Reports from the Field: Persuasive Speeches

By now you've no doubt rushed out to the library or bookstore to pick up a copy of Peak, the subject of Drew's final book project of the year (see previous report from the field). Now, prepare to be persuaded.... here are copies of Jake's and Emily's final 4th grade writing project: persuasive speeches.

Why Kids Should Have More PE..... by Jake

I think kids should have fun and run around with their hearts pulsing at higher rates more than once a week. They can have this kind of fun in PE. Kids shouldn’t have to sit around in class and only play at recess. I mean, if you were a kid, would you want to sit around listening to your teach drag on about how Lewis & Clark crossed the ocean in 1692? I think not! That is why I’m going to give you three good reasons why we need more PE.

First of all, PE teaches life long skills. You can use REAL sports that you learn in PE later in life. For example, basketball, kickball, baseball, volleyball and even 4-square. Maybe some kids think baseball is a bad sport because a fast ball could hurt you. Then they learn in PE, wow, all you need is a good pitcher!

In my PE class we talk about sports facts, too. So if you don’t know all the Blazer players, you can learn them in PE. Let’s say it’s play-off week but it’s also NO TV week. Your PE teacher probably broke the rules and watched the game, so if you have PE class, you can find out who won.

Another important reason for having more PE is that we can learn NEW sports. I thought I knew a lot of sports, but who knew there was such a thing as “4-Square Volleyball”?
You can tell your mom and dad what you’re learning, too. Say your PE teacher says in a loud voice, “Friday, 6:30, we’ll be playing 4-square volleyball in the Gym. Hope you can make it!” Then you can ask your parents and they say in their minds, “Hey, we should go. We can learn important stuff that our kids are learning!”

Finally, some people may say there’s not enough time for other subjects, but its just not true. On Monday, we don’t have a special class like music, PE or Library, so we could have PE that day. Then the time we lost for working we can make up later in the week. After PE, kids will be calmed down, so they can work better on class work. The reason we’d be calmed down is because we be tired from running or whatever we were doing in PE, if we didn’t have PE at the end of the day.

Healthy bodies are better. More knowledge is better. Life long skills are better. And those things combined are the best reasons for having more PE! I hope you agree with my opinion.


Why We Should Start School Later.... by Emily

"Bring, bring!!" The bell rings that shows another day of school has come. Everyone sits down at their desk moaning about how they didn't get enough sleep. That is how mostly every kid in our school is after they sit down. Dark purple under their eyes and them hunched over at their desks with heads down. This is why I think we should start school later.

I believe school should start later because kids would get more sleep and be nice and rested for school. When you are rested, it’s easier to concentrate and pay attention. When kids get more rest, they learn more.

Also, there’s a lot to do in the morning before school. Some kids get up at 6:30 am to get ready. Breakfast takes about 15 minutes; same as getting your teeth brushed and dressing. Then you pack your bag which takes 5 to 10 minutes. After that, walk to school or ride the bus which takes 15 to 20 minutes - or even longer depending where you live.

Starting school later would be safer, too. In the winter it is still dark when kids are getting on the bus or walking to school. Plus it’s hard to wake up in the morning if it’s dark outside.

I know the buses would get messed up and it costs more money for more buses. East and West Sylvan might get out at 5 pm which would be bad. However, we could have more fundraising for the school to get more buses.

I think kids at Bridlemile would not mind starting school at 8:50 am and ending at 2:45 pm or even 3:00 pm. They might have things right after school, but they could bring a bag to school and they could change in the car or bathroom.

I hope that you are more convinced that we should start school later because kids rested and ready to learn!