[ON THE STATE OF OUR PHYSICAL EDUCATION - an observation on whats happening in Xavier School, San Juan] For my fellow Xaverians, and fellow coaches, you might feel the same way as me. So Xaverians now enjoy a new PE class which is called FITNESS, which basically entails using the Golds Gym facility in furthering their physical health and wellness. Im so glad my brother took CrossFit beforehand and is very into bettering himself and his body, or else id be quite worried about him. Today was their fitness class PERFORMANCE test to evaluate the students baseline of physical aptitude. In the CrossFit gyms we operate, this would be a diagnostic on the persons wellbeing as well as testing around 10 different facets of fitness from strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, power, speed, stamina and so on, and this is always overseen 100% of the time by a certified CrossFit trainer, one that has gone through a long period of training and internship with us. Today in Xavier School, students were asked to DEADLIFT, BACK SQUAT, and BENCH PRESS for multiple reps at a standard weight of 95lbs, without exempt to the individuals weight, knowledge of weight lifting, or level of physical fitness. I found out that students were asked to do this w/o orientation - no correction or teaching of proper form. There was no scaling - everyone carried the same weight whether or not it was their first time to lift a barbell. There was no oversight - the teacher or what passes off as a trainer DID NOT guide the students at any moment and NO spotting was done. Students had to help friends out by lifting weights that some absolutely could not carry. When students asked the teacher if they could lessen the load, the teacher replied with a blank, furious stare. This kind of coaching would never pass in any of our gyms/CrossFit boxes. I have to say that we have once made an effort to bring CrossFit for kids in my alma mater. However, we were not even given a chance to show what we can do by the internal Sports committee, perhaps due to fear of change. That is okay, and any one of us would defend our jobs if its security was ever threatened. What I am more concerned about is the state of the physical education of these kids, their safety, their wellbeing, and their personal growth. What ive just said may be controversial to the people connected to this program, and im sure they will be swift to defend themselves. I have no interest in threatening your job security. My only interest is we take a step back, and remember that the reason for education is to make the pupils better. It has never been about the teacher, it has always been about the students.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:12:41 +0000