¿ question of the day ?

[auntie aubrey]

Originally Posted by Frieda

^wow, that gives me a picture of what happens in USA schools. it's such a difference with how i went to school, can't believe the gap is that big!

you can't take it as a generalization for all schools, though. i cobbled that list together from failings i've seen or heard of in a range of different schools, in different districts and different states.

for example, my elementary school served vegetables, offered art and music every day, and there was no religious instruction whatsoever. in tennessee there was an emphasis on the civil war that i've seen nowhere else. a creepy fixation, if you ask me. in georgia they've just imposed a law requiring public schools to teach religion, focusing on the bible. which i find highly unconstitutional but georgia is home to a majority of christian fundamentalists. in atlanta specifically i see a lot of junk food but it seems to be an even bigger problem for people i know whose kids attend schools in texas.

so i wouldn't say i've seen a single school fail every item on the list. but i find all of the issues to be failings nonetheless.

Originally Posted by YsaPur EsChomuw

What's that?

The Physical Fitness Test recognizes students for their level of physical fitness in 5 events: curl-ups or partial curl-ups, shuttle run, endurance run/walk, pull-ups or right angle push-ups, and V-sit or sit and reach.

The Physical Fitness Test offers three awards for students who meet the program qualifications:

The Presidential Physical Fitness Award
This award recognizes students who achieve an outstanding level of physical fitness. Boys and girls who score at or above the 85th percentile (based on the 1985 School Population Fitness Survey) on all five events are eligible for this award.

The National Physical Fitness Award
Students who score above the 50th percentile on all five events - demonstrating a basic, yet challenging, level of physical fitness - are eligible for this award.

The Participant Physical Fitness Award
Students whose scores fall below the 50th percentile on one or more events receive this award for taking part in all five events of the Physical Fitness Test.

it's something all kids have to do every year (i think... maybe it's every few years) and it's basically used to compile statistics and assess the fitness of america's children. what's absolutely absurd is that gym classes focus on building none of the strength or endurance required to do these exercises, like you will never ever ever ever do a pull-up until the day they introduce you to the fitness test. how they expect the kids to excel at these exercises when gym classes offer virtually no exercise i'll never know.

and of course gym teachers are frustrated jocks so they belittle and embarrass kids who can't pass the minimum level of achievement. their concern is that the overall fitness of their school's kids is their responsibility so they treat kids who don't pass like failures.

as you may have already guessed, i always always always failed the pull-up test.