HELIX, OREGON– Some Griswold High School students are concerned about the physical education curriculum not being fit for both girls and boys to be together for P.E. classes.
At Griswold High School, all the P.E. classes are set to having boys and girls together in the same class. Each student is required to have at least 1 P.E. credit sometime during their four years at Helix. At Griswold High School, there are several options to meet this state requirement between a morning conditioning class taught by Mr. Simpson, a 5th period conditioning taught by Mr. Peters, or the 5th period P.E. class taught by Mr. Simpson. All these courses are coeducational classes, and some people don't want it that way, while others do not care one bit. “Playing with the boys (in P.E. class) makes me feel uncomfortable because they are a lot more aggressive,” said Griswold Junior Emilee Dean.
In contrast, Griswold Sophomore Cameron Makin says, “Having both genders in the same class doesn’t bother me and I don’t see a problem with it.” A factor that could contribute to the way boys see this issue is that boys are not the ones that have to feel scared from hyperactive classmates.
Despite the two different points of views, some studies, including one from the National Library of Medicine, states that girls have shown a higher level of activity when in a coeducational P.E. class, while boys activity level was very similar in both coeducational and single-sex classes. While coeducational classes might not be the first preference of some students, there are actually some advantages to a shared setting. ”One advantage of playing with the boys is that it builds an understanding and respect towards the opposite gender,” said Dean.
Another aspect of coeducational P.E. classes include the competitiveness of the two genders. Some girls find that boys have a tendency to be more aggressive and competitive than girls. “The boys always yell at the girls to give them the ball when we play dodgeball,” said Dean. This is one of the factors that causes some girls to have less fun and feel more uncomfortable in coeducational P.E. classes.
Most boys have a tendency to not really care as much and fail to see any problems with the issue. “I think that having both genders in the same class does no harm so why bother making everyone be separated?” said Makin.
There are other complications including the activity level of students. Usually girls and boys have a different level of activity. Boys have a tendency to have a higher activity level than girls which could be a factor in why a lot of girls do not really care for having coeducational P.E. classes.
A potential solution to this problem could be offering more flexible P.E. options such as allowing students to choose between coeducational or single-sex classes. Furthermore, teachers could plan activities that are inclusive and try to minimize competitiveness, making the coeducational P.E. classes more welcoming and comfortable for all students.
At Griswold High School, all the P.E. classes are set to having boys and girls together in the same class. Each student is required to have at least 1 P.E. credit sometime during their four years at Helix. At Griswold High School, there are several options to meet this state requirement between a morning conditioning class taught by Mr. Simpson, a 5th period conditioning taught by Mr. Peters, or the 5th period P.E. class taught by Mr. Simpson. All these courses are coeducational classes, and some people don't want it that way, while others do not care one bit. “Playing with the boys (in P.E. class) makes me feel uncomfortable because they are a lot more aggressive,” said Griswold Junior Emilee Dean.
In contrast, Griswold Sophomore Cameron Makin says, “Having both genders in the same class doesn’t bother me and I don’t see a problem with it.” A factor that could contribute to the way boys see this issue is that boys are not the ones that have to feel scared from hyperactive classmates.
Despite the two different points of views, some studies, including one from the National Library of Medicine, states that girls have shown a higher level of activity when in a coeducational P.E. class, while boys activity level was very similar in both coeducational and single-sex classes. While coeducational classes might not be the first preference of some students, there are actually some advantages to a shared setting. ”One advantage of playing with the boys is that it builds an understanding and respect towards the opposite gender,” said Dean.
Another aspect of coeducational P.E. classes include the competitiveness of the two genders. Some girls find that boys have a tendency to be more aggressive and competitive than girls. “The boys always yell at the girls to give them the ball when we play dodgeball,” said Dean. This is one of the factors that causes some girls to have less fun and feel more uncomfortable in coeducational P.E. classes.
Most boys have a tendency to not really care as much and fail to see any problems with the issue. “I think that having both genders in the same class does no harm so why bother making everyone be separated?” said Makin.
There are other complications including the activity level of students. Usually girls and boys have a different level of activity. Boys have a tendency to have a higher activity level than girls which could be a factor in why a lot of girls do not really care for having coeducational P.E. classes.
A potential solution to this problem could be offering more flexible P.E. options such as allowing students to choose between coeducational or single-sex classes. Furthermore, teachers could plan activities that are inclusive and try to minimize competitiveness, making the coeducational P.E. classes more welcoming and comfortable for all students.