Gym time - Only for the athletes?
I was in Windsor last week doing a workshop for 40+ teachers from the Windsor - Essex Catholic school board. One of the challenges that was raised by a secondary teacher was that there is no gym time for intramurals after school. After school Monday - Friday, 4 - 5 hours per night is reserved strictly for the students who play on inter-school teams. Now, this particular school is a large one, it has three lunch periods with the gymnasium in use every period. Therefore, there is no time for intramurals.
People who believe in this ' athlete's only' model throw their hands up in frustration because there is no time for intramurals. They believe that they have no control over the gym time situation. This is simply not the case - we make decisions about who gets to use the gym every day. We have control over who gets to play and who gets to watch. Do the same 12 students who play on the basketball and volleyball teams at school deserve all of the gym time every night after school? Thinking about the bigger issues of physical inactivity and obesity, is this really an efficient use of gym space?
Schools that have double or triple lunch periods should reserve Friday after school for intramurals only. No team practices, no games and no tournaments. Reserve the gym for the other kids who want to play.
One of the top high school basketball programs in the province - I believe it was ST. Jerome's in Hamilton - has been running sporadic Friday after- school intramurals. They are so excited about the response from students they are looking to running intramurals every Friday. They are getting 60 - 70 kids every time out and the 'buzz' this is creating in the school is very strong.
We have control over gym time and we need to share it with every student in the school.
People who believe in this ' athlete's only' model throw their hands up in frustration because there is no time for intramurals. They believe that they have no control over the gym time situation. This is simply not the case - we make decisions about who gets to use the gym every day. We have control over who gets to play and who gets to watch. Do the same 12 students who play on the basketball and volleyball teams at school deserve all of the gym time every night after school? Thinking about the bigger issues of physical inactivity and obesity, is this really an efficient use of gym space?
Schools that have double or triple lunch periods should reserve Friday after school for intramurals only. No team practices, no games and no tournaments. Reserve the gym for the other kids who want to play.
One of the top high school basketball programs in the province - I believe it was ST. Jerome's in Hamilton - has been running sporadic Friday after- school intramurals. They are so excited about the response from students they are looking to running intramurals every Friday. They are getting 60 - 70 kids every time out and the 'buzz' this is creating in the school is very strong.
We have control over gym time and we need to share it with every student in the school.
posted by Steve Friesen at
11:00 AM
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