| California experience here...kids in our district have PE starting in middle school. There are PE requiements for HS as well. these classes are taught by credentialed PE teachers.
As for the elementary kids in our district there is PE if the principal has found the money to support a program (often one run by parents who have had no training in PE whatsoever but they may have coached a AYSO team at one time or another). These 'specialists' as they are called are paid nominally...again, no credentialing whatsoever. I must disagree with threedrummers...when I began my credential program at a CSU (circa 1988) there was a PE requirement for all teacher candidates. The excuse (via the principal) for not having our elementary classroom teachers teach PE in my local public school is that it is "a hassle for the teachers to have to change their shoes and dress accordingly"...so the kids at our local school continue to do without the State of California required PE standards of x number of minutes every 2 weeks of school. It is a disgrace, the standards are available on the web and yet there is no public outrage that our kids are being shortchanged. Kids have physical skills that are important to their development just as mental/verbal/mathmatical/analytical skills are important. Just needed to vent! |