAPE

report, 80% of students felt that physical education is important for their overall school

experience (SHAPE). Two things that physical educators could do to improve the value of P.E.

for the students is to have well developed curriculum that minimizes down time and create

diverse units that provide a wide range of activities for all students to enjoy.

The second group of constituents is the parents. Parents virtually always want what is best for

their children. Parents want physical education to be a place for their children to have fun, learn

imperative motor skills, and get healthier. According to the Youtube video titled “Physical

Education Campaign,” the 2000 NASPE report found that 95% of parents think that regular,

daily exercise helps children perform better academically (Phys Ed Campaign). Parents seem to
value physical education as much as their children do. Two things that physical educators can do

to improve the value of P.E. for parents is to provide hard evidence that P.E. is positively

impacting their children, and to regularly engage parents and children in physical activities that

they can do together (PE4life).

The third group of constituents is the taxpayers. Taxpayers may be the least impacted by

physical education, but provide the majority of the funding through state and federal taxes. Since

many taxpayers are parents, they too want what is best for the children, but also want to see that

their money is going to a good cause and not wasted. Many taxpayers haven’t experienced P.E.

since they were younger and have a skewed perception of what it may be like these days. They

may still refer to P.E. as “gym class,” think that teachers only roll a ball out, and that there is low

probability of student learning (Gaudreault). Because of these things, they may see P.E. as a

waste of hard earned tax dollars. Physical educators can improve taxpayer’s value of P.E. by

providing evidence of a continuous need for funding, as well as show how this funding impacts

students.

The fourth group is the media. Everyone knows the media is notorious for deception,

inaccurate information, and bias among many other discrepancies. The media also is one of the

easiest ways to present information to the masses, and unfortunately, many people buy into this

information without second thought. The media’s perception of physical education is quite

drastic. Movies portray P.E. teachers as incompetent, objects of fantasies, miracle workers, etc.

(Duncan, et al.). Gym class and the locker rooms are breeding grounds for bullies to pick on

vulnerable kids, P.E. is extremely competitive, and P.E. is viewed as a nonacademic subject are

other misnomers portrayed by the media. To be frank, I don’t believe there will ever be a change
in what the media wants to report. Physical educators could try to improve the media’s portrayal

about P.E. by documenting what their P.E. program entails and proving its credibility.

The last group of constituents is health care professionals. Health care professionals work

cooperatively with national education bodies to form the recommendations for physical

education standards. Health care professionals expect for P.E. programs to increase overall

health and wellness of students, as well as be a means for fighting the childhood obesity

epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control note that schools should have a comprehensive

physical education program that includes recess, P.E., classroom physical activity, and

intramural and interscholastic sports (CDC). Two things that physical educators can do to

improve the value of P.E. for health care professionals is to continuously provide feedback and

research for promotion of standards and recommendations, and promote recommendations from

health care professionals to students to increase their well-being.

Overall, each group has their own perceptions and expectations of physical education.

Though some of these perceptions may be skewed, there is a decent understanding of what

physical education should entail. It is very obvious that a physical educator’s job is not only to

teach students, but to promote a positive appearance of P.E., keep parents involved and happy,

ensure that taxpayer dollars are not going to waste, and give reason for a need for continuous

research to ensure that the best standards are implemented for the students.
 Works Cited

Duncan, Charles A;Nolan, Joe;Wood, Ralph Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance;

Oct 2002; 73, 8; ProQuest pg. 38

Gaudreault, Karen L. "Cool PE and Confronting the Negative Stereotypes of Physical

Education." Advocacy in Action 27 (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

<http://www.shapeamerica.org/advocacy/upload/A-in-A_May-June-14.pdf>.

"MyCollegeOptions® and SHAPE America Research Reveals High School Students’

Perceptions About the Value of Physical Education Classes." SHAPE America. N.p., n.d.

Web. 23 Oct. 2016. <http://www.shapeamerica.org/pressroom/2015/shape-america-

study-2015.cfm>.

"PE Advocacy - Get Parents Involved!" PE4life. N.p., 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

<http://pe4lifeblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/pe-advocacy-get-parents-involved.html>.

"Physical Activity Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 17 June 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

<http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm>.

Physical Education Campaign. Dir. Eurasiantke98. YouTube. N.p., 8 Oct. 2006. Web. 23 Oct.

2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBfJeO_dGu0>.