Key Takeaways
- Physical activity intervention programs help students with behavior issues, two PE teachers show.
- A top cause of educator burnout is student behavior.
- The CDC says exercise reduces anxiety, depression, and negative mood.
A Surline Middle School student in West Branch, Michigan, was constantly struggling to manage his behavior until he began a boxing intervention program with his physical education teacher, Emilee Pike.
He’d been called to the office for behavior nearly 40 times in one semester. After he began the boxing class, he was sent just five times.
“The program had a really big effect on this child,” Pike says. That’s when I thought, wow, this program has value.”
In a Wall Street Journal report on teacher burnout, the number one cause of job-related stress in teachers is student behavior.
A remedy can be as simple as providing students with a physical outlet for the many mental health struggles leading to problem behavior.
The CDC finds that exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood while also boosting self-esteem and cognitive function.
In addition, CDC says students who are physically active tend to have better grades, school attendance, cognitive performance, and classroom behaviors.
The Surline Middle School boxing intervention program is funded by a $10,000 grant from the TriFound Healthy Education Literacy Program (H.E.L.P.), which is designed to promote healthy, active lifestyles among school children in Michigan by supporting the teachers and schools who seek to provide high quality physical education programs.
Pike applied for the grant, knowing that there was tremendous value in doing heavy, strenuous physical activity for students with struggles – beyond what she teaches in the PE classroom.
She partners with the administration to identify students with behavioral issues. She then works with them for a class period five days a week in a six-week program, teaching them the fundamentals of boxing in a safe environment.
Boxing Teaches Students Discipline, Respect
With its violent reputation, boxing may seem like a surprising activity for students with behavior problems. But Pike emphasizes safety and sportsmanship, and the sport teaches them self-discipline, respect, focus, and perseverance -- all while building their confidence and self-esteem.
“Counselors come up to me and say, ‘Hey, this child is struggling, things are bad at home, and they’re acting out. Can you get them into your boxing class?’” Pike says. “It’s helpful and calming to those students, even with only a small break in their daily stressors. It affects how they handle the remainder of the day.”
The boxing intervention program is relatively new, but Pike is uplifted by the positive outcomes for her students and she’s excited to continue it.
“In my career in physical education, I’d love to move more toward helping those at risk.”
Bo Shappell, a PE and health teacher at Daniel Boone Middle School in Pennsylvania, also recognizies the connection between movement, mental health, improved behavior and academic achievement,
“I developed an impactful program in my district called the "Weight Room Mentors" initiative,” Shappell says. “At the start of each school year, I collaborate with school counselors and administrators to identify students labeled as ‘at-risk,. a term I prefer to reframe as ‘at-promise.’”
Students Learn Self-Regulation Through Fitness Programs
He meets with them weekly for joint workouts. Drawing on his certification as a personal trainer, he teaches them the basics of weightlifting in a small group setting, which he says is conducive to social interaction.
“Students connect with each other, especially their designated spotters, and learn valuable self-regulation skills through fitness,” Shappell explains. “Plus, they’re given more time and resources to move their bodies, which improves overall wellbeing.”
The program pays off in the weight room and beyond, he says.
Students who took part were encouraged to become mentors themselves within the PE classroom. They assumed leadership roles and were invited to provide feedback, giving them a voice in improving the PE program for everyone. In class, many of these students became role models, leading by example for their peers.
The best part, Shappell says, is how the program fosters strong connections with these "at-promise" students, many of whom experienced significant personal growth over the years.
“Students that were a part of this program showed less behavior issues and formed more meaningful connections with their peers,” Shappell explains.
The weight room and boxing programs build on what Pike and Shappell do in their PE classes. Both are members of the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America.
Quality PE programs, according to SHAPE’s standards, promote positive personal and social behaviors, teaching students how to effectively communicate and resolve conflict. Kids learn to take turns, or agree on the rules of a game, for example.
For example, one of SHAPE’s sample lessons for elementary PE includes an emotional check in where students select an emoji that represents how they feel at the beginning of class and at the end. More often than not, kids who first selected a sad or tired emoji chose a happier and more excited one at the end of class.
Not only is physical education a place where students will learn skills around physical activity, but this is also a time where students develop prosocial behaviors as they work together in fitness, games, and other activities.
As schools look to make a positive learning environment where students can feel connected to each other and their school, improve their behavior and well-being, physical education is one of the best places to achieve this.
Check out how PE and health teachers are reshaping curriculum with body positive movement to last a lifetime in the January issue of NEA Today, hitting mailboxes early next year.
