The sad state of PE in MCPS

[Anonymous]

My bigger issues are with the PE teachers.
Cabin John had horrible PE teachers when my kids were there. And my kids are super athletic they all were fine with PE. It was me I hated the staff. I hated the way they treated some of the kids.
Then there are the coaches that make money off of students at their side camps they tell the students they will make a sports team and then they cut them day one. No this was not my kid I just hated they did this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The state of PE at my kids' DCC high school is depressing. Many kids don't change. They walk around on their cell phones and just hang out. The PE teachers don't care and none of the kids actually learn how to play sports.

This is NOT what my experience was like as a kid in MCPS. You were required to change for PE and if you didn't change or participate, it impacted your grade. I was exposed to a wide array of sports including, volleyball, badminton, fencing, tennis, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, baseball, kickball, gymnastics, track and field, etc.

All for free and through MCPS and through my PE class. I didn't do sports as an extracurricular.

If PE is not going to be taken seriously, and if kids aren't going to be required to be physically active and engaged in the class, then why should it even be required?

Who's to blame for this mess?

Your kids must be at one of the bad schools. PE is fantastic at ours!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To blame is the MCPS PE supervisor. There is no accountability from the top down.

Cara Grant is the PE supervisor.

Exactly

[Anonymous]

We were in mcps til Covid and will go back for HS. Kid currently in a local private ( not big 3)
And she’s in MS now and has PE once a week. They also have daily recess.
She also has physical conditioning twice a week that she chose as an elective.
She wears a uniform but on PE or PC days they can wear the PE uniform all day. So they’re dressed for athletics but don’t need to change.
She is on the basketball team as well now but thats after school and she had to try out.
I’m really happy we made the choice we did during Covid to switch and I’m hoping MCPS HS will be a positive experience but we’ll see.

[Anonymous]

I don't think school has enough changing spaces for kids to get changed safely. Where could they get changed? In classroom? In bathroom? How about where those neutral/trans/gay/lesb kids could get changed? It is for privacy and safety proctocol. My kids (son and daughter) wear sneakers and shorts/pants every day, so they are good to go to PE classes. When my daughter wears skirt or dresses, she wears shorts/leggings underneath or just wear skorts. She can run in them with sneakers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:private schools run their middle school sports as last period of the day. The kids must get changed and participate. They play against each other.

This is a great idea. Also students who are in sports should be excused.

Do private MS’ have 1000+ kids?

Excuses. My public MS in the 90s was huge. We still changed for sports at the end of the day.

So your huge public middle school in the 90s had enough PE teachers, space, and equipment such that the entire school could take a PE class at the same time? Not to mention enough space to be sure they all change out for class and made it back to lockers in time to get everyone on the bus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think school has enough changing spaces for kids to get changed safely. Where could they get changed? In classroom? In bathroom? How about where those neutral/trans/gay/lesb kids could get changed? It is for privacy and safety proctocol. My kids (son and daughter) wear sneakers and shorts/pants every day, so they are good to go to PE classes. When my daughter wears skirt or dresses, she wears shorts/leggings underneath or just wear skorts. She can run in them with sneakers.

Locker rooms, genius. Changing out isn’t the traumatic experience you’re pretending it is. Locker rooms also have restrooms, so if a student feels uncomfortable, they can use a stall. It’s probably scary for two days before the kids get over it.

[Anonymous]

NP here. Agree that ES PE was sorely lacking. But it was MS PE that exposed DS to hockey (street) which led to him — all on his own initiative — learning and now playing ice hockey. So I can’t diss MCPS - at least for my kid.

BTW , The PE teachers I spoke with in MS didn’t much like the grading system either.

And the changing “mandate” doesn’t work in MS and the teachers have given up. Tho DS kept deodorant in his backpack for the post PE period, and constantly pointed to it as the mitigant for not changing.

Fortunately he caught on right away with the full changing and hygiene routine for club hockey practices and games .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The state of PE at my kids' DCC high school is depressing. Many kids don't change. They walk around on their cell phones and just hang out. The PE teachers don't care and none of the kids actually learn how to play sports.

This is NOT what my experience was like as a kid in MCPS. You were required to change for PE and if you didn't change or participate, it impacted your grade. I was exposed to a wide array of sports including, volleyball, badminton, fencing, tennis, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, baseball, kickball, gymnastics, track and field, etc.

All for free and through MCPS and through my PE class. I didn't do sports as an extracurricular.

If PE is not going to be taken seriously, and if kids aren't going to be required to be physically active and engaged in the class, then why should it even be required?

Who's to blame for this mess?

Does any high school offer yoga class through PE? If they do, do students bring their own yoga mat to leave in their locker (if there are lockers)? Are mats provided to students if they don't bring their own? Are the mats clean? Who cleans the mats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh... my kid isn't into sports except one. They do it outside MCPS and get plenty of exercise. They don't need that nonsense.

Good for you, I guess.

Meanwhile, Maryland has the 10th highest childhood obesity rate in the country: https://www.mymcmedia.org/maryland-has-10th-highest-childhood-obesity-rate-in-u-s/#:~:text=In%20Montgomery%20County%2C%20the%20obesity,the%20Youth%20Risk%20Behavior%20Study.

Wonder if getting them to actually exercise during PE might help?

Doubt it but MCPS could start with healthier lunches.

Well of course isn't that what MAHA is for? Look what news they dropped yesterday?!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The state of PE at my kids' DCC high school is depressing. Many kids don't change. They walk around on their cell phones and just hang out. The PE teachers don't care and none of the kids actually learn how to play sports.

This is NOT what my experience was like as a kid in MCPS. You were required to change for PE and if you didn't change or participate, it impacted your grade. I was exposed to a wide array of sports including, volleyball, badminton, fencing, tennis, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, baseball, kickball, gymnastics, track and field, etc.

All for free and through MCPS and through my PE class. I didn't do sports as an extracurricular.

If PE is not going to be taken seriously, and if kids aren't going to be required to be physically active and engaged in the class, then why should it even be required?

Who's to blame for this mess?

Does any high school offer yoga class through PE? If they do, do students bring their own yoga mat to leave in their locker (if there are lockers)? Are mats provided to students if they don't bring their own? Are the mats clean? Who cleans the mats?

I feel like I did hear of some MCPS high schools offering yoga.

There's a course description that talks about offering yoga stretching on MCPS's site: https://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseDetails/Index/HPE2028

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The state of PE at my kids' DCC high school is depressing. Many kids don't change. They walk around on their cell phones and just hang out. The PE teachers don't care and none of the kids actually learn how to play sports.

This is NOT what my experience was like as a kid in MCPS. You were required to change for PE and if you didn't change or participate, it impacted your grade. I was exposed to a wide array of sports including, volleyball, badminton, fencing, tennis, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, baseball, kickball, gymnastics, track and field, etc.

All for free and through MCPS and through my PE class. I didn't do sports as an extracurricular.

If PE is not going to be taken seriously, and if kids aren't going to be required to be physically active and engaged in the class, then why should it even be required?

Who's to blame for this mess?

Does any high school offer yoga class through PE? If they do, do students bring their own yoga mat to leave in their locker (if there are lockers)? Are mats provided to students if they don't bring their own? Are the mats clean? Who cleans the mats?

Wootton offers yoga.

[Anonymous]

Seneca Valley offers Yoga as well.

[Anonymous]

In my 50s, and still remember hating PE throughout middle and high school (ES, just wear sneakers). As a well developed girl at a young age, I had zero interest in changing in front of my peers. Also remember walking the mile with friends as none of us wanted to get sweaty, nor did we care about the Presidential Fitness test.

As an adult, I work out 5 days a week, and run on weekends. Our kids play sports outside of school (each a different sport), and are also fit.

PE is a joke at MCPS, and I am ok with that - I'd like them to focus on get kids reading, and learning math, instead (those scores are also abysmal).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The state of PE at my kids' DCC high school is depressing. Many kids don't change. They walk around on their cell phones and just hang out. The PE teachers don't care and none of the kids actually learn how to play sports.

This is NOT what my experience was like as a kid in MCPS. You were required to change for PE and if you didn't change or participate, it impacted your grade. I was exposed to a wide array of sports including, volleyball, badminton, fencing, tennis, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, baseball, kickball, gymnastics, track and field, etc.

All for free and through MCPS and through my PE class. I didn't do sports as an extracurricular.

If PE is not going to be taken seriously, and if kids aren't going to be required to be physically active and engaged in the class, then why should it even be required?

Who's to blame for this mess?

Does any high school offer yoga class through PE? If they do, do students bring their own yoga mat to leave in their locker (if there are lockers)? Are mats provided to students if they don't bring their own? Are the mats clean? Who cleans the mats?

Blair offers Yoga - the kids can bring their own yoga mat or use one of the ones that is already there. If you bring your own there is a place to leave them in the yoga room, or you can bring yours back and forth. The school's yoga mats are supposably sprayed down with disinfectant, but not sure how often? There are also wipes provided to clean them before and after.