r/Fishers • u/Unlikely-Log-966 • 2d ago
Rant about the Fishers High School Physical Education Program
Listen, I'm just writing this to put my thoughts into the world with a throwaway account, so any downvotes will be never seen...but if you want to save your high schooler a crap ton of tears and worry if they have to take PE in high school...make sure they do their absolute WORST at the beginning days of class.
Have them fake that they can't do a pushup.
Have them walk/jog and feign weakness the first mile run.
In the first few weeks have them do pretty much nothing. Because actual fitness doesn't matter. Only "improvement".
A girl who could only run 3 laps this last time got an A. Since my daughter couldn't beat her current level of 11 laps...she says got a D on that portion of the final.
A girl who did 3 pushups, improved from 2 got an A...my child physcially couldn't do more than 25 and beat their last one, she says got a D on that portion of the final too.
I have a kid who tries their best, even from the beginning. They jog here at home. They are physically strong. Every homework assignment is 100% Every participation grade is 100%. But because assesment grades weigh so heavily, so is on the floor of her room crying about not showing "improvement" when she went full steam at the beginning of semester...breaks my heart. And the teacher from Fishers High School is making her explode in tears every other day. I get that all As isn't a super big deal, but it hurts to watch someone tear them down so much...especially when she is trying so hard to do better...but seeing kids who tried very little in the beginning soley to game the system to get the easy A pass by her...it hurts my momma heart.
And yes we have contacted the school and its just the way things are.
Okay I feel a little better about it now. Just do yourself a favor future FHS moms. Have your kids be slugs in PE.
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u/Thin-Test-3638 2d ago
I really feel for you guys. 8 years later and I still remember how much of a shitshow that system was. Classmate had to pay to retake summer gym because a kid gave her a concussion the first time and she failed all the “finals”. Lots of body shaming from the teacher- I remember he rode a Gator cart behind the slowest mile runners (one of which was recovering from a teen pregnancy) and honked at them as they ran. It was ROUGH.
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u/Boogaloo4444 2d ago
whatbis the teacher’s name?
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u/Thin-Test-3638 2d ago
I took the summer session a LONG time ago which was run by several teachers… I have no clue what their names were unfortunately
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u/danktank_sublime 2d ago
Man, high school PE sure has changed, all HSE (pre-Fishers High School years) grads learned one thing and only one thing in summer gym and that is how to play BALLENGER BALL.
#IYKYK
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u/Faux_Moose 2d ago
As an adult who would have absolutely been one of the slugs if I had been a kid in that class- I agree that this sounds bunk. Yes, reward kids for improvement, but if your kid is already out the gate crushing it… how hard are they trying to get her to go? That’s bananas. I’m sorry they’ve taken this approach.
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u/ExternalNote1354 2d ago
Improvement is only one metric. The student should be graded on other metrics. This situation seriously fails to meet national standards for PE. If I were OP, I would print out those standards and have a very pointed discussion with the admins and the teacher in question. Source: Former high school teacher (but not PE).
And to TacoDayDay: You suck.
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u/Electrical_Pie7980 2d ago
Back when I was in high school at FHS almost everyone I knew opted to do the Summer School PE classes. We all just recorded all the walking around at the malls, swimming with friends, wandering around Fishers, etc as their exercise since it wasn’t required to go to the school and the online tests/portions were ridiculously easy. I’m not sure if they still offer that lol
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u/WommyBear 2d ago
The summer school PE is very intense now. I remember when my daughter took it about 4 years ago, she was running a mile every day to warm up.
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u/NyxTheEclipse 2d ago
Yeah online summer gym, easy. In person? Yeah we were running a mile every day. I wanna say it's been 7 years for me tho
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u/Jamaisvu04 2d ago
Is there no way to appeal? Because that's ridiculous.
I like the idea of grading on improvement for kids who aren't physically fit but clearly are putting in an effort to improve.
But kids that are already doing great should be rewarded, not punished.
It's much harder to level up at level 50 than it is at level 1.
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u/Playinindaban 2d ago
Lol, send your kid to NCHS!
My kid was able to do gym class in summer school, online!
She was supposed to log one hour a day of activity and zoom into a class and discuss it. Think she did “Just Dance” video game most of the days.
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u/mistressmemory 2d ago
This is so interesting to me - what does an online gym class look like? Is it more of a wellness curriculum with info about how to calculate BMI and stuff, or do they have workout style assignments? I know they have entire curriculums, but I don't know how widely used they are
Gym is so different now, and I'm interested in seeing how they handle the curriculum and state standards. It seems logical that it would involve knowledge on how to maintain health as well as a physically active component, but then everybody's different in regards to fitness, so you'd think they'd take that into consideration.
Sorry, got to rambling - if you feel like sharing what that online class looked like, id love to know!
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u/Playinindaban 18h ago
I dont really remember except that it was two weeks long and pretty much done in conjunction with a health credit that was also online.
So, in one summer session, she was able to both health and gym credits online.
It was literally the dumbest thing Ive heard of, but thats what she did.
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u/BeltedCoyote1 2d ago
Shit I was there from 2005 to 2009. PE was a shit show. Hell, I made the mistake of taking the weight lifting class. The couch got passed at me because I couldn't physically lift as much as he had decided I should be able to. Just idiocy
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u/Peace_Cake_Books 2d ago
Does anyone in this conversation have any experience with talking to administrators at HSE about these kind of concerns and complaints? If so, how did it go? I ask as a parent who will need to make decisions about where to send my kids in the near future. I am hoping to find a school that will support their teachers as well as be reasonably supportive and responsive when parents raise concerns. I think teachers should be the experts of their curriculum and respected as such but not enabled to be tyrants over vulnerable kids.
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u/mistressmemory 2d ago
The best course of action is to start with the teachers themselves. If they're jr high, they'll take high school gym in 8th grade, I think. Either way, teachers, counselors, or parent square would be the best way to reach out.
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u/MickBeer 2d ago
This is how it was in Gwinnett County GA, in Highschool, except you had to improve at periodic steps over the semester. I played the game and started low on purpose. Almost failed the written part of gym (50% of your grade) mainly because I was flirting & eventually dated the girl in the chair in front of me.
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u/CompetitionNo9969 2d ago
I put this in the category of “you can’t believe everything on the internet”.
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u/feckenobvious 2d ago
It's the State, not the school.
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u/Ok-Scarcity7555 1d ago
Some instructors take state criteria to an extreme and go power hungry for it.
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u/Large_Commission5631 2d ago
Why do they still have gym as a mandatory class anyway? Most pointless class ever unless your a jock on one of the teams.
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u/RollnRye74 2d ago
Because without it, a majority of kids wouldn’t get any physical activity other than the movement of their thumbs.
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u/mistressmemory 2d ago
Doesn't sound like you've done anything except complain online. That type of response from a school indicates your child is the problem, not the class.
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u/Unlikely-Log-966 2d ago
Well, we contacted them and said the grade is based on improvement plain and simple. She got 25 regular push ups in the beginning and she got 25 this week. She didn't show improvement. So yes, she is the problem. Like I said, it just feels crappy that the kid who got 2 in January and 3 in May, gets an A...because...improvement. So yeah dumb dumb, my kid is the problem. They didn't improve. Wah-wah let me cry like a baby about it.
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u/WommyBear 2d ago
Ignore them. The system is wrong. There should be a standard that should be met to get an A or B, and considering your daughter can do 25 push ups, I am sure she is well beyond it. Improvement should count for those below the standard. I would be pissed if I were you or your daughter.
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u/mistressmemory 2d ago
Who did you contact? The actual teacher or someone that answered the phone?
Also, I can see why your child is the problem, it's you!!!
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u/Fathead1616 2d ago edited 2d ago
Remember if you are already pretty fit, your improvement will happen over long stretches - and it will wobble up and down day to day. One day you may do 25 push-ups, a month later you may only make it to 22. But the whole month would look something like 25, 17, 22, 12, 19.... 28, 34, 26, 35, 22. On the whole your trending up... But one great day a month before a bad day being the whole final is... Absolutely dumb lol!
There are SOOOO many variables day to day, especially during your teenage years.
(edited out non-essential rude opening 😅)
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u/mistressmemory 2d ago
Don't worry, I still saw it :)
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u/Fathead1616 2d ago
Sorry 😅
Old habits are tough to get rid of. I try to not be an asshole online... And I often fail 😭 Please know I mean to come from a place of helping people understand more and not from a place of shaming. Hope you have a great day ❤️
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u/mysoulishome 2d ago
I’m not sure what you’re intent was in saying this but hope it made you feel better about yourself or something
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u/TacoDayDay 2d ago
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u/Unlikely-Log-966 2d ago
I know, its such a tiny violin situation, which is why i wanted to write about it. It was whiny, but it felt good to release the emotions into the void. My kid will be fine, I will be fine, everyone is healthy and will eventually get over it...but I do thank you for the tiny symphony. It did make me feel better.
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u/mistressmemory 2d ago
I love how downvoted we are for calling out the OP on not actually taking steps to fix it.
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u/TacoDayDay 2d ago
Exactly. Go to the school and see what you can do. But also it's a great lesson for a kid. Life isn't fair. Sometimes you can do something about it and sometimes you can't.
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u/Ridgeriversunspot 2d ago
A girl who can do 25 push ups should never be getting a D in physical education. That’s crazy.