| Author |
Message |
Grace Marie Caravaggio (Gcaravag)
New member
Username: Gcaravag
Post Number: 1
Registered: 7-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 9:48 am: |       |
I teach all girls 9-12 grades and I love it that way. I have more girls who participate and they want to come to class. I do believe that that co-ed has its advantages. How do all of you feel? |
Valerie Fair (Valerie_fair)
Junior Member
Username: Valerie_fair
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 4:47 pm: | |
In my high school, the girls and the guys were separated in P.E. classes. I definitely think this makes the girls feel much more comfortable and it's a lot less stressful for them. Male and female skill levels are definitely at different levels. In general, males are more developed physically than females, and also more competitive in P.E. classes.
However, we combined classes for an annual volleyball tournament. This let the students interact with each other and make friends. I think this is an excellent idea, and the students always enjoyed it. I'm all for separate P.E. classes, but I think it's good every once in awhile to combine for activities. |
Joe Herzog (Bigfish344)
Member
Username: Bigfish344
Post Number: 35
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 9:52 pm: | |
Having taught boys PE, girls PE and co-ed PE during my career, I believe that you find both boys and girls, some comfortable and some uncomfortable in both situations. We have to be more flexible in the construction of our lessons and activities, to allow for more levels of participation, some casual, some competitive and some for the "athletes" and let kids choose the level that they wish to work at, encouraging them in some fashion perhaps, to move up the line as they go. The development of the competitive end of a PE class should not be the goal, but should be an outcome for those kids who choose to do so. Remember we are trying to encourage kids to find and enjoy their level of activity and participation so that they will continue to participate after they leave our sphere of influence. It is reasonably possible to create an atmosphere where all (or very nearly all)kids can be comfortable and motivated to be active.
Don't leave out team sports, but ALWAYS modify them so that everyone is actively participating and so that BEING active is the goal, not the win-loss outcome.
I believe that co-education is practiced in all other disciplines in education. Ours should not be any different just because it takes more time and preparation and evaluation to make it all work. Yes, we have to pay greater attention to the social/emotional aspects involved, but isn't that part of the job. Are'nt we making big bucks to make this work?
Joe Herzog, Fresno, CA |
Christopher Coennen (Coennen11)
New member
Username: Coennen11
Post Number: 1
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 8:37 am: | |
I feel that co-ed PE classes are a bad idea. Through my experiences being in high school and observing other high school classes almost all of the girls classes were very tough to motivate. Having a co-ed class would only motivate the guys more to show off causing even more problems with fighting, etc.. |
joe (Jrk6307)
Junior Member
Username: Jrk6307
Post Number: 3
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 1:17 pm: | |
I do not see the big issue with having co-ed classes. I have always had co-ed classes through all levels of school. Kids are going to have to learn to be with each other and do things toghether for the rest of their lives. seperating them just makes it harder for them to work together later on in their life. |
Derek Bailey (Bails)
Junior Member
Username: Bails
Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 4:44 am: | |
I thought that I had already submitted this post but cannot find it in the archives....
I am Head of PE in a large (1200) mixed international school.I have a dept.of 5 full time.
I am perhaps 'old school' - but after years of successful teaching same-sex groups - and after much badgering from my female members of department - I agreed to trial co-ed classes for 2 years.
I agreed to 2 years, as I agreed that giving it a term or two was not going to be a reasonable amount of time.
After two years, the two ladies in my department agreed with me that the cons out-weighed the pros of the trial.
We agreed that mixed classes held back the male 'flyers', helped the small number of female 'flyers' and that there was not a lot of gain in the middle ability range. At the lower end of the ability range - both weaker boys and weaker girls suffered. Niether was able to gain the peer support they needed to get better.
Hope this helps. I now have 11 to 15 taught in single sex classes and after this we do have some mixed classes.
Derek Bailey
Hong Kong |
Scott West (Scott6986)
Junior Member
Username: Scott6986
Post Number: 3
Registered: 1-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 10:25 am: | |
In secondary education I feel that having same sex PE classes are important. This gives each of the sexes to compete against people they will actually be competing against in sports. However there are some activities that are better off with both male and female athletes. So like my high school we had both males and females in classes together but when needed we split up into two diffrent groups. |
Katie Zinkiewich (Katiezink)
Junior Member
Username: Katiezink
Post Number: 18
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 1:23 pm: | |
I, like Derek, had thought that I had posted something about this before, but here goes again...
I teach in a large (1,600 students) high school. What we have have is a completely selective program, where students are able to choose the activities that they participate in. Every four weeks, students may choose from five different activities (everything is co-ed). We always offer some type of team sport along with a fitness activity (i.e. cardio training/personal fitness etc), a lifetime activity (i.e. mountain biking, snowboarding, inline skating, golf etc), a personal challenge activity (i.e. ropes course, rock climbing, cooperative games etc.) and some type of net sport such as badminton, table tennis or tennis.
By doing our scheduling this way, we have set our students up for a successful experience in a co-educational atmosphere. Some activities do have more of one gender than another, for example, our floor hockey classes may be 80% boys and 20% boys, but those 20% of girls chose to be in that class and hold their own very well. On the flip side, the numbers are often reversed in a class like self-defense where 80% of the participants are female.
Our program is really centered around lifetime and fitness activities which is, in my oppinion, how programs should be opporating in this day in age. In this type of classes, gender plays no role at all.
I really believe that giving kids options of activities is the key to providing a successful and meaningful experience that well make students want to lead more active lives.
I know the selective program model is something that is new to most schools, if you would like more infomation on how we organize things, please visit our website: www.brockportpe.org and click on the link for the High School. |
Erin McGovern (Erinmc10)
Junior Member
Username: Erinmc10
Post Number: 2
Registered: 2-2007
| | Posted on Monday, February 05, 2007 - 6:21 pm: | |
I think that is a perfect way to set up co-ed or gender specific classes - give the students the choice. Many co-ed classes find girls or boys uncomfortable because they may not be as physically fit or as trained in some sports/activities as other students. If you give the students the choice of what they want to participate in, it is obviously going to be something they care about and will be eager to participate in. For those students who are very competitive it gives them a chance to go against other athletes or students with their abilities. Overall, I think that every high school should try the type of program that Katie has just described. |
Lisa Glenner (Lcglen)
New member
Username: Lcglen
Post Number: 1
Registered: 2-2007
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 7:48 pm: | |
I agree that it is important to allow students to choose their type of PE classes whenever possible. But I know that this makes scheduling more difficult and often students just have to join a class period that fits their schedule rather than one that interests them most. I personally believe that the curriculum covered is more important than the gender make-up. A student's interest in the curriculum is more of a determining factor of their participation than that of the gender make-up. This however may depend on the age and maturity levels of the students.
On this topic I want to ask how grade level has affected the success of either co-ed or gender specific classes. Do high school freshman and sophomores respond better to gender specific classes than do juniors and seniors? |
Katie Zinkiewich (Katiezink)
Junior Member
Username: Katiezink
Post Number: 20
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 3:31 pm: | |
Lisa - Our students are given a choice within their PE Period. They get scheduled just like any typical school but instead of each student remaining with the same teacher throughout the year, each teacher during a specific period teaches a different activity (which is very nice, because we all get to teach to our own strengths). The kids switch activities (and teachers) every 5 weeks. We take care of all of the placements withing our department - it really is not a difficult process at all.
Hope this helped to clarify! |
Carly Hockenberry (Carly5030)
Junior Member
Username: Carly5030
Post Number: 3
Registered: 1-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 - 11:19 am: | |
I teach all girls 9-12 grades and I love it that way. I have more girls who participate and they want to come to class. I do believe that that co-ed has its advantages. How do all of you feel?
As a Sophomore Health and Physical Education student I can vividly remember my high school P.E. classes. As a competitive gymnast I have always been physically fit so working out with the boys did not affect me. However I know of other girls in my classes that would become very upset and not participate at all when they are the ones that need the physical activity the most. So I feel very strongly classes should be separated by sex. I feel everyone one achieves more when students are just focused on exercising and not about others.
|
Heather Boyd (Heb3290)
Junior Member
Username: Heb3290
Post Number: 5
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 12:46 pm: | |
All through my school career I always had co-ed classes. I liked having co-ed classes because I always had more guy friends. I think it keeps things more life-like when the boys and girls are kept together. Other than school, when are really everyday situations where the girls and boys will be separated to make them feel more comfortable... |
Becki Prosser (Sanchez12)
Junior Member
Username: Sanchez12
Post Number: 2
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 - 3:13 pm: | |
When I was in high school the girls and boys were seperated. I think in a way it is good, because a lot of girls at that age will get embarassed. If they do something wrong and someone is there to see them especially a boy then that makes them feel terrible and I think that same goes for the guys. I know some guys get embarrased when they make a mistake especially if it is infront a girl. There were days that we did combine the girls and guys, but it wasn't very often. It seemed that the girls that were athletes or a little athletic didn't mind having the guys there, but the other girls did care. As a P.E. teacher I think you have to ask your students how they feel about it. If there is some that do not want to do it then I feel you should not do it. There is always a reason why someone feels that way so asking the students how they feel would be a good idea. |
john wassell (Jsw3623)
New member
Username: Jsw3623
Post Number: 1
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 10:34 am: | |
I feel that co-ed PE classes have their advantages at the elementary level. This helps to promote social skills. However, once in high school the skills levels widely vary from males to females. |
Michael Lucas (Mgl9323)
New member
Username: Mgl9323
Post Number: 1
Registered: 1-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007 - 10:34 am: | |
I attended two high schools, and each taught Phys Ed differently. I believe using a mixure of the two syles was the most fun for us as students. Some things like basketball and football were separated. Other games like colony ball were all played together. Working together also allowed us to do things like square dancing. From my high school experiences, more activities were possible with the mixed class. |
Dawn Welsch (Dmw825)
Junior Member
Username: Dmw825
Post Number: 2
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, October 04, 2007 - 1:05 pm: | |
I feel that the athletic girls might then feel out of place in an environment of all girls that do not play anything. Some girls are used playing with all guys if they have grown up playing. If anything I think that it would help the students if the athletic students could have their own PE class. Then they could play and be taught at a different level and not intimidate other students that are just learning a new skill. The other student both boys and girls that are not as athletic can then feel more comfortable in their class. |
Michael (Mjh1384)
Junior Member
Username: Mjh1384
Post Number: 2
Registered: 9-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 1:16 pm: | |
I feel same sex Phys Ed classes are a lot better to have then co-ed. In my high school we did not have co-ed and I feel it worked out better in the long run. I think that some of the lesser skilled boys might be embarrassed by playing in front of the girls. |
Ryan Gibson (Rgib38)
Junior Member
Username: Rgib38
Post Number: 3
Registered: 4-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 10:58 am: | |
i myself have seen the benifits on both sides of this. When I was in middle school we were blessed with an abundance of Physical Educators. Every three weeks the students got to choose a different sport that they wanted to be in that was being offered. When ever basketball came up there was a girls and boys. The girls who took basketball participated more than the girls who took say football. I belive from my time as a students and going to college to become a Physical Educator that the girls who enjoy sports and want to participate will do so regardless of mixed gender classes. And the girls who do not feel this way or are strongly into the thought that boys wont like them if they are better tend to hold back and refrain from total effort. |
Diane Bilyeu (Dabs)
New member
Username: Dabs
Post Number: 1
Registered: 7-2010
| | Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2010 - 6:35 pm: | |
I teach in a high school situation and have taught both co-ed classes at the Jr/Sr level as well as same sex classes at the Fr/So level. At the upper level we found that having the girls in the class seemed to help with the behavior of the boys. At the lower level some of the activities were done co-ed and some were done as same sex activities. When a team sport (volleyball for example) was taught the skills were taught to the entire co-ed group together. When it came to the competition/games section the students had several options. One day the girls played the girls and the boys played the boys. Another day was completely mixed and the final day the students were allowed to choose if they wanted to be in the "recreational league" or the "competitive league" This allows for different levels and interests. |
