Pledge Your Support!

If you have looked through the CASPER website you may have found our pledge for REAL Teachers. We also have a pledge for parents who want to make a difference by supporting REAL Teachers.

Once you have taken the parents' pledge click here to enter your personal information so that you can be recognized on the CASPER site. Your cantact information will not be made public or shared with other organiations. The only information that will be posted on the CASPER website is your name, school (if applicable), city, and the date you took the pledge.

Parents’ Pledge to Support REAL Teachers

I understand that quality standards-based physical education is an important part of the solution to the nation’s obesity problem. For the sake of my child’s health, I pledge to support REAL teachers by:

• Learning about quality physical education and how it can help children become physically active for life.

• Helping solicit support from administrators for quality PE.

• Not putting up with baby-sitting in the name of physical education.

 

What are parents' perceptions about their childrens physical education classes.

Take a look at a recent survey conducted by Dr. Cathrine Himberg and her class of graduate students at California State Univeristy, Chico. The survey included:

• Parents' perceptions on a variety of issues regarding quality physical education.
• A diverse sampling of parents from three Northern California cities. (Chico, Redding and Sacramento)
• The surveys were distributed to both primary and secondary schools.

Click here to see the questions and results with easy to read pie charts.

Parents can be a part of the solution!

Do you have questions or concerns about your child’s physical education class?

• Are you worried that your child may not be learning what he or she needs in order to be physically active for the rest of his/her life?
• Have you checked out the other the pages on this site to learn what REAL teachers do, what quality physical education is, and why it is so important?
• Do you have the feeling that you ought to say something or do something, but you just don’t know how to proceed?
• Do you want to evaluate your child's physical education program?

If you are answering yes to these questions, we hope you can find answers and information in this section that will help you prepare for a meeting with the physical education teacher(s) and/or administrators at your child’s school.

We encourage you not to be afraid to ask them questions and demand answers.

Start With the Teacher

Remember that REAL teachers will listen to your concerns and be ready to back up and explain what they do and why they do it.

To help you approach the teachers successfully we suggest that you review the REAL teacher and BABYSITTER descriptions, and our suggestions for how to deal with each. If your meeting with the teacher does not lead to a proper solution, you may want to do the following:

• Request a meeting with the proper administrator (usually the principal), and explain your concerns and the teacher’s response (or lack thereof…).
• Request that the teacher and administrator take a look at this site, and then arrange another meeting time to discuss your concerns further.
• If this doesn’t work, bring your concerns to the next level, the curriculum director or superintendent of your school district.

Find out if there are other parents who are willing to fight the battle with you. Go to your PTO/PTA/PTSO meetings and raise your concerns. Make sure you are prepared and that you present the issues as being important for all the students’ health and well–being, and not as a personal issue between your child and a teacher.

You may want to bring your issue(s) to the local media. This is going to be more effective if there are other parents with the same concerns. Make sure that the issue(s) are clear and related to the well-being of all the students. Tell the reporter to check out this site to get background information. Remember to stay focused on the main message: Quality physical education, taught by REAL teachers is IMPORTANT for every student’s health and well-being. Anything less only contributes to the obesity epidemic, and should NOT BE ACCEPTABLE.

If you happen to have children at a school where there are one or more REAL teachers, another approach may be to spotlight and praise the great things they do, -publicly! This can include contacting the local news organizations, creating a PTA/PTO award for positive contributions to children’s health and well-being, or you can have them nominated for recognition as REAL teachers through CASPER.