Jill~
I like the idea of having the students walk the bleachers. I am a high
school PE teacher and I have found that having the students do the
exercises anyway (including warm-ups) prevents them from not dressing down
(unless they are the one's that will NEVER dress down). Or, recently I
have been having the students hold eachother accountable for bringing there
clothes and dressing down. If 85% or more of the class dresses we don't
have a fitness day. Otherwise, we do some cardio activity before we do our
daily unit. It has been working nicely for the past week. I don't know if
that counts as corporal punishment. Does it?
Amanda

On 1/02/09, Jill Bradney wrote:
> Hello - I teach in a K-4 building and all my kids know that "my" class
> is an activity class. Even though the kids don't wear gym clothes, they
> are required to have "gym" shoes ("tennis shoes"). When they don't, I
> explain that they still have to do an alternative activity which is
> walking in the bleachers. I started this when I was at the Middle
> School (where they had to walk the big staircases as we were in an
older
> building - now, they only have 6 steps to walk up and down) but it's
> been very beneficial to them "remembering" their shoes and/or clothes.
I
> also use this for disciplinary reasons -they know that if they don't
> have the right type of shoes, are a danger to themselves, danger to
> others or not playing by the rules, then they have an alternate activity
> (walking the bleachers) so they are still getting their exercise. 99% of
> the time, if a kid doesn't have their shoes, they just go in the
> bleachers on their own! I have explained this and they really respond
> and accept it! (Sometimes I don't even realize that they are not in our
> gathering spot because they just start walking the bleachers on their
> own!)
>
> I am close to my home college and get quite a few student teachers. I
> know that the university professors do not agree to this as it is using
> a corporal type of punishment (like running, sit- ups or push-ups that
> the kids hate!) but I think that if you condition the kids into feeling
> like they are getting a benefit then they are more responsive. I also
> let them know it WILL affect their grade if they have to "walk" then
> they are in jeopardy of having a failing grade and their parents and I
> WILL talk.
>
> I've been at all levels (7 years at the least, at each grade level - HS,
> MS and now, elementary) and feel that this is a great solution - though
> I've only used it at the MS and elem. levels.
>
>
> On 12/09/08, Betsy Jones wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Why can't they do some sort of physical activity for the period?
>>
>> I mean you don't really need gym clothes to do an ab plank for 45
>> minutes (which would really suck).
>> You don't need gym clothes to do: push-ups, crunches/sit-ups, pull-
>> ups, wall sits, air squats. I work at a private school and most of
>> the time my kids don't have gym clothes, we work anyways. Is there a
>> rule at your school to keep kids from working out without gym
>> clothes? Because if there isn't, there is a lot of work-outs you
>> could create from the above listed exercises. Plus, the kid would
>> have to sit through the rest of their classes feeling ucky from
>> sweat. If the teachers complained about smell, maybe have the kids
>> wear some sort of body spray after they leave you.
>

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