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The following text is an editorial from a former physical education student.  If you don't agree with his take on phy ed then post on our blog or the message forum.  If came here looking for resources then choose from the menu at the right or above.

Many current physical education programs are mindless especially considering that gym classes are required by law in most states. Most consist of learning how to play different sports and games. Although some might provide cardiovascular activity, you probably won't play most ever again. If you do, then it's your choice, and it is learned informally playing with friends, and family or formally on after school sporting teams. It is odd that a required class would consist so highly of lessons most don't need or already know.  Phy Ed can be especially disheartening for kids who are no good at sports and don't like to play them.  Many times phy ed ruins a straight A average in school.  Some don't see what the point it.

Emphasis should be on exercise and not playing sports.  Losing weight, building muscle, and maintaining excellent health should be the purpose of physical education.  Students should look back fondly on phy ed as a place where they learned to be healthy the rest of their life instead of a place where they learned some useless sports and possibly got bullied for not being good at sports.  Obviously a lot of physical education curriculums drop the ball in this area based on the ever increasing numbers of overweight out of shape kids.  It's time for physical education teachers to get their acts together and be heroes and true mentors to the youth of America!  If that means telling the school board where to shove it then so be it!

Give the sports a rest !  If kids want to play sports then they will participate after school, and with friends or family.  They will learn far more than what can be taught a few weeks at a time.  These are social events & games that some people consider fun, and not an educational requirement, especially dancing & wrestling.  Let people choose to touch each other, otherwise forcing it is borderline harassment.  Quite frankly there are some people you would rather not even look at, let alone dance or wrestle with.  Many a kid has hid out in the nurses office just to avoid dancing with a smelly girl or wresting with a BO bully. 

 Lets transform the big school gyms, and outfit them with a real working health club.  The physical education teacher should act as a personal trainer, and health specialist  who will work with each student to create a goal of an ideal target weight, muscle tone, and health level.  A personal workout, and health program should be tailored to each student to reach these goals.  This should include a targeted cardiovascular aerobic work out, and a muscle strengthening routine.   A personal diet, and supplement plan should also be developed.  There can also be discussions & advice given to specific medical problems anyone might have, such as acne, or obesity.   

 In addition, proper hygiene habits should be taught.  From  my own experience I can honestly tell you that a lot of kids smell.  Especially after sweating or even just wearing the same rank gym clothes for months on end.    The gym locker room can be one of the worst smelling places in a school thanks in part to lazy janitors and partly due to kids not taking their gym clothes home at least once a week for cleaning.  A daily shower with soap is essential and every gym shower I was in had no soap what so ever.  Rinsing in water does nothing so making showers mandatory is mindless unless you provide soap or write parents and tell them to provide soap or body wash for student.  Shampoo wouldn't hurt as well.  Also lets not forget deodorant, and perhaps even a little mouth wash as dental hygiene seems to be lacking in some students.  It's a wonder they get a date to the prom.

There could be other useful lessons such as self-defense, CPR, swimming, etc.  I had CPR and Swimming although the swimming was just water games and the CPR dolls we shared were disgusting.  One even had urine on it and the teacher simply rinsed it in the shower and we still had to use it. 

In addition, the Physical Education Department should be more than just Physical Education. 9, 10, 11, 12.  Having a variety of classes to cater to the students various interests would be helpful.  This is where sports could be taught for those who wish to learn..  Have you ever heard of other departments just having basically one general class (exp. Science 9,10,11,12-Math 9,10,11,12,etc.).  Below is an example of high school physical education classes & schedules which would encompass personal training, health (diet, hygiene, etc. ), and important lessons ( self-defense, CPR, swimming, etc. ).  It would have to be decided which classes would be required & for what length (quarter, semester, or full year).

baseball , basketball , football, soccer, archery, bowling, billiards, ping pong, gymnastics, swimming, self-defense, track, skiing, Olympic events, volleyball, badminton, rafting, racquetball, handball, tennis, roller blading, fishing, mountain climbing, ice skating, golf, equestrian, etc.  Or there could just be a sports class, a class for just exercise, one for health, one for self-defense, etc.  Obviously school budgets limit what you can do.

If these kids got just 30 minutes of targeted training 4-5 days a week, then there wouldn't be so many overweight & sickly kids and they would be leaning a routine that they could utilize for the rest of their life.    Physical education teachers, why not be the most important teacher kids will ever have by saving their health & their lives instead of being the guy who teaches hopping & skipping, and makes them take a shower devoid of soap in a smelly locker room (ever hear of soap dispensers & deodorizers (Lets improve the air quality for these kids. The janitors need to clean these locker rooms & gyms a lot better).  Seriously the gym locker room was the worst smell I ever had to endure in my entire life.  And as far as I'm concerned the gym locker room bathroom was hell itself.  Although it could have just been my school that was bad.

Although this page may seem sarcastic, it is only to make a serious point about the mindless nature of most physical education classes.  If you are a physical education teacher, then you can begin to alter your curriculum now without expending more money.  That is unless the school board and other officials has some say and are stubborn about what they want you to teach.  Spend more time on any current health & hygiene curriculums.  Increase cardiovascular exercises such as aerobics, running, swimming (if your school has a pool), etc.   Utilize your schools weight room if you have one.  If you don't, then this is the area you need to raise money for in order to target muscle training.  A lower cost alternative would involve the donation of used equipment from parents and local business.  If your school board or principal won't support a new curriculum then petition parents, or students (Beware: Some students may shy away from  self-improvement because it may entail some work on their part).  As a physical education professional you could probably demand that the janitors clean the gym and locker facilities so that they don't smell like a barn.  You have the ability to empower the youth of America to prosper physically well into adulthood like they once did so many decades ago.  Physical prosperity creates a positive self image that conveys confidence to others which can only lead to prosperity in their relationships, careers, finances, and all areas of their lives.   You and other physical educators could become the most important influence in the futures of students all across America thereby restoring this country to its former reputation of hard working physically fit individuals that captivated the world with its innovations.  I wish you good luck on your quest to be physically fit, and teaching others to be the same.  I can only hope that future students will have a more positive experience in phy ed than I did.