physical education-related stories
Get inspired by American's healthiest schools
With a kindergartner in the family, we officially entered the realm of elementary school this fall. Though I couldn't be happier with the school we chose for our daughter, I couldn't help be feel disappointed when the first school lunch menu came home. It read like the school lunch menus I used to bring home, all those years ago: hot dog, pizza, meat gravy, chicken nuggets, repeat. I was really hoping for something more nutritious.My kids will carry their lunches, so problem solved for us. But for far too many school children who depend on free and reduced lunch, these kinds of meals are their only option. My daughter's school is currently running a survey to improve their school lunch menu, and I'm hoping for a positive change. Maybe we can look to some of America's healthiest schools for inspiration.
Take the winner, West Babylon Senior High in New York. They've completely revamped their cafeteria to include a lighter lunch menu, lost their fryers and replaced them with high-tech ovens, and open their cafeteria back up after school for kids who are participating in extra-curricular activities. There's a school-wide commitment to fitness, and P.E. classes focus on making exercise fun and accessible. Even school fundraisers include healthy foods ... no candy! There are several other schools highlighted by CNN, so if you're looking for ways to make your own child's school healthier, look no farther than these inspiring schools.
Richard Simmons helps out at school
Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements
He's been helping people get fit for 30 years and he's got no reason to slow down now. Richard Simmons, fitness expert and advocate, is taking on the public school system. Simmons is pushing lawmakers to pass the Fit Kids Act, which would attach physical education to the measures used to judge school progress by the No Child Left Behind Act.Simmons would also like to see more time spent in P.E. during the school week (wouldn't we all?), up to 150 minutes per week for lower grades and 225 minutes for high school . He wants certified fitness instructors in schools, and wants them to teach children the different components of exercise, like warming up, cardio, strength training, and stretching. Finally, he'd love to see children moving to music more often.
Simmons has a respectable record when it comes to advocacy. Hear an interview with him discussing this issue here.
Gym teachers focus on fitness, not sports
Wow, am I ever glad to read this. Some physical education teachers are warming up to the idea that gym class doesn't always need to be about sports and team games. Instead, they're getting their students up and moving with a mixture of activities that include solitary activities as well, like weight lifting, yoga, and Pilates. In the past, less skilled students may have spent their time on the bench or waiting their turn. Now, everyone is moving and sweating, and grades are based on effort.Though I was a fit kid, I was never very good at team sports. I was shy and not very assertive, which left me more worried about what to do when I caught the ball than whether I was getting better at catching it. I would have thrived in class with this more individualized approach, and teachers are saying overweight kids are getting more exercise this way as well.
So kudos to you, gym teachers, for finding a way to help all kids succeed.
School is back ... but Phys. Ed still isn't
Summer is over, school is starting ... but for the most part P.E. isn't. What? You think school has that covered? Wake-up, because all states in the U.S. have eliminated the mandatory requirement for P.E. in grades K-12.
As the mother of 5 and 7 year old boys, this is the most ridiculous and, quite frankly, frightening thing I've heard in some time. Susan Powter is right - "Stop the Insanity!"
While some of you may be haunted by memories of being whipped by dodge balls in elementary school, or not being fit enough to play midfield in soccer, that's no excuse not to have it in our schools and it's no excuse not to fight for it. The truth is, if we don't have physical education in our classrooms we will continue to have higher rates of overweight sedentary children.
Here are a few facts:
- One in three U.S. children born in 2000 will contract Type II diabetes unless their lifestyles emphasize eating less and exercising more. The odds are one in two for African American and Hispanic children. (National Center for Health Statistics)
- Daily attendance in P.E. dropped from 42% to 25% among high school students between 1991 and 1995. (U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, 1996)
- One in four children does not attend any school P.E., and fewer than one in four children get 20 minutes of vigorous activity every day. (National Association for Sport & Physical Education)
- Kids born today are expected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to inactivity and diet. (Obesity Week, Feb 3, 2002: v2, #5) This is serious people... if things don't change your children will not live as long as you!
Fitness belongs in the classroom
Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements
The kids at Rock Hill's Independent Elementary School start their day by jumping around the classroom. It sounds like a great way to start the day, and it might become more prevalent as school try to incorporate more physical activity into their curriculums. According to this, South Carolina is leading the way by implementing a required 90-minutes of PE per week in elementary schools, plus 60 minutes of PE education each week. It sounds like a great idea to encourage more activity, but 90 minutes a week doesn't seem like much -- that's only three 30-minute sessions a week. I could be wrong, but I thought we did an hour of gym class a day when I was a youngster. We needed it -- kids have lots of energy to burn, especially after sitting in a classroom all day.
Critics argue that too much physical activity at school means less time can be devoted to more important subjects like Math and English. I disagree. I think physical activity is one of the most important things you can teach children, especially in light of the obesity epidemic. After all, what's more important than your health? Just ask someone who is suffering from an obesity-related medical condition like heart disease whether they'd rather have learned about long division or the importance of getting fit and eating right -- I think you'll find that a pen and paper doesn't mean much to someone who is fighting for their life.
What do you think?
Turns out, in the US, kids might be being left behind ... in physical education
Healthy Kids, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Nutrition & Supplements
From CNN.com: As children in America become more and more overweight, physical education programs in public schools are fighting for their life -- and the "No Child Left Behind" academic policies might be to blame.According to a 2006 study called "Shape of the Nation" (conducted by the American Heart Association and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education), most states' public schools are failing to provide enough physical education for their children. And according to the Center for Disease Control, the number of overweight children has tripled since 1980.
"With the obesity rates going up and it's in our face, why are we cutting P.E. time? I don't get it," says Garrett Lydic, a physical education teacher at North Laurel Elementary School in Laurel, Delaware and his state's Teacher of the Year in 2006. "The focus right now is on testing," he said, referring to a series of academic tests now mandated by federal law. "The result is that there's less time to get kids more active."
