Can you get a Physical Education degree online?

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My husband is currently an English teacher, but is thinking about becoming a PE teacher. Does anyone know if you can get this degree from a reputable online school? If so, where? We aren't interested in Univerity of Phoenix.

Thanks for your help!

To be become a PE teacher, I think you'd need practical experience with physical education. Getting out and actually doing sports. The theory of it, I don't know. But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't make a very good PE taecher without having thrown a ball through a hoop.

Absolutely...you have to be able to get out and do sports activities in order to become a Physical Education Degree? Why do you
think they call it, "Physical?"

Your husband needs to choose another "less active" teaching specialty if he wants to remain in teaching...or consider career counseling to find his true niche.



By the way, why is this posting under "News and Current Events?"

I disagree. Teaching something (including PE) is different than being good in that activity. Being able to teach and supervise PE does not require that one be a star in kickball, four-squares, or basketball. A person with a physical disability or lack of strength and coordination could conceivably study golf and coach golf even if they were a lousy golf player (or had never even played)!

From a legal standpoint, having teaching credentials is the first prerequisite. There are BIG differences between states as far as what is required to get certified, or if an online program is accredited and accepted. Best bet is to contact other PE teachers in your state - maybe at a teacher's conference.

No.

Credible PE teachers are athletic people with the ability to demonstrate sports technique. Hopw can a guy in a wheelchair help me with my layups or corner-kicks? If a PE instructor was just some poser with no athletic experience, the students would catch on pretty quick.

If the teacher is on the same level as the students it would cause a degree of disrespect.

First, we don't know how athletic the husband is. Second, schools do not evaluate this as a main criteria when hiring PE teachers. They are looking for education/certification.

PE teachers in schools give brief instruction in the rules or technique, and then they supervise. Their athletic ability is not critical to the job. Elementary teachers who teach math need to know how to add and subtract, but do not need to be mathematicians. It is more important that they know how to teach that subject to students of a particular age, which involves courses in pedagogy, not in advanced math.

Likewise, respect for an umpire has nothing to do with athletic ability - it is based on whether they can call balls and strikes - very different from how well they can hit and catch. Many people with natural athletic ability (ie, good coordination, quick reflexes, strength/endurance) cannot teach others anything about the game. They are talented in learning athletics, but not in teaching athletics.

If the teacher knows equal to or less than the student, should they be teaching or studying?

They won't get certification if they know less than the students. A teacher might not juggle a soccer ball as well as the 9 year old kid that just moved here from Brazil, but they know enough to teach the basics of soccer, and then to supervise. Most high schools and colleges have students that are far more athletic than the PE teachers and coaches - showing disrespect to the coach (even if the student is better) is a good way to warm the bench. I personally think the critical skills for a teacher involve things like establishing an environment of fairness and sportsmanship.

Earl Woods was not known for being a great golfer; he was known for being a great golf teacher though.

Wouldn't you have to be at least a competent golfer yourself before you can teach others the game?

When I studied Karate, my Sensei was a Karate expert who was able to pass on his knowledge & skills. Not just to make students, but to make other instructors as well. His credibility as a Sensei came from decades of martial arts experience. Sensei was more than qualified to be an instructor. Martial arts instructors are expected to go above & beyond technical skill so that they might
inspire their students. You can't get charisma and integrity from a perfunctory online diploma.

I can answer this question because I have looked into teacher certification degree programs myself.

In order to teach any subject at a public K-12 school in the United States, you have to be certified. In order to get certified, you need a degree (bachelors or masters, depending on the state), specific course work, and a very long unpaid internship. Basically, you have to spend about 150 - 200 hours working as an unpaid teaching assistant in the area of your specialty.

This on-the-job experience requirement means that if the degree was offered online, you would have to find a local school at which to volunteer. This might work, but I think that the internship has to be supervised by your university in some way.

There are lots of strict laws about teacher certification requirements, both on the national level and the state level. I wouldn't be surprised if one or more of these laws made it difficult to do an entire certification program online. But I think it is certainly worth looking into.

Your husband should talk to a local university that offers teacher certification; they might know whether or not online programs exist. He could also contact the local public school system for information on certification; they might also know about online programs. He could also contact local private schools to see if they require their PE teachers to be certified. Some private schools hire uncertified teachers.