Physical_Education

Former President George W. Bush signed “The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” into law on January 8, 2002. The intent of the law is to achieve gains in student achievement while also holding states and schools more accountable for student progress. According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), the law, which amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, identified the following subjects as “core academic subjects:” English, reading or language arts, math, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography. (NASPE) Unfortunately, no emphasis was placed on physical education where students learn everything from the basics of living an active and healthy life style to understanding the concept of team work though participation in friendly sporting activities. I feel the goals and objectives of physical education should be the same as the other discipline areas. Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. (CDC) A lot of this can be attributed to techno world we live in. Kids have become couch potatoes and probably spend the majority of their day outside of school sitting in front of a television or computer screen versus participating in some type of exercise activity thanks in part to Playstation, Xbox, and the iPad. Schools who don’t stress physical education are only perpetuating the obesity problem. Children spend over half of their day in a school classroom sitting at a desk. The extent of a child’s exercise is walking from class to class or walking to the cafeteria. As such, it would only seem reasonable that it should be mandated that they get at least thirty minutes of that time in school doing physical education. This would fall in line with the Center for Disease Control who states thirty minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on all, or most, days of the week is needed to maintain a healthy weight. (CDC) Physical education can teach children the importance of exercise and how it can help them from a health standpoint long term. Teamwork is something that goes beyond the playing field and courts. Teamwork is something that adults must practice every day in the corporate world as they deal with different people on a daily basis. Many kids do not play organized sports where teamwork is stressed, taught, and practiced regardless of the sport. The only chance many children may have the opportunity to play a sporting activity is through physical education. It is here where the foundation will be built for future success in the corporate world. Math, science, foreign language, and the other core subjects identified in the No Child Left Behind law are very important to the United States as we try to keep up with foreign countries in the area of school performance. However, physical education is just as important part of a student’s comprehensive, well- rounded education and a means of positively impacting life- long health and well- being. Physical education can help reverse the growing epidemic of childhood obesity by exposing students to lifetime activities and teaches students how to integrate exercise into their lives. Physical education can also ensure our future leaders in the corporate world know the importance and value of using teamwork. References CDC http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/summ.htm CDC http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm NASPE http://www.aahperd.org/whatwedo/ldc/upload/Core-Subject.pdf