Sports Videogame Student Enticements Banned

Thanks to the Miami Herald for their article discussing the banning a Florida school's plans to use sports-based videogames as a motivator for students taking physical education. According to the piece: "Fort Walton Beach High School wanted to use a PlayStation as part of a team sports course in the next school year as a way of motivating more students to take physical education", but "Superintendent Don Gaetz halted registration for the course Tuesday, calling it 'an idea whose time will never come.'" In a situation which sees "obesity rising among teens and that more than half of the state's high school students not participating in any physical activity at school last year", could attracting students with videogames actually be a valid approach?

Comments

Dance Dance Revolution

[sjorgnsn]

In High School, when I discovered the DDR machine at an arcade, I always imagined how cool it would be to show up to school one day, and have a machine or two waiting in the gym.

Combined with a weightlifting or co-ed aerobics class, this is a luring way to weight loss. I don't see why some school somewhere hasn't picked up on this "aerobic entertainment" yet. I think it would be a good way to get all those kids who beg their Dr. for a note to stay out of PE back in the active world.

Re:Dance Dance Revolution

[Lovebug2000]

Yeah, and someone else had the same great idea:
a bit of a google search turns up this.

Re:Dance Dance Revolution

[Derkec]

Interesting, but looking at the pictures with the article, it looks like somebody made a boneheaded decision. They spend a couple hundred bucks on a playstation, a game and a mat. If they had dug deep and spent another 20 bucks, they could have had twice as many people using the mats at a time.

Another weird thing is that they put the mat straight on a gym floor. Maybe these kids who are much lighter than me won't have a problem, but I'm sure that mat would take a long walk under me if it wasn't on something more sticky - maybe it's a hard mat.

Anyway, nice of you guys to point this out since I just got done with my Saturday DDR work-out. Those six and seven footers are definately more demanding than anything I did in PE.

I question the necessity of PE altogether

[ObviousGuy]

What is the purpose of PE except to separate the strong and physically endowed from the weak and genetically shortchanged?

While exercise is an important activity, should the schools be in the business of providing instruction in exercise? Even if so, should it be a requirement and should it be graded? A student with palsy will always fail through no fault of his own.

In the end, PE provides no preparation for life which other classes at least provide a semblence of. There is nothing that PE provides that cannot be acquired via after-school activities. There is no "how many situps can you do in one minute" tests for any job that one would reasonably encounter in the private sector.

PE has outlived its purpose and should be done away with. If the result is a generation of obese kids, then so be it.

Re:I question the necessity of PE altogether

[ProtoCat]

Many schools, the last time I looked, weren't actually using a letter based grade anymore, they were simply using 'Pass' or 'Fail'. Theoretically, though I'm sure there are PE instructors out there who prove otherwise, it's worth stating...

You are not being graded at all based upon if you can do something or not. You're PE grade has nothing to do with if you did a certain number of situps by a certain ammount of time. Your grade has everything to do with if you bothered to try at all -- If you participated and made the effort.

There's plenty of students who wish to use whatever condition they have, real or imagined as an excuse to not even attempt. There are, of course, certain situations where this is entirely valid... However, I think it's an alarming trend in society, especially to be embraced by students where the problem isn't an obstacle so much as it is a crutch to wave in people's faces.

A good PE instructor isn't out to make anyone feel left out or inferior. It's to make everyone try and work together and improve what they can and find out what strengths they may have. And this is coming from a mediocre PE student at best. I couldn't run, I couldn't do a billion situps, I was generally weak and couldn't shoot a basket to save my life... but I sure kicked my class's ass at dodgeball.

On another note -- While I find DDR's idea of electronic music to be kinda fruity and I think a lot of it is silly, I do see merit in people using it as a good excuse for exercise. I've known several people who shed a lot of weight over one summer when they took up DDR and cut down on the soda. I almost envy them.

I think perhaps Konami could find a market in producing an 'Educational' version of DDR for use in American schools. I'd actually support such an idea if executed properly.

Re:I question the necessity of PE altogether

[kilauea]

I can't entirely agree with this. Yes, teachers need to be sensitive to the less able sportsmen in the class, but there are vital lessons in life learned in PE lessons. Such as, discipline and teamwork - two traits that have been far more use in my adult life than algerbra or familiarity with the works of shakespear.

Re:I question the necessity of PE altogether

[damiam]

What is the purpose of algebra except to separate the smart and mentally endowed from the stupid and cranially shortchanged?

While thinking is an important activity, should the schools be in the business of providing instruction in algebra? Even if so, should it be a requirement and should it be graded? A student with mental retardation will always fail through no fault of his own.

In the end, algebra provides no preparation for life which other classes at least provide a semblence of. There is nothing that algebra provides that cannot be acquired via after-school activities. There is no "how fast can you factor this quadratic equation" test for any job that one would reasonably encounter in the private sector.

Algebra has outlived its purpose and should be done away with. If the result is a generation of stupid kids, then so be it.

bmtss bmtss bmtss

[0x20]

could attracting students with videogames actually be a valid approach?

Sure, if they're teaching Dance Dance Revolution.

*pictures my 300-pound high school gym coach playing DDR, in slow motion

On second thought, I don't think it'll work.

Enlighten me?

[CelticWhisper]

You know...I never really understood the appeal of sports games. I was always of the mindset that if one wants to play sports, one should do so for real and not play a computer simulation of his or her sport of choice.

Now...I suppose that having students play videogames in class WOULD raise some eyebrows-incredulity in parents and administrators, interest in students-but wouldn't it be somewhat counter-intuitive? If PE is supposed to promote physical activity and fitness...sports or no sports, it's still a videogame, and still exercises only the hands and mind. (then again, exercising the mind isn't a bad ides)

Were they to use DDR as some others have mentioned, it would at least make more sense. Hell...I'd have enjoyed gym class far more than only in my final year of high school if I could've danced (badly, mind you...apparently we Irish have no coordination, Michael Flatley notwithstanding ;-) ) to Look to the Sky or Midnight Blaze.

Oh, yeah, the Irish bit was a joke-no offense intended (I'm insulting myself as much as anyone else anyway)

Re:Enlighten me?

[Night Goat]

I think the reason people find sports games so fun is because they're the same as other fantasy games, except you know the rules coming in. It's more familiar. If you think about it, the goal is the same, get a lot of points, while preventing your opponent from doing well. Plus, I think a lot of jocks like video games but won't admit to themselves that a nerdy pasttime like playing video games actually is fun. But that's just my observations based on having a roommate who only plays sports games, and won't even play anything else. :)

Playstation?

[superpulpsicle]

If you're going to promote team sport, at least do it right.

Get a couple PCs on a LAN on the gym floor with wolfenstein enemy territory or something. Nothing like having your secret admirer take a bullet for you. The losers have to do 200 pushups... there you go.

Hey! I've been there

[stuph]

Good to see good ole Okaloosa County doin' something grand...

In that county school system (my old one, I was at Niceville High), Fort Walton Beach high school would get the "less desirable" kids.. I guess they were just tryin' to help some of 'em get through school, w/out failing in PE, as they have enough problems already

And yes, in Okaloosa County, we had to take 2 years of PE classes, and they were in fact graded, A-F.. one semister was a dual health education/PE class, but the others generally used "improvement" methods.. so however well you did at the beginning of the semister in running a mile, push-ups, sit ups, long jumps.. You damn well do better by the end of the semister, or you would in fact get a crappy grade, or worse.. and I knew people who failed PE, which then in fact seriously affected their lives (one of whom dropped out)

Heh.

[ivern76]

A good start to help control obesity among teens would be to stop putting candy and soda machines in their schools. Having them sit on their ass for an hour every day playing Mario Kart would *not* help.

Re:Heh.

[Lord_Dweomer]

Why punish those of us who can control our eating habits though? Why should I be unable to get candy and pop just because other people are fat? It's the same thing as the girl who sued McDonalds for getting her fat. Even if McDonalds hadn't existed, that girl would still be overweight because she either has a genetic predisposition for it, or because she has a problem with overeating.

Removing the candy and pop isn't the cure. Educating people how not to get fat is the cure.

My school actually does let you play DDR

[redfiveneo]

At my high school, they let anyone bring a PS1/2, a copy of DDR, and one of the dance mats- and they'll let you hook it up to one of the TVs used for the exercise vids.

With the bringing of so much expensive equipment (namely the Playstation) there were some concerns about theft, but it's a small school, and there haven't been any problems yet, except people try to bribe others into using their Playstations :).

It seems to work well and encourage those who don't like "conventional" work-outs. But the sports video games... eh, I don't think playing Madden will encourage anyone to acutally play football.

Parent should be modded "Insightful"

[Pluvius]

Most people who have a problem with PE because it's "pointless and ego-busting" forget the fact that, to a jock, academic subjects are exactly the same. And I don't think most people would advocate the abolition of schooling just because some people don't like the subjects that schools teach.

Remember, schools are supposed to be in the occupation of education. That includes education of the body as much as it does the mind.

Rob

Re:Perhaps

[CuriHP]

I took physics in high school. A very good course in basic newtonian physics, from a very good instuctor who was a retired NASA astrophysist.