By Joshua Choe, Staff Writer
As a result of COVID-19, schools have been left with no other option than to educate young minds from the confinement of Zoom meetings and virtual assignments. Physical education (PE) is no exception to this change; freshmen and sophomores alike can relate to this newest abomination to physical education in an online setting.
Currently, Mills PE teachers all have different methods of physical instruction, ranging from workout videos on YouTube to the educational athletic training software app, PLT4M. PLT4M is an educational fitness program used by online schools that contains numerous lessons that involve a trainer displaying different exercises for students to follow along with. Lessons mostly range from cardio in a form known as the “Dot Drill” (prearranged dots that students hop on in a specific sequence) to anaerobic exercises that utilize backpacks full of weight for students to lift. PLT4M requires that you press a “done” button after each specific workout activity is finished, in order to make sure a student is engaging with the work. After a student completes the aforementioned Dot Drill or some squats, the length of time for completion and number of reps done would be input, and the “done” button pressed. With around seven of these workouts, it takes around 35 minutes to complete a day’s workout. Another service that is being used is called, “Orange Theory”. Orange Theory is very similar to PLT4M, however, it requires that the whole class do the workouts together, while the PE teacher shares their screen. PLT4M allows the students to work at their own pace.
As a first year student who participates in Zoom PE, a regular day starts off with me logging into Zoom, hearing a short introduction about what activities we’ll be engaging in that day, and starting a workout. I would log into PLT4M and press “start workout” for the corresponding day, watching all of the videos for the numbered activities. After the whole workout is completed and the assignments submitted, a page full of different stretches to do would be assigned. Accordingly, I would sit on the floor and complete them, while I wait for class to end. If I were to miss a class for any reason, I would have to make it up during flex periods on Tuesdays or Fridays. Occasionally, a five sentence journal entry is required for that week as a reflection over different questions assigned by the PE teacher. Journals topics range anywhere from opinions on classes to levels of effort from each student.
Physical education is an important component of everyone’s life, especially one that students may not spend enough time on. While there is a prevalent need for physical education in school, the work assigned needs improvement. Different workouts require jumping up and down, posing a problem to students who live on the second level of an apartment building, or who have parents trying to work and hold meetings. Ultimately, many of the workouts produce too much noise without consideration of a student’s home situation. PE teachers have also been grading students very harshly over variables that students have no control over, such as a bad internet connection or perhaps the inability to complete a workout effectively due to small space.
The San Mateo District High Schools are trying their best to accommodate during these hard times, however, some issues just cannot be overlooked, as there are numerous problems to be found and have yet to be addressed in these workouts. Despite the difficulties that come with online learning, PE has been adjusted to maintain the health of students within their homes.
