PE: An Exercise in Fun

Once upon a time, physical education meant wearing a dorky uniform and hoping you wouldn’t be picked last. Some of the uniforms still are kind of dorky, but most classes have improved over the years.

“PE should be fun, and it should be challenging, and students should know why they are doing the lesson of the day,” says Betty F. Hennessy, a physical education consultant with the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Ideally, PE classes should not include games in which students get eliminated, such as dodge ball, or activities that could result in hurt feelings, such as having student captains choose teams. (If you ever feel humiliated, taunted, embarrassed or frightened in any class, you should talk to your counselor and parents.)

In other words, you’re supposed to be having a good time while learning new skills. Barbara Hupp, a Los Angeles PE teacher, realizes that kids sometimes are unsure about trying a new activity. But sampling a new sport could be fun.

“You never know if you don’t try. You may like it,” says Hupp, who teaches kids with special physical challenges. She recalls one student who, after completing a marathon, felt that “if I can do this, I can do anything.”

Hupp emphasizes that PE is one of “the most important subjects . . . because without your health, you have nothing.” PE can also help you in class.

“We really need energy for learning,” Hennessy says. Besides building bones and muscles, exercise increases the amount of oxygen to the brain, which makes you feel more alert. Physical activity also can reduce stress.

And don’t worry about being the fastest or the best. “Children grow at very different rates. . . . Just look at your own personal improvement,” Hennessy advises. “Don’t compare yourself to others.”

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Kids and other readers can reach Emily Dwass at emilydwass@yahoo.com.