Changing the game in PE class

Because yoga is so focused on the individual, it allowed these wallflowers to relax and enjoy physical fitness for the first time in their young lives.

What was it that got you started on physical fitness? I can tell you what didn’t — the PE coach in grade school. In my mind, PE should be the most fun class of the day, and yet it was awful. My attitude changed once I got to college, and through a wild series of events, I came to realize that I could make a big difference in the world as a PE teacher. PE was such an important class, and a generation of students grew up hating it. I could do better, and get young people to actually care about exercise and physical fitness. I decided that the future was in diversity, so I started offering options for weight lifting, yoga, cross fit, as well as team sports like dodgeball and volleyball. This way the different kinds of kids could have some agency in selecting their own workout classes, and thus make them more interested. The team sports option was by far the most popular, but a few of the shy kids signed up for yoga. Because yoga is so focused on the individual, it allowed these wallflowers to relax and enjoy physical fitness for the first time in their young lives. Weight lifting and strength training was most popular with the jocks. As for cross fit… well, I stopped offering cross fit after a few weeks, because no one seemed interested in it. I am hoping that my evolution of the PE class leads more of my kids to get into exercise and workout classes and take them seriously.

 

Semi-Private Fitness Training