I recently took a full-time position as a Health/ PE Teacher at my local high school, where weightlifting is one of the electives offered. This class that I teach was once upon a time (10+ years ago) a class I took in high school. I remember “The standard” of the curriculum that was offered to me and my fellow classmates. At that time in 2013, we were “not impressed” about what was asked of us in terms of physical activity.
We felt we were being asked too low. We felt that the state didn’t appreciate physical activity or in-school physical competition. That performing 60 sit-ups in a minute and doing as many push-ups as possible were ways to build inter-scholastic cohesiveness, a brotherhood among those who did and did not participate in extracurricular activities.
The “Why” behind any physical activity
We disagreed with the fact that at the high school level, you only needed one semester of physical activity to graduate, and did not consider that anything advanced was “elective”. Looking back at it as a whole, we did not learn much physiologically speaking. The majority knew all the basic and even most of the advanced information regarding physical activity. However, at the same time, the majority of us did not know the science, or “the why” behind any of it.
Students then and now
Fast forward 10+ years from now. Being in the position my old Health/ PE teacher was, I get to witness what it was like being in one of these classes.
I’ve learned very quickly that the classes collectively do not match up, not physically or athletically speaking, to what they once did. The previous teacher kept data for me to observe and it has been on a steady decline annually.
It is also to my knowledge the district I instruct at may indeed be lacking basic human movements at an early age, such as learning how to properly perform the hinge, and applying it to everyday life. Having said that, I keep in mind a lot has transpired in the past 10+ years; even more recently, a student in 2018 is a lot different than a student now in 2024.
In my opinion, standards have remained relatively similar, but students are less likely to be physically successful. In comparison, it does appear all students across the board are better equipped to access information regarding exercise-based material today, then they were even 5 years ago. With this observation made, it is also intriguing to note the different interests of each individual student. For example, because six athletes are on the basketball team, it does not necessarily mean any of them enjoy training anaerobically.
Weightlifting course
Having this kept in mind, it made me transition to a more hybrid/individual-based weightlifting elective course this spring. I’ve implemented a new program for my students. And it appears to have gained a lot of positive traction so far.
The new program students are using allows them to select “programs” that may interest them to learn about. Some examples of programs offered by this new program are: Intro to Weightlifting, Intro to Body-weight Exercise. But also Fitness Literacy, Sleep Science, Intro to Nutrition, Advanced Nutrition, Kickboxing, Plyometric Training, and much more.
At the beginning of the semester, we were giving students the opportunity to select which courses they think are most intriguing to them.
Now, they have the flexibility to learn different material at a different pace of all of their classmates. Not one student learns the same as another. The material offered in this course allows the student to learn what they want, when they want, and how they want.
Although the majority may not necessarily be physically where they need to be in my district, they definitely are making progress. They and learning about themselves, are happy, and learning to be safe.
What really matters
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many sit-ups one can do in 1 minute. Or how fast they can run a mile, or how many push-ups one can do. They are good precursors to understanding an individual’s athletic performance and physical health, absolutely. But it is not the needs of every individual. My students are happier, healthier, and more successful. And that is because they have a comfortable environment and learn at a rate that is appropriate for them. They are active, they are engaged, and they are actively looking to become the best version of themselves, while handling everything else going on in their individual lives.
