Butting Heads with PE Dept.

Most of our PE classes don't have them work with free weights unless it is in a weight-training class and we have outstanding facilities. That is insignificant.

I think it all starts and ends with 1) Did administration approve your improvements
2) Did PE get a chance to voice their disapproval beforehand
3) Did athletics visit with PE about this before it happened

You aren't going to change feelings, and you did what was better in your eyes and maybe better overall. But people have a way of not liking what is mandated to them in deeds and actions. I think the best course of action when making such a move is to go them first and tell them your intentions. Set up a meeting with them and admin. Let admin decide.

Everyone wants to be heard and be validated. Probably doesn't matter if you did what's best for kids or not, the PE dept. probably feels that by changing the weight room you force them to change how they teach. Personally I'd rather have 30 freshmen in the weight room on machines rather than free weights just because I know what 30 freshmen are like in a weight room.

If admin approved it, then PE just has to learn to deal with it. But you'll never get them to admit they like it--even if they do.

I once worked in a school and wasn't teaching PE at the time. Football took an old storage room no one wanted--it had old text books. We made 2/3 into a film room and gave PE 1/3 for storage. They complained because they didn't have a say in the matter and should've received at least half. This room was unused for probalby 5 years. But take it and they all want a say in how it should be used.

On the other hand I taught PE for awhile and got mad when other teachers came into my gym or weight room to work out and didn't put weights away or ropes, or whatever. I finally told the one lady, "You don't catch me going into your room and leaving "Beowulf" all over the place."

Throw them a bone and put a couple of machines in a closet. That's what we did. We took an old storage space and put the wieght machines and stationary bikes in there. We took teh actual weightroom for our own use. Kind of a compromise.

If it cleared the administration and they had their say(b-tch) about it, then I wouldn't worry about it.

I am also with ajreaper on this one; how could a group of PE teachers NOT understand the merits of free weights over machines....Sounds to me like they don't want to teach the kids how to weight train, they just want to strap the kids into some machines and call it good.

I wouldn't give on this subject; if just for cost's sake. Machines are expensive; for the price of a decent leg press, you can get two power platforms, each with an Oly bar and a set of plates. Plus, a kid can do ONE exercise on a machine, with a power rack, they can do dozens of exercises.

I coached in a program that had this kind of issue when they built their weight room. The boosters were funding it and the boosters were the ones that bought the equipment... By the time they were done, they bought about a dozen health club machines, 2 squat racks, and ZERO power platforms... The HC at the time retired, the next HC came in, dismantled all of the machines, put them in the closet and bought power racks. I thought the boosters were going to kill him.

Those teachers are fing Azz clowns... WOw!! They need to get a clue. Have the AD make them idiots go to some clinics... Wow they are clueless....

First off as a Physical education teacher educator, the idea of using free weights for the "general" population, is scary to those who do not have the knowledge to teach those aspects. And their are those who do not have that ability as they were not team/individual sports, they may have concentrated on the ludic arts such as dance, gymnastics.

The reason that physical education gets a bad name is not that there is bad teaching going on (which there is some), but a majority of the reason is because that there is in fact that a lot of "nonteaching" is taking place. Which puts the students at a disadvantage.

One thing I am noticing is that those coming into the profession have less skills.

Went through some what of the same situation here. 2 PE teachers have been here forever. I am also a PE teacher and told them our wgt room is a joke and got the admin to support the change. I also had the support of 3 other PE teachers and we just went ahead and did it. Those 2 teachers attempted to make my life a living hell for a couple of years and refused to play along. They have since retired and yes, I did not contribute to their retirement gift!!

gawd i am glad i am in Texas

Use the Golden Rule- he who has the gold rules. You raised the funds so you decide what to buy. If they like machines-and I do understand why PE classes would prefer machines- then they should find the money to buy them.

In my school I am part of the PE department and we have a super small weight room and have a combination of both, racks and machines. In my county's curriculum we cannot teach most of the olympic lifts but clearly there is a need for them in athletics. We just try and balance as best as we can. I tried to get a lot of the machines moved out for more platforms and racks but the head of my department is a woman and will never go along with a change for "sports" only it has to benefit the students also.

How important are power platforms if we already have rubber flooring? What arguments could I use to justify them other than the "WOW" factor that they provide to the facility. (We are planning on getting the fancy ones with the wood insert and school logo. Right now we are just doing our OLY's off of the rubber flooring.)

Their gripe is that the platforms are unnecessary and will take up floor space.


BTW, its amazing the balls they have to tell us how to use our money.

Coach,

We have gone through a similar change. The best thing we did was run through a tutorial with the new equipment. We treated it like a coaches clinic and gave each teacher who attended a handout with all the important information and then walked through several lifts with them. It has been well received and the older teachers are more comfortable now that they understand how the new equipment is used.

Hope this helps.

What I don't understand how is teaching a kid how to do a squat any more dangerous than handing them a freaking bow and arrow?

What is that all about?

All you can do is try to show them why you want them to buy in without trying to teach them how to teach.

I honestly believe that if you do that, and it sounds to me like you honestly want to work with them, then if they choose to reject it then you've done all you can.

As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water. . .