Our PE Philosophy
Physical education in our schools has become increasingly more important in recent times. Today’s society has become based on more and more physical inactivity with the advancement of video games and other technologies which have caused young and old alike to become more complacent. Never have quality physical education programs been more vital to the students we as educators deal with on a daily basis than today. Not only do students rely on physical education classes for physical activity, but also as a source of knowledge from which to draw from to become and remain healthy, informed, and active individuals.
The days of rolling out the ball and simply playing games and different sports without skill development and providing a base of knowledge of a particular activity to students have long since passed. A quality physical education program consists of skill development, fitness, cognitive development, sport, and affective development. A case can be made for each of the aforementioned domains as to which may be most important to stress in a curriculum. While each area is significant on its own, they all intertwine and support each other.
At Oak Ridge, skill development, fitness, cognitive development, sport, and affective development are all practiced. First, young individuals need to develop their motor skills in order to progress in a physical education setting. Developing the physical skills to be used throughout the span of one’s educational experience leads to the other aspects of learning in physical education. Affective development coincides with skill development in that a student will develop a strong desire and willingness to participate in physical education classes if the skills are first developed and made easy for student to understand and experience success in performing. Success of skill acquisition breeds enjoyment of activity and affective development. The introduction of sport to young students will be a more natural evolution when students have a strong base of skills to draw from. Along with sport, lead-up games are introduced only after skill development has been attempted, and hopefully acquired. Fitness is an area of concentration that is becoming increasingly important as more and more people in the United States are considered to be overweight and inactive. Introducing fitness concepts at a young age gives students the benefit of being made aware of the important role fitness plays in living a healthy lifestyle.
All in all, we try to provide our students with a quality, developmentally appropriate, and enjoyable physical education experience filled with a variety of activities. In addition, we continue to strive to be innovative and set the trends in physical education, rather than follow them.
The days of rolling out the ball and simply playing games and different sports without skill development and providing a base of knowledge of a particular activity to students have long since passed. A quality physical education program consists of skill development, fitness, cognitive development, sport, and affective development. A case can be made for each of the aforementioned domains as to which may be most important to stress in a curriculum. While each area is significant on its own, they all intertwine and support each other.
At Oak Ridge, skill development, fitness, cognitive development, sport, and affective development are all practiced. First, young individuals need to develop their motor skills in order to progress in a physical education setting. Developing the physical skills to be used throughout the span of one’s educational experience leads to the other aspects of learning in physical education. Affective development coincides with skill development in that a student will develop a strong desire and willingness to participate in physical education classes if the skills are first developed and made easy for student to understand and experience success in performing. Success of skill acquisition breeds enjoyment of activity and affective development. The introduction of sport to young students will be a more natural evolution when students have a strong base of skills to draw from. Along with sport, lead-up games are introduced only after skill development has been attempted, and hopefully acquired. Fitness is an area of concentration that is becoming increasingly important as more and more people in the United States are considered to be overweight and inactive. Introducing fitness concepts at a young age gives students the benefit of being made aware of the important role fitness plays in living a healthy lifestyle.
All in all, we try to provide our students with a quality, developmentally appropriate, and enjoyable physical education experience filled with a variety of activities. In addition, we continue to strive to be innovative and set the trends in physical education, rather than follow them.