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Not Dressing Is Disobedience, Not Just a Nuisance

Journal article by Murray Mitchell, Pat Hewitt; JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Vol. 73, 2002

Journal Article Excerpt


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Not Dressing Is Disobedience, Not Just a Nuisance.

by Murray Mitchell , Pat Hewitt In secondary schools across the country, a recurring event threatens the quality of our physical education programs. While the details vary from place to place, the scenario unfolds in a familiar way. Most students come to class ready to participate, but some choose to avoid participation in the lesson by not dressing for class. The purpose of this article is to identify why nonparticipants are more problematic than many may realize and to suggest a viable coping strategy. Typically, students who do not dress for class remain in the gym or near the activity space while the rest of the students carry on with their assigned tasks. The consequence of nonparticipation is usually a loss of student participation points, which results in a final grade reduction. Some resourceful teachers identify challenges that parallel the unit of instruction (e.g., writing about the history of the current activity, answering questions about some aspect of the activity or fitness-related content, officiating, helping move equipment around). For the most part, however, students who do not dress for class do not participate in the lesson, and this is a problem. When participation is treated like a minor skill that some students will master and others will not, participation becomes a program goal or proficiency rather than a prerequisite for important program goals such as student learning. Physical education programs are thus reduced to grading students on whether or not they can change clothes--this is a step below the notion described by Placek (1983), of teachers assessing students on the expectation that they would be busy, happy, and good. The situation worsens when nonparticipation is considered an insufficient reason to fail the course. This sends a powerful implicit message about the content of physical education--that it is possible for students to pass without participating! Students who choose to come to class unprepared to learn become a distraction to the teacher. The teacher is responsible for instructing participants and supervising the nonparticipants. The teacher must ensure that the nonparticipants remain in their assigned space and do not interrupt other classes. The physical educator is also responsible for nonparticipants in the event of a fire or other emergency that requires an evacuation of the building. Consequently, some of the teacher's attention must always be directed toward the nonparticipants, to monitor where they are and what they are doing. Nonparticipants are also a distraction to the students who have chosen to participate in the class. Most adolescents struggle to consider much beyond satisfying their immediate needs. Gaining motor skills and increasing activity levels for future health gains does not always compare favorably with the immediate satisfaction of a minor rebellion (against the authority of the teacher) and the fun of just hanging out with friends. Being allowed to relax on the sidelines and chat with friends can be seen by students as a better way to spend a period than participating in class, in the short term. And, if it is acceptable for those students, why not for everyone else? In short, the potential exists for the attitude of noninvolvement to spread. The teacher's responsibility of ensuring that students are not doing anything that could harm themselves or others is a potential legal liability. Injury can result in a lawsuit against a teacher, school, and school district. When students are allowed to

miss essential parts of instruction, subsequent participation in an activity can pose a hazard to themselves and other students. Controlling oneself, implements, and projectiles in a dynamic environment takes practice to avoid injury. In other words, running or using paddles, rackets, sticks, and other implements to move arrows, balls, and pucks can be dangerous if students have not practiced performing the activity safely. Missing important instruction and practice puts students at a disadvantage and may even put them and their classmates in danger. Also, when students who do not participate in class still receive a passing grade, the physical education class is devalued. If grading systems are structured to do nothing more than assess unqualified activity, smiling, and nonconfrontation (the ability to be busy, happy, and good) and no learning is expected of students, then the continued existence of physical education in school programs will be jeopardized. The movement toward high-stakes assessment in schools will increase the probability of the elimination of many physical education programs. High-stakes assessment has made student learning something for which schools are publicly accountable. If no learning is ...

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