Teen wants to 'ride' own P.E. class

SANDPOINT — Physical education teachers want to put the brakes on a Sandpoint High School student’s request to opt out of a required PE course.

SHS junior Galen McDonald is asking that he be allowed to receive credit for an independent study program on bicycling, said school principal Dr. Becky Kiebert during Tuesday’s regular school board meeting.

Existing school district policy does not allow SHS students that avenue, but it does allow students at Clark Fork and Lake Pend Oreille Alternative high schools that option.

The issue is a matter of parity, Kiebert said. Currently, the only other option McDonald has is to enroll at LPO, she said.

McDonald, who runs cross country track, said he already has ridden in one bicycling race and plans to participate in another this summer. He also would write a paper on the subject.

The option strays from school district policy which has high expectations of its physical education teachers, said Pam Lippi. She has been a physical education specialist in the district for almost 20 years.

“We have physical education classes in this district that are outstanding,” Lippi said, adding that students are taught not only team sports, but also individual sports like dance and bicycling.

Too many children in the United States are obese and re-writing policy that would allow them to opt out is unacceptable, she said.

“We have a diabetes problem right in this school,” she said.

The district needs to be proactive and SHS requires one year of physical fitness credit as it is and students should be taking PE every day or at least every day, Lippi said.

LPOSD places a premium on highly qualified teachers, but it does stray from that policy in its hiring of coaches and athletic advisors, said Crosby Tajan, a physical education teacher with 10 years experience.

PE should be caught by certified physical education teachers, he said.

“Leave it to the professionals … and the kids will get what they need,” Tajan said.

Talented athletes should attend regular physical education classes both as a means to raise the bar for average students and also to teach them about sports beyond a particular sport they specialize in, said department chairman Adam Tajan. He also coaches soccer.

Art Lambert, a retired high school and junior college physical education instructor and coach, said he learned other sports besides basketball, like how to wrestle and box, by being required to take PE classes.

He added that he attended a high school of 5,000 students and there were far less discipline problems because students were required to take PE.

But Idaho’s high school graduation students can make it difficult for students to fit in those classes.

Although CFHS principal Phil Kemink agrees that students should take PE in school, it just is not possible at his school. Many CFHS students are three-sport athletes who resort to independent study because with fewer classes available, they often have to choose between a one-time chemistry class and a PE class, he said.

The issue also is about protecting students from themselves, said

SHS PE teacher and former football coach Satini Pauiloa.

Too many students are suffering not only from overuse injuries, but also from burnout, something which was rare when he was growing up. Now there is a big focus on club sports, he said.

“We did not know what burnout was and we did not have overuse injuries,” he said.

Reducing stress injuries and burnout means taking three months off from a particular sport, cross training and participating in other athletics, he said.

“The goal is well-rounded people.”

Volleyball coach Karen Alsager also is a PE teacher who encourages her players to participate in sports other than volleyball, which in all likelihood, they will not participate in as adults. They need to learn how to play golf and ultimate frisbee, she said.

The board did not take any action on the matter, but it is expected to come to the board in the future.