Lately I have been hearing about schools ditching physical education, music, and arts classes due to lack of funding. I can't speak for the benefits of music and art (which I am sure have much importance) but I can speak for the importance of physical education. I believe that P.E. or gym class, if taught correctly, ranks near the top of the chain in importance in the education system!
Let's think about it this way. School systems drop everything that is not related to proficiency testing so that our districts, states, and nation as a whole can compete with world standards and produce an intelligent work force. I failed with a capital "F" trigonometry class. That's okay though because I can function in society without knowing trigonometry. I did pretty well in English and History. So far, very few people have asked me house to distinguish between 3rd person omniscient and 3rd person limit and no one needs me to structure a sentence either. My history knowledge is impressive to some, but doesn't really get me anywhere. Science was hard and I think the take away message was to wash my hands really good after I touch something nasty. These are all the things the school is required to teach kids in order to graduate.
What I see a lot of though is people whose brains are filled with stuff they learned but their bodies are wasting away because they don't know how to move them, they don't see the benefit of moving them, and they don't know what to fuel them with. Movement is not just for the kids on the swim team, it's for everybody! Our bodies were made to move and move frequently and when they don't there are consequences. I had good gym teachers. I didn't care about a lot of the things we did in gym but I did learn that moving is a good thing and it keeps you young and keeps you happy. Somewhere out there athleticism was taken from the populace at large and placed on the backs of students who were interested in hitting a ball or catching one and everyone else said "oh, someone else has this one" and decided to give up moving in exchange for sedentary lifestyles. I can't blame the school system for taking away P.E. when the money isn't there; that's what the people want. It's not what the people need though!
In this day and age the voice of physical activity is getting louder, but I almost think it's too late for our young people in school. All it takes one generation missing out on something for that value or trait to be lost. It is up to the older generation; the parents, the grandparents who do or did value movement to instill the importance and value of it to the youth. There will always be kids who want to do sports, but it seems now that if you are not in sports then it's a free pass to be lazy.
Here's what I'd like to see in the future:
1. Gym class in elementary school is great as long as it remains. Don't let the school board drop these programs because they are NOT useless "recess" activities. I learned to read in 2nd grade and I still read now. I learned to move in kindergarten and I still move now
2. In junior high, let's teach kids how to move about without injuries our bodies. Proper posture while sitting and standing. Proper bending at the hip and not the waist. How to feed yourself and types of exercise. The parachute was fun in 4th grade but let's get serious and learn about how to keep our bodies healthy through proper movement through a full range of motion.
3. In high school, gym is more important than ever! As the workload increases, it's easy to say the kids are too busy to be bothered with activity. Doesn't that sound like your adult life and mine? Two semesters of gym out of 4 years on school is not enough, and a lot of schools are removing it completely and saving money by firing the gym teacher. This teaches young people that being active is just not important and that is the kind of adults that are produced and it shows. I believe physical education should be mandatory 4 years just as history class is mandatory 4 years. A healthy body can get you a job doing something, but now days a college diploma only might land you a job.
As a disclaimer, this is merely my opinion. I am not in charge of education in any place but my own home. I don't deal with school budget cuts or curriculum make-up. I do know that movement is important though and the lack of movement is dangerous. I just wish school boards would see that too and give our youth a chance at being healthy!
Let's think about it this way. School systems drop everything that is not related to proficiency testing so that our districts, states, and nation as a whole can compete with world standards and produce an intelligent work force. I failed with a capital "F" trigonometry class. That's okay though because I can function in society without knowing trigonometry. I did pretty well in English and History. So far, very few people have asked me house to distinguish between 3rd person omniscient and 3rd person limit and no one needs me to structure a sentence either. My history knowledge is impressive to some, but doesn't really get me anywhere. Science was hard and I think the take away message was to wash my hands really good after I touch something nasty. These are all the things the school is required to teach kids in order to graduate.
What I see a lot of though is people whose brains are filled with stuff they learned but their bodies are wasting away because they don't know how to move them, they don't see the benefit of moving them, and they don't know what to fuel them with. Movement is not just for the kids on the swim team, it's for everybody! Our bodies were made to move and move frequently and when they don't there are consequences. I had good gym teachers. I didn't care about a lot of the things we did in gym but I did learn that moving is a good thing and it keeps you young and keeps you happy. Somewhere out there athleticism was taken from the populace at large and placed on the backs of students who were interested in hitting a ball or catching one and everyone else said "oh, someone else has this one" and decided to give up moving in exchange for sedentary lifestyles. I can't blame the school system for taking away P.E. when the money isn't there; that's what the people want. It's not what the people need though!
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| at least this poor guy can identify phenotypes of fruit flies, right? |
In this day and age the voice of physical activity is getting louder, but I almost think it's too late for our young people in school. All it takes one generation missing out on something for that value or trait to be lost. It is up to the older generation; the parents, the grandparents who do or did value movement to instill the importance and value of it to the youth. There will always be kids who want to do sports, but it seems now that if you are not in sports then it's a free pass to be lazy.
Here's what I'd like to see in the future:
1. Gym class in elementary school is great as long as it remains. Don't let the school board drop these programs because they are NOT useless "recess" activities. I learned to read in 2nd grade and I still read now. I learned to move in kindergarten and I still move now
2. In junior high, let's teach kids how to move about without injuries our bodies. Proper posture while sitting and standing. Proper bending at the hip and not the waist. How to feed yourself and types of exercise. The parachute was fun in 4th grade but let's get serious and learn about how to keep our bodies healthy through proper movement through a full range of motion.
3. In high school, gym is more important than ever! As the workload increases, it's easy to say the kids are too busy to be bothered with activity. Doesn't that sound like your adult life and mine? Two semesters of gym out of 4 years on school is not enough, and a lot of schools are removing it completely and saving money by firing the gym teacher. This teaches young people that being active is just not important and that is the kind of adults that are produced and it shows. I believe physical education should be mandatory 4 years just as history class is mandatory 4 years. A healthy body can get you a job doing something, but now days a college diploma only might land you a job.
As a disclaimer, this is merely my opinion. I am not in charge of education in any place but my own home. I don't deal with school budget cuts or curriculum make-up. I do know that movement is important though and the lack of movement is dangerous. I just wish school boards would see that too and give our youth a chance at being healthy!
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