The controversial topic in the realm of physical education is if physical education should remain in schools. Higher up’s are complaining about test scores and suggesting that cutting physical education programs would lead to better test scores. Technically, this would lead to more time spent sitting in a desk and listening to lectures in class, which is supposed to improve test scores. So, the solution to increase test scores is to take the small chance of physical activity that children receive during the school day and keep them almost completely sedentary for six-plus hours. When physical activity is restricted during school hours, children do not regain the lost physical activity after school, resulting in children who remain sedentary for the entire day (Dale, Corbin, & Dale, 2000). Per the CDC, more than one third of children and adolescents were obese in 2010 (2013). What educated person would argue that keeping our children sedentary for almost a third of the day is the right move here? This does not make sense when one remembers that a third of our children are already suffering from weight issues. Removing physical education does not appear as a logical move if the health and wellness of our future leaders is the real concern.
If these children spend a third of the day sleeping (eight hours), then spend almost another third sitting in school (six-to-eight hours), that leaves eight hours of the day for children to remain active. This isn’t even taking into account the amount of homework the children have to complete or things around the house to do. There is no telling what every child has to do when they get home from school. They might have no opportunities to be active, or live in a neighborhood where it’s safer to st...
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...s for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 July 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm
Fact Sheet: Physical Education and Activity from SHPPS 2000. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/shpps
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Fedewa, A. L., & Ahn, S. (2011). The effects of physical activity and physical fitness on children's achievement and cognitive outcomes: A meta-analysis. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 82(3), 521-35.
Smith, N. J., & Lounsbery, M. (2009). Promoting physical education: The link to academic achievement. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 80(1), 39-43.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2003). Healthy schools for healthy kids. Retrieve from http://www.rwjf.org/files/ publications/other/HealthySchools.pdf.
From Kindergarten to 12th grade, children spend most of their time at school. School, what we adults think, is supposed to be the teachers of our children while we are at work. They feed them lunch, and possibly breakfast, five days out the week, keep them active, and teach them all about their body and health in health class. But, are they really taking care of them enough? Some schools fail to serve healthy foods, teach health class, or even provide enough time to be physically active. One in three kids are obese, that is reason enough to care about these children’s lives at school. Schools are one of the reasons that the younger generation has a fast growing obese rate.
Center for Desase Control. Center for Diease Control "U.S. Obesity Trends". 21 July 2011. 18 November 2011.
other hand, obesity accounts for about 13 percent of children in the United States, which is why physical education programs should be one of the last things to go. They also help students release the stress they have built up through out the day and teach them the ...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult obesity facts: August 2013. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html. Accessed February 10, 2014.
Martin, K. (2010) Brain Boost: sport and physical activity enhance children’s learning. Retrieved from http://www.dsr.wa.gov.au//assets/files/Research/Brain%20boost_emailer.pdf
Adams, Jill U. "Physical Activity May Help Kids Do Better in School, Studies Say."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Physical activity enhances children’s quantitative development within middle childhood, supporting growth toward healthy strong people, physically and psychology. Middle childhood is documented as being between the ages of six to ten years old. A lack of physical activity affects children across all areas of development; it is not restricted within the domain of physical development. Discussed within are the expectations of motor development within middle childhood, the benefits of physical activity and the consequences of prolonged inactivity. Along with how a student’s physical development facilitates or restricts development in other areas and how the learning environment can accommodate and support the physical needs of students.
Sports programs have been an integral part of all schools. They support the academics of the school and therefore foster success in life. These programs are educational and help produce productive citizenship. They help students experience and build skills that may help them in their future, like interpersonal and time management skills. Education may kindle the light of knowledge, but sports help to maintain the proper physique. Sports are also an important means of entertainment and a use for energy after long hours of study. Sports increase a student’s performance not only in the classroom but also in their life.
In our society today one of the most difficult problems we are facing is the large numbers of obesity in our children. One of the major factors in that is this; our children have become less physically active. At an early age children start watching TV, learn how to operate a computer, and play video games. Having technological skills is now a necessity in all of our lives because everything has turned “computerized,” but the fact is that our children are relying on these types of entertainment rather than getting up and physically exercising to entertain them selves. This directly affects the large number of obese children in our country today because of the lack of physical exercise. It is not that we want our kids to look a certain way or to be better at sports than everyone else, but it is that we want our kids to be physically fit and to develop a healthy lifestyle. Physical exercise is not only for adults, it is for children as well, so we must understand the importance of our children exercising and the benefits from it. By doing that it will make an impact on that child for the rest of his/her life.
Physical education must be mandatory for students all over the world. It provides many conveniences for children later in life. Sports in school encourage kids to play more outside of school and from there, their health increases. Unquestionably, physical education improves kids’
Are you ever satisfied when you do something and do not receive the results you want? I know you are not and nobody is. Everyone wants improvement in the world and people are happy and satisfied when everything is right. This concept can be applied to the world of physical education in today’s society. Obesity has slowly become one of the most problematic diseases that exist in the United States and the world today. The U.S. has been greatly impacted by this disease and more and more people in today’s society are overweight, unhealthy, and out of shape. Everyone knows that this issue needs to be fixed but in order to fix a problem you need to discover where the problem comes from. Many people blame food companies, which sell unhealthy food to people; others blame the media for promoting things such as junk food or video games. Other people blame the physical education systems in schools. Many people believe that physical education is not doing enough to help children and younger generations develop healthier habits. There is no doubt that society needs to change from being unhealthy and overweight to physically active and healthy, but many changes need to be done in society to do so, and making adjustments to physical education must be done.
Chomitz, Slining, McGowan, Mitchell, Dawson, Hacker. (January 2009). Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results From Public School Children in the Northeastern United States. Journal of School Health, Vol. 79, Issue 1, 30-37.
Physical education provides a variation of motor skills aimed to enhance the physical, mental, social and emotional development. The obesity statistics of 2009 quantified that childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980 and in addition to concerns regarding chronic diseases, overweight and obesity incidences have even led to poorer levels of academic achievement (Taras & Potts-Datema, 2005). Additionally, in order to teach students the importance of preventing these ailments, those who oppose the amount of time in physical education or want to cut it out altogether should reconsider. Instead, time in physical education should be as equal as core subjects are seen. Physical education can help children in the classroom as well. The physical educator can incorporate math or science in to their lessons. If they are jump roping, they can skip count...
Some activity clubs we provide include, dancing, running, jump roping, basketball and soccer clubs, just to name a few. These clubs encourage kids to stay active. Our PE program also sends out monthly newsletters to the parents that give them ways to help their child live a healthy lifestyle. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education states, “Regular physical activity improves functional status and limits disability during the middle and later adult years. Physical activity contributes to quality of life, psychological health, and the ability to meet physical work demands. Physical education can serve as a vehicle for helping students to develop the knowledge, attitudes, motor skills, behavioral skills, and confidence needed to adopt and maintain physically active lifestyles. The outcomes of a quality physical education program include the development of students’ physical competence, health-related fitness, self-esteem, and overall enjoyment of physical activity. These outcomes enable students to make informed decisions and choices about leading a physically active lifestyle. In early years children derive pleasure from movement sensations and experience challenge and joy as they sense a growing competence in their movement ability. Evidence suggests that the level of participation, the degree of skill, and the number of activities mastered as a child directly influences the extent to which children will continue to participate in physical activity as an
“Children who exercise regularly have higher levels of self-esteem.” (Brown, W.J. & Brown P.R., 1996, p19). Teaching Physical Education can have immediate health benefits as it helps normalise body weight and body composition. Physical activity also promotes positive mental health. Both immediate outcomes may be useful in motivating physical activity practices so that they have long term benefits. One of the main benefits of physical activity is that “it keeps children involved and that it invariably makes you feel good.” (Brown, W.J. & Brown P.R., 1996, p19). Getting the correct amount of Physical activity in school hours will decrease the rates of obesity and will reduce the risk of diabetes, asthma, heart disease and other health related illness’. Regular exercise for children also helps their cardiovascular health and bone development. There is also evidence that Physical Activity has a positive effect on mental health in children, including reducing anxiety and depression and improving their mood. However, there is some evidence that for children who don’t enjoy Physical Education it can have a negative impact on their self-esteem and