|
Physical Activity as Punishment - Readers Reply!
October's editorial on my concerns about the use of physical activity
as punishment stirred a variety of reader comments. Here's a selection
and a proposal:
* Dr. Chris Stopka of Gainesville, FL pointed out that I only identified
one of the abusive uses of physical activity in our schools; the
other being the situation where teachers TAKE AWAY PE or recess
as a punishment. She noted the irony of teachers who after taking
AWAY physical activity as punishment, wonder why they have squirmy
kids, then impose activity as punishment (and presumably find it
helpful!). Stopka concludes, "Kids should have proper physical
activity as a RIGHT, not a bonus."
* Mary Cappel of Winona, MN shared the same concern: "A problem
that can occur to an elementary physical education teacher can be
the opposite. Sometimes teachers will say to me--"Johnny didn't
get his math done, so I am not letting him come to Phys. Ed. until
he finishes it."
* Joe Herzog writes, "Teachers who use corporal punishment
clearly have not taken the time to investigate appropriate ways
to deal with inappropriate behavior."
* Chris Bauer commented, "The kind of responses you received
explains why PE suffers a bad reputation generation after generation.
Break the cycle! It's dysfunctional."
* Vince from Minnesota acknowledged, "This is something I've
never really given much thought about. I have used running as a
way to "grab attention". When I have kids not paying attention
or starting to horseplay at fastpitch practices, I'll have them
run."
* Dr. Sharon Stoll, from the University of Idaho (and author of
Sport Ethics) observed that one can discipline without "physical"
punishment. She notes that the lowest level of moral development
is teaching through "physical" punishment. "But if
one's goal is to morally educate, one must adhere to a higher level
of moral teaching than "physical" punishment. We have
to stress the cognitive reasoning capacity of children. Thomas Lickona
in his book, Raising Good Children, urged us to expect more of children,
let them be responsible for their behaviors and the consequences,
and teach them when they make errors."
* Jack from Norwalk, Connecticut who has two sons in the military
offered a different perspective. He noted that in this setting -
where soldiers must learn instant, unquestioning obedience when
ordered to do something unpleasant, "The use of physical activity
as "punishment" seems to have a useful and productive
-- and as far as I can tell in no way destructive -- role in the
system."
Interestingly, a parent without any physical education background
mused, "Imagine if from the beginning of time society had used
math problems to punish misbehavior. Whenever someone misbehaved
we gave them math problems to do. You have to wonder what the world
would be like today!"
Is it any surprise that physical inactivity is leading us toward
a catastrophic crisis in health care?
What's the solution? Dr. Chuck Corbin from Arizona State University
suggested that creating a list of alternative management strategies
would be a good start. So here's the challenge for PELINKS4U readers.
Send me your suggestions and I will share them in a future publication.
Ask your colleagues, quote from published sources, give me the alternatives.
If everyone reading this column sent just one idea we'd have plenty
to share. Let's take a positive step in resolving this challenge
with some practical alternatives. Write to me at steve@pelinks4u.org
Steve Jefferies
Central Washington University
Publisher PELINKS4U
|
