Once Schools find out you are on to them they
never respond and they hope you will go away so they can conduct
business as usual.
They use their main resources to promote professional sports and run every
kid through the system giving attention to the tallest and strongest.
I have found that it is almost hopeless to deal with Phy Ed
people so I have gone to the news media and the UW Board
of Regents with my case!
Re-write my letter to your specs and try to change things in your state .
Good luck . . .
Dear UW Regent,
As a certified Umpire and Instructor having trained at the Olympic site in Colorado Springs I have had many opportunities to interact in the Wisconsin Education System from the grade school level through the University system both public and private. The Physical Education, Athletics, and Wellness etc. (or what ever they call non-academics) is a topic that needs to be scrutinized. When academia fails us in society with poor test scores and results they are called to task. Physical Education etc. on the other hand never seems to be held accountable for their product.
I Have personally confronted many athletic directors, coaches (and the like) as to what benefits we in society derive from their programs. I am referring more specifically to the sports taught and their lifetime value to people after they finish their education at any level. In other words what has the system taught the average person to use in keeping themselves physically active as they get older. Educators in the Physical Education etc. sector can offer a "wordy" mission statement to justify their work. These so called "mission statements" do very little to satisfy me when I visit any of State's schools to lecture and train teachers. I am very angered when I look around and see what bang for the buck society is really getting. It seems to me there must be huge budgets to fund the large extravagant facilities that temporarily entertain a few select athletes for professional sports and other non practical lifetime activities. The dialog always comes to an end when I specifically ask educators why the Lifetime sport of Olympic Table Tennis isn't represented on their campus and why is it that an aspiring Phy Ed. teacher cant even learn Table Tennis anywhere in this State ( Except at UW La Crosse 2003 ) as part of their Phy Ed. degree.
As a 60 year old male I actively engage in Table Tennis with friends of all ages, mixed nationalities and gender. Most gratifying is that I also get to be with my 34 year old Son as we compete with and against each other and get a great physical workout 3 times a week in my home and at the UWM University Recreation Center In Milwaukee.
The cycle of using Physical Education resources just for temporary purposes needs to be stopped. We need to redirect some those resources and promote lifetime sports activities such as Table Tennis in Wisconsin. In doing so, more parents and children can reap the benefits of our educational system. Mao Tse -tung did it in China with great success. Table tennis is the second only to soccer as the most popular participant sport in the world. This request is asking for more than just putting up a couple tables next to a video game in the student lounge but giving it the sport Olympic status with proper conditions and instructions.
Practical lifetime sports criteria:
· Not favoring the taller and stronger students
· Culture diverse
· Non gender specific
· non seasonal
· Fun
· Safe
· Economical
· Family oriented
· Aerobic, reflexes, and eye-hand coordination
· Competitive
· Olympic
Table Tennis certainly meets the criteria listed above. I cant think of any of the other activities taught in our educational system that even comes close!
Sincerely yours,
Donald Winze
USATT Wisconsin Director
4245 S. Tie Ave
New Berlin WI 53151
262 782 0126
www.tabletennispro.com
donw@execpc.com
