Northland Physical Education Teachers Keep Students Active Through Distance Learning

Teachers are doing things like holding Zoom workouts or sending out specific workouts and having students submit videos of them doing the exercises or logs of how much time they spent being active per week.

PROCTOR, Minn. – As distance learning will continue for the remainder of the academic year, schools are still adjusting to virtual classes. And for physical education classes, keeping kids active and moving is just as important.

Minnesota requires some physical education classes to graduate, so local teachers are having to adapt. Schools across the Northland are doing different things for their classes, like holding Zoom workouts, assigning different body weight workouts, or even more creative exercises for the younger grades, and having students either record themselves or send in a log.

“We’re giving them specific workouts to do and a lot of them are just body weight workouts such as squats or planks, push-ups. They are required to record themselves doing the workout and then submit that into a drop box online,” Proctor physical education teacher Jared Poderzay said.

“Each week I’ve added some FIIT workouts that they can watch on TV and then I just sent out some exercises this week where they can learn how to or play a game very simple what you have at home and how they’re trying to strike the balloon and get it into the laundry basket,” Esko physical education teacher Bridget Vesel-Johnson added.

While the classes have changed, local physical education teachers say they’re still trying to emphasize the important of staying healthy, active and creative, especially during this time.

“We’ve gotten into a society where everything is directed. We have coaches, we have special activity, we go do this and the coach makes everything up. Well now we’re getting back to the old days where we didn’t have that. Go outside and make up your own game, and tell us about it,” Vesel-Johnson said.

“It can be easy to just kind of get caught up inside and sit around and not really do much but I think it’s very important to get outside and stay active, shooting for at least 30 minutes a day at the minimum,” Poderzay added.