Re: mandatory PE in Florida : To Michele

Posted by Dawn/FL on 10/07/07

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Michele - I emailed all my friends teaching at other schools in
my district and it was amazing to hear the ways they are
implementing the mandate at other schools. Some are counting
the time spent walking to and from specials and lunch, one
school puts on an exercise video each morning for 20 minutes,
another does nothing. The principal decided since it's an
unfunded mandate, he doesn't have to enforce it! Meanwhile, at
my school, some teachers are actually making the kids run laps,
do calisthenics, etc. I'm just having them play organized games
like kickball and soccer. I also let them jump rope. I cheat
on the schedule a little bit. We only stay out for 15 or 20
minutes. By that time they are tired and hot. Then I'm
supposed to get their attention back to teach math and science!
Dawn/FL

On 10/04/07, Michele wrote:
> Oh, yeah -- this is a mess!!!!!
>
> We have 10 minutes of “Deskercise” each morning on AM news,
> then we have PE between 1 and 3x per week. We have 3 PE
> teachers, but we also have 8 3rd grade teachers, so the
> schedule is marked Day A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and we go to PE
> 3 times per cycle. Depending on how the days fall, it can
range
> from one to 3 PE classes per week. We were also told that
> movement in music didn't count. We have to do a 20 min.
> structured PE/Recess daily to make up the rest of the 150 min.
> We have a specific time we must do this, on top of 90 minutes
> uninterrupted for reading, 60 min. for math, 30 for Social
> Studies and 40 for Science plus a 30 min. lunch each day. When
> you add up all of these minutes, it's 30+ minutes more than we
> actually have in a school day, yet we’re still expected to do
> it all. We are told to integrate sci & soc st into reading,
but
> we CANNOT teach sci or soc st content at that time - we must
> still do sci & soc st blocks daily to address content. We can
> ONLY do reading strategies during the 90 min. reading.
>
> Then, we have to schedule our push -in groups, pull-out
groups,
> mainstreamed groups and speech/lang. groups while not
> interfering with their reading or math blocks. It is actually
> not physically possible to do what we are told we must do each
> day. It is also physically impossible to meet all the needs of
> the various groups within the time constraints we are given. I
> have experienced, dedicated teachers at their wit’s end and
> ready to quit because of it all. The ultimate frustration is
> being asked to do what is literally impossible. We are lovin’
> life right now, as you can imagine…
>
> :o) Michele
>
>
>
> On 8/18/07, ace/1st wrote:
>> I feel lucky! With the breakdown, we can add this and that
>> and it adds up during the day and to 150 min a week. We count
>> the regular PE once a week, the music teacher actually does 15
>> minutes of physical activity once a week (that was a relief to
>> hear!!!), our recess will be a little more structured, and the
>> nutrition will be in at snacktime. I don't think this is
>> really what the intention was from Shaq and Gov Crist, but
>> unless they fund it, it's tough to do what they want! I will
>> have to note in my planbook what we are doing. Not sure how
>> that will look yet! We start Monday and I'll see how everyone
>> is doing it. Funny how everyone forgets about transition
>> time! Good luck! I'll check in with you down the road :)
>>
>>
>> On 8/15/07, Dawn/FL wrote:
>>> Well, we returned to school today and this is how
>>> mandatory PE will be handled at my school. Our PE teacher
>>> will double up classes twice a week. On the other days,
>>> the classroom teacher will be responsibile for providing
>>> PE. We have been dictated a time in our schedule to do
>>> this and this will be a structured activity. There will
>>> be no more recess. In my case, 15 minutes has been
>>> scheduled before lunch, and 15 minutes after. The problem
>>> is I have been left with ZERO minutes to get them ready
>>> for or to the cafeteria, so there is no way they will get
>>> that 15 minutes. I guess I will do a quick "shake break",
>>> then we will go to lunch. After lunch, I will set up 2 or
>>> three activities: kick ball, jump ropes, etc. There's no
>>> way they can all do the same activity and be active. I am
>>> curious to hear how other Florida schools are handling
>>> this. Dawn/FL

Posts on this thread, including this one

• mandatory PE in Florida : Ace, 8/15/07, by Dawn/FL.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 8/18/07, by ace/1st.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 10/04/07, by Michele.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 10/05/07, by yikes.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : To Michele, 10/07/07, by Dawn/FL.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 4/04/08, by Keith Edgeworth.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 4/19/08, by Dawn/FL.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 4/20/08, by :o) Michele.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 4/21/08, by Joann Nash.
• Re: mandatory PE in Florida : Dawn/FL, 4/21/08, by Joann Nash.