martial arts taught in public schools

[hemi]

Do you think martial arts should be taught in public schools? Should this be part of the normal required curriculum like math and science, or a sport like football and baseball. Or not at all, public school is no place to study martial arts.

I was looking at Yahoo answers and found this question asked. I can see a lot of good and bad on both sides of this question. What do you think and why?

 

[Carol]

Schoolkids can train in wresting in high school...in theory I wouldn't have an issue with an option made for martial arts.

But in practice, the idea of making martial arts part of a taxpayer-funded public curriculum could be a minefield.

What would the fate of the program be when it becomes known that taxpayer funds to teach an art that involved bowing to Chinese ancestors? To a Buddhist altar? To a Korean flag? To each other?

How would Title IX concerns be addressed?

 

[bushidomartialarts]

chuck norris has been running an organization that does just that for over a decade. used to be called 'kick drugs out of america'. these days it's the 'kickstart foundation'.

they've done a lot of good.

lots of schools have after school karate clubs or programs. i'd like to see more.

 

[MBuzzy]

I think it would be great, but I would hate to see how parents react in today's society. Especially since Martials also teaches discipline...

 

[Kacey]

There is a difference between having martial arts taught as a school club or extra-curricular sport and having it be a required part of the curriculum. I have no problem with the former, because it is then voluntary. For the latter, it would depend on who taught it and how it was taught, and whether it was one option among several or a required class. I did meet a woman about 10 years ago who was a BB in TKD and a PE teacher in a public elementary school; she used TKD as the PE curriculum for a year, and had very good results with the program and with a reduction in discipline problems in the school, but the program was dropped for a variety of reasons - some funding, some over parental concerns about why little Johnnie was testing and their own little darling wasn't, some parental concerns about Korean history and morality being taught in a school, some due to state-mandated PE curriculum requirements that couldn't be met through a TKD-only curriculum... there might've been other reasons, but I can't remember what; it's been a long time.

 

[stabpunch]

Interesting.
I guess if it were a sports oreinted system tkd, karate or judo say. At the end of the day i haven't had much experience in training children or teens, from my limited experience curriculum content would be an important factor, as you guys say the instructor would be important and the way in which, i don't know how to say, ahh the mindset was delivered.

It is a responsibility to have the ability to kick someones ***, you know provocation, reasonable force that kind of thing. I'm not sure as a teen i would have been up to making the right decisions, having said that everyone is different.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I think it might be ok, for some.

But I know that the weapon arts should not be taught in a public school, in my opinion. If a parent chooses to take their child / young adult there then so be it, but to just make it an elective to learn how to use a knife would not be the smart thing to do. Once again in my opinion.

 

[Dave Leverich]

I'd love to see some form of Martial arts taught in school. If the core of the program was discipline, honor, integrity etc.... Make it a 6 week course in PE, but also make it a school sport. Perhaps something that's non-denominational, like just 'Martial arts'. Heck, make it a school sport.

I know there are tons of logistics, and there is probably a reason we don't see boxing as a school sport etc. But hey, a guy can dream.

 

[MJS]

Do you think martial arts should be taught in public schools? Should this be part of the normal required curriculum like math and science, or a sport like football and baseball. Or not at all, public school is no place to study martial arts.

I was looking at Yahoo answers and found this question asked. I can see a lot of good and bad on both sides of this question. What do you think and why?

I think it would be a great idea, but as Kacey said, there may be some issues if its taught as mandatory rather than optional. Of course, being optional isn't necessarily a bad thing. If it gives kids something positive to do, you can't go wrong with that.

Mike

 

[Tez3]

Over there our state funded schools are trying desparately to keep to the National Curriculum imposed on them by the government that there is little time for any physical activity at all, even the traditional ones like netball and soccer. After school clubs that used to be run by teachers are closed as the teachers battle with the paperwork they now have to do. One of the greatest concerns is the lack of any sports or physical training at all especially when obesity levels are rising fast among young children. In our public schools, which confusingly are our private schools ( think Eton, Cheltenham Ladies College, Harrow, etc) you can do martial arts as part of the school curriculum.
One thing I do think should be made compulsary in all schools is basic first aid, the Ambulance Service here say that if everyone learned at least how to put people into the recovery position it woulld saves lives every year. I think that is relevant in martial arts too.

 

[Drac]

I would have NO PROBLEM with it...It would beat being forced to spend hours doing push ups, sit ups, running etc..etc..while being berated about your weight and lack of coordination by some sadistic former jock now a PE Instructor to whom football is a religion and a lack of interest in it denotes a lack of masculinity..

 

[Bigshadow]

I would have NO PROBLEM with it...It would beat being forced to spend hours doing push ups, sit ups, running etc..etc..while being berated about your weight and lack of coordination by some sadistic former jock now a PE Instructor to whom football is a religion and a lack of interest in it denotes a lack of masculinity..

I am with Drac on this one! :rofl:

 

[terryl965]

I would have NO PROBLEM with it...It would beat being forced to spend hours doing push ups, sit ups, running etc..etc..while being berated about your weight and lack of coordination by some sadistic former jock now a PE Instructor to whom football is a religion and a lack of interest in it denotes a lack of masculinity..

Well said Drac, and on a side note it would be a moral booster for those childern that has no desire to play Football, Baseball or Basketball.

 

[mrhnau]

Couple of things to discuss....

What would the fate of the program be when it becomes known that taxpayer funds to teach an art that involved bowing to Chinese ancestors? To a Buddhist altar? To a Korean flag? To each other?

How would Title IX concerns be addressed?

Couple of good things in here... one option would be to make the classes optional, just like something like football, soccer, etc. Not make it a required class. I think something like Judo, TKD can be done w/out heavy influence of culture or implied religion (at least to most peoples level of acceptance). Making it optional would eliminate alot of concerns.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Title IX apply to colleges and mostly scholarships/number of athletes? I admit, I'm not an expert on the legistlation. I don't think it would deal specifically with your local high school gym class, especially since girls are capable of doing MA just as easily.

But I know that the weapon arts should not be taught in a public school, in my opinion. If a parent chooses to take their child / young adult there then so be it, but to just make it an elective to learn how to use a knife would not be the smart thing to do. Once again in my opinion.

It might just be your opinion, but it sure is a good one. I full agree with that.

Brings up a couple of other issues. Most martial arts teach you not only how to defend yourself, but also how to attack. Are we willing to teach bullies how to more effectively beat up someone? Most of the bullies in lower grades tend to already be larger and stronger than other kids. Are you willing to let some bully spar with some frail little kid that totally lacks coordination? Boy, I can just see law suits coming out of this. "Billy got his nose broken by Butch! We want money!".

On that topic, should there be sparring if instruction is given?

One thing I do think should be made compulsary in all schools is basic first aid, the Ambulance Service here say that if everyone learned at least how to put people into the recovery position it woulld saves lives every year. I think that is relevant in martial arts too.

I agree. That would be nice for kids to learn. As well as swimming and maybe some other minimal survival skills/logic (keep survival kit/blanket in your car, how to tell direction w/out compass, etc). Education about online security, identify theft, even credit cards potential problems may save alot of trouble in the future.


On another topic, if this ever gets passed, how will you find enough instructors for millions of kids? I am sure there are alot of good instructors out there, but for THAT many kids? There are alot of complaints about McDojos already, I expect there would be alot of illegitimate people teaching if this ever got codified.

 

[mrhnau]

I would have NO PROBLEM with it...It would beat being forced to spend hours doing push ups, sit ups, running etc..etc..while being berated about your weight and lack of coordination by some sadistic former jock now a PE Instructor to whom football is a religion and a lack of interest in it denotes a lack of masculinity..

hours of push ups, sit ups, running -> don't alot of MA schools do that? Thats going to be changed for hours of katas, forms, MA applicable exercises. Just changing one form of exercise for another

Berated for lack of weight and coordination? MA is going to add weight were a traditional PE class will not? MA does not guarentee coordination. Some kids are awkward. Thats part of growing up. Would MA help? Likely would, but its not an instant fix. Other sports help too. The "jocks" will still rise to the top and dominate.

Sadistic former jock who thinks football is a religion? Think there are no jocks in MA? Think noone thinks of it as a religion? Will lack of jock-hood and anti-religious perception of MA be on the job application? You will be hiring thousands of instructors, screening all of them to your liking? There are alot of bad PE teachers, but I think ALOT of good ones. I expect the same thing would be the truth about MA instructors.

Lack of masculinity? What if some kid does not want to do MA? Would that imply lack of masculinity? I've known several kids that don't like sports in general.

 

[INDYFIGHTER]

Wish they had it when I was in school!

 

[Drac]

hours of push ups, sit ups, running -> don't alot of MA schools do that?

No at the dojo where I trained we didn't do push ups..We ran a little but concentrated on stretching

Thats going to be changed for hours of katas, forms, MA applicable exercises. Just changing one form of exercise for another

But a more enjoyable form...

Berated for lack of weight and coordination?

I should have said being overweight..

Sadistic former jock who thinks football is a religion? Think there are no jocks in MA?

Of course there are..I have met very passionate instructors but NEVER one who PUSHED his discipline down your throat..Then would get dead in your face if you resisted his effort..

Lack of masculinity? What if some kid does not want to do MA? Would that imply lack of masculinity? I've known several kids that don't like sports in general.

I have found that some of the kids that HATED sports were more receptive to MA training..You have your beliefs and experiences and I have mine...

 

[Tez3]

The way our schools are going any type of physical fitness would be welcome! Admitttedly when I was at school I hated the organised games, always netball and hockey for the girls, soccer and rugby for the boys occasionally a game of rounders but it did keep children fitter and get them out of the classroom. Our national sports teams are suffering as a result of few youngsters coming through the system.
We could do with more encouragement to have after school clubs, MA ones or any other sports, there's no way our education authorities would allow anything in during the day that detracted from their "pass the tests" curriculum.

 

[hemi]

Wow this really took off some many good points made in here.

I feel I have to say something on the issue of bullies learning to be trained bullies. Well on the other hand you are also training those that the bigger kids pick on how to defend themselves and how to fight back.

That goes along with the idea that if everyone carried a gun on their hip out in the open don’t you think crime would drop. Most people won’t try and rob someone with a gun on their hip. I don’t think I have ever heard of a cop getting robbed at gun point; they have a weapon and handcuffs.

Yes some may say well now you taught kids how to be dangerous and how to hurt people. Kids learn enough of that from TV, movies, Video games, friends. They already have access to that knowledge. But a lot of kids come from broken or single parent homes. Mom or dad has to work and most times they work late to support the kids. Any positive influence in discipline, honor, respect, courage, they receive from training in martial arts in school could very well be the only influence in that direction they get.

Just my .2

 

[The Kidd]

Going back to Chuck Norris's program I believe it is voluntary and the results have been great increasing self esteem, confidence, and grades while decreasing misbehavior. You cannot just teach the physical side without adding the value component as well.