Fitness Test

[HeKnowsMyName]

Do other elementary schools do this? DD has been worried sick that she will fail. She is NOT athletic in the least bit but she does try. It bothers her to no end that she is not athletic because she's a perfectionist. She was afraid to tell her Daddy about the test (it's various tests like pushups, pullups, etc. over a period of several days) because he wants her to make all A's. I encouraged her to talk to him about it since this wasn't an actual 'test' and as long as she did her best, that was all we could ask.

Last year I talked to the coach about her not being atheletic (I wanted him to know she was my child and that we knew she wasn't good at sports since he demands excellance from all of his kids) and he said if everyone tried as hard as she did, he would be happy. I think it's helped him to have more patience with her since he knows she WANTS to exceed but is not capable. Honestly she is VERY clumsy. No agility whatsoever. She can be walking across the floor (nothing in the way) and fall down - clumsiness runs in DH family. We try to boost her up in the areas that she's good at. I just hate that a Fitness Test stresses her.

 

[GolfingMom]

Quite off topic but has she taken gymnastics? My niece was very similar and is different now - after taking gymnastics. Same with my nephew (different family) so that something you might want to look into.


I know they don't do this in first grade at my sons school. Not sure about older kiddo's

 

[Robinsegg]

Most schools I know of (and those I went to) have these . . . usually during PE class.

Is your daughter the firstborn or only child? Such attitudes are not uncommon in them. Take this opportunity to teach her how to handle her anxiety, her perfectionism, and how to fail gracefully! My daughter (also firstborn) had issues with failure, until I taught her that we don't get everything the first time, and some things we don't get *ever*. I told her about things I had failed at.

I've found that letting our kids know we are human (esp. those that spend a lot of time around adults, like firstborn and only children) and that we, too, struggle and fail, it can *really* help them build their self-esteem and self-concept over time.

Rachel

 

[lucypevensie]

It's sad that she's stressing so much about this. It would make me uncomfortable too. I don't like that she feels pressure from Dad to get all As. He does need to address this with her, but he must get the idea out of his head that she must get all As in order to be a good student/ learner. To be honest, that mentality makes little sense to me. Grades do not always determine how well and how enthusiastically one learns.

While it's hard to see your daughter stress about this, it is a good oportunity for her to learn - and you to teach - that she is not going to be a super-girl in every endeavor she takes on. She'll take a lot of cues from Mom and Dad, so it's up to you. Even if you are stressing for her, you can't let it show. It sounds like you do a fine job boosting her confidence in other areas of life. Now she just needs to learn how to accept that it's OK to not excel in everything.

Teach her this motto for life: Do your best, and hang the rest.

 

[peace in the vally]

YEP, I HAD TO DO THEM, STARTED IN THE 6TH GRADE ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIGHSCHOOL. THEY ARE ACTUALLY NO BIG DEAL. THE ONLY ONE I STRUGGLED WITH WAS CLIBING THE BIG ROPE ALL THE WAY TO THE CEILING AND TOUCHING THE BELL AT THE TOP, IM AFRAID OF HEIGHTS AND WELL THAT WAS HIGH, THE OTHER WAS CHIN UP COULDN'T DO THEM TO SAVE MY LIFE lol

 

[Birbitt]

I had them when I was in school and though they are called tests our Gym teacher told us that as long as we tried our best we would get a's for grading purposes...the actual test isn't for your grade as much as it is to compare you to other students across the country. Basically it's like the Standardized achivement testing given in math.language,reading comprehension ......doesn't amount to much other than telling you how you did compared to others.

 

[BigDMac]

i had to do it and i flunked, but it didn't effect my grade at all.