Should This Concern Me??

One thing you need to understand is that you can go talk to the teacher, or any one you want it they will do nothing. But talk back to you. Oh, but a letter will have to go into their recorder forever. So write it down. They will have to take action.

I agree with Patti and the other posters here. Being a sub (Plano ISD) teacher, especially in the beginning of the year, the teachers are setting up the guidlelines for class behavior and rules throughout the year. Sometimes teachers come across a little tougher because some students think they can preside over a class and you have to nip that fast to let them know who is in control.

My experience has been that when we take the children to the gym for PE, we stop at the water fountain and restroom. The Coaches prefer the children not leave until all the warmups, etc are done. I have never seen a coach tell a child they could not have water. Most of the time there are 2-5 groups of children in the gym at the same time (up to 90 children or so)

What we do see, are the children who have no interest in PE (or regular class for that matter), therefore they have every excuse in the book for going to the bathroom, water, nurse, etc. The rules in the beginning of the year, sort that out a bit and then as a teacher you know who is trying to get out of class.

If you are still concerned, I would certainly make a phonecall, email or visit the coaches.

Good luck with your school year!!

I have learned that p.e. teachers are usually pretty tough. Especially at the beginning of the school year when they are trying to make sure the kids at least think they are tough. Imagine how disrupting it would be if kids were asking every 5 minutes to get a drink. I don't have all the details but I think you should back off. Tell your child to drink before and after class. I'm guessing there will only be about 45 minutes with no option to drink. Unless they are outside in severe heat my guess is that is okay. Call the nurse at your pediatricians office and see what your doc thinks. I wouldn't pick this as my battle unless your doc thinks you should.

Your child will be fine. They are not allowed to exercise outside on hot days. They are usually well trained. Kids complain. Most classes should only be around 35-45 min. long. And I guaruntee you they are NOT going the whole entire time. They try too, because the kids need to. But PE is alot more controlled, than just workign them to exhaustion.

My son overheats very easy, He complains about PE all the time. I have been up there, and there is nothing they are doing that is anyway shape out of line.

I agree with Merri - there is no reason that drink breaks can't be scheduled throughout the class so there aren't kids saying "can I get some water?" every 5 minutes. It's common sense. I don't have a school age child yet, but I think you're right. If your daughter takes other sports/lessons, ask how they manage water breaks so you have some personal back-up info when you talk to the teacher. Maybe as a meet-the-teacher night issue? Good luck!

I don't get the idea behind not letting them drink other than not wanting a constant stream of kids going to the water fountain throughout class. However, they should all have a drink before class (whether they feel thirsty or not) and have water breaks throughout. By the time someone is thirsty, they are already dehydrated. I would have a fit if there was a PE teacher who would not allow a child to get a drink if they were thirsty and expected them to do physical education without a water break. My kids are in sports and their coaches have a number of water breaks in the hour or so of practice. There isn't mayhem of kids always running to get water as they take water breaks regularly. There is no reason that the PE teacher can't run his class the same way.

My kids aren't in public school so I don't have to deal with your issue, but I would be upset about it.

I am someone who gets extremely dehydrated very quickly - and I can tell you from experience a migrane and constant throwing up is not worth it! Go to the school and complain you childs health is at risk with this idiot!!! If it was my child I would have thrown an absolute fit! That teacher doesn't have to deal with the side effects of just a bit of dehydration causes! And for those that say ooooohhhh its only 45 min they should be fine - well you go work-out in the heat for 45-50min and then stand in line behind a bunch of kids at a drinking fountain and see how you feel!!

That is ridiculous. I child should be allowed to get a drink of water if needed. As long as the child is not abusing the request, it should be part of his responsibility to ensure the child is adaquately hidrated. Obviously, this will be different for every child. I would discuss with the teacher. Maybe there is something else going on?

V.,

You know, a PE class probably isn't very long. If you have a talk with your child and explain the importance of drinking water before class and after class, everything should be fine. Tell her if she REALLY needs a drink to start coughing really loud.

With that being said... HOW DARE he say that the kids are not allowed WATER?! What an a**. If it were my kids, and the teacher gave me ONE more LITTLE reason to be upset, I would raise some he!!.

No water. Come on.

Go get em'!

I think that kids should be allowed to have water when exercising, they could get dehydrated, or in extreme circumstances suffer heat stroke. Especially if the activity is outside and the kids are very active. I have not had to deal with school issues yet though, as my baby is only 4 months old. I don't know how I would tackle this issue, but it would bother me too.