Social and Cultural Foundations of American Education/Second Edition/Chapter 4 Supplemental Materials/4.8.3
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[edit] The Importance of Health and Physical Education
Daiga Young edits this page By: Jennifer Meyers
[edit] Introduction
The competent and perceptive physical education instructor of today is probably quite different from the physical education instructor you grew up with. The physical education program a physical educator would consider is designed quite different today. Indeed, no longer should physical education be allowed to function as a completely separate activity or as merely a way to keep kids busy and allow them to blow off steam so they can come back to “important” work. It is now quite the contrary! Today's physical education enhances academic learning, helps meet the overall elementary school mission, employs authentic assessment strategies, treats students with dignity and respect, and applies instructional and motivational techniques rooted in the latest research.
[edit] Physical Education
According to Carpenter, a contemporary definition of a physical education would explain how to prepare students to live physically active, healthy life styles by providing a carefully planned scope and sequence of learning experiences. These experiences must be intended to promote the developmentally achievement of motor skills, health-related fitness knowledge, confidence in being physically active, and an appreciation of the benefits of physical activity. But many children and youth in America today lead inactive lifestyles and follow poor dietary eating habits. As a result, they put themselves at risk for many serious illnesses associated with physical inactivity, including diabetes and heart disease. There is one growing national problem – childhood obesity. Christina Paxson, a senior editor of “The Future Of Children “ magazine, writes that, “federal, state and local policymakers and practitioners recognize the need to take strong action. Public schools are playing a central role in fighting childhood obesity despite both political and financial constraints. But schools should do even more to reduce the availability of junk food, make school meals more nutritious, and increase students’ daily exercise. The reality is that over the last two decades, the rates for overweight children have doubled, so that today one-third of children in the United States are overweight. One important way to prevent obesity is to increase physical activity. The role of school physical education is to develop students skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for participating in active healthy living. Physical education not only gives children an opportunity to be active but it teaches them the skills they need to be active throughout their lifetime. Thus, investing in quality physical education in all schools for all grades is a logical and important step toward improving the health of the next generation. Unfortunately, very few states require daily physical education in grades K-12. In an era when increasing obesity and rising healthcare costs are threatening our competitive advantage and national security, we are cutting the very programs that could help reverse this trend. That’s why the American Heart Association (AHA) is working in every state and at the federal level to require that quality physical education be offered in all grades. They recommend a minimum standard for elementary students of 150 minutes a week and for middle schools of 225 minutes per week. The AHA also recommends that successfully completing PE be a requirement for high school graduation. States should develop standards for student learning in physical education that reflect the National Standards and should require that physical education be taught by certified/licensed physical education teachers. At the same time, principals and school administrators need to play a leadership role in the design and implementation of quality school physical education. Also, parents should work in partnership with school personnel to ensure the successful development of their children. Physical activity, what is it ? It is a movement of the body that expends energy. Physical activity is used in PE as a medium for teaching curriculum content and for providing fun opportunities through which to practice and improve on learned skills. Therefore, physical activity is an essential component of a physical education program. Increased levels of participation in physical activity can lead to higher levels of personnel fitness, and a life long participation in health – enhancing activity. Our students need opportunities to be playful, on a daily basis, to exert independence and control over their personal activity choices. It is the hope today that, through students’ participation in physical education, they will develop the desire to be physically active throughout their lives.
[edit] Benefits
Physical Fitness
It’s oblivious that physical fitness would be a benefit for a student. Children have an innate need to move, and when given that chance and encouragement, they will be physically fit through physical education and other movement opportunities. The students will be able to gain strength in the five major aspects of physical activities which include: muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardio respiratory fitness, body composition, and flexibility. By achieving strength in any of the five aspects, children are benefiting a lifelong quest for physical health and not just sport-specific skill mastery.
Psychomotor Skills
Movement competency is being developed through Physical Education. J. Carpenter, the author of Mix, Match, and Motivate explains that “the degree of success that people experience in work and recreation is influenced by their ability to execute movement patterns effectively and efficiently.” In today’s program, physical education benefits children by systematically teaching them basic motor concepts and skill that they can apply to a variety of situations in and outside of the educational setting. Moreover, it teaches them how to learn new skills.
Emotional Wellness
When physical education promotes physical activity as a way of life, it also promotes emotional wellness. According to NASPE (National Association for Sport and Physical Education), one reason for the need of physical education is to relieve stress. In a study done by USDHHA in 1997, they learned that anyone who exercises regularly, no matter what the age, is less likely to feel depressed or anxious. With that said, they are more likely to enjoy psychological well-being. And importantly, a positive physical activity experience can enhance the self- esteem of students who are primarily kinesthetic learners. Positive experiences are sure to benefit an entire curriculum because kids who feel right will act right and are more ready to learn in all areas.
Social Skills
Other benefits that come from P.E. are the development of creativeness and communication. The expression of creativity provides an opportunity to foster an understanding of the individual through movement. In either individual or in group activities, the student will learn to enhance their verbal skills as well as nonverbal communication. This stands true through expression of movement and is effective to group success. B. Pettifor is the author of Human Kinetics and she explains that the “practices of accepting others’ physical abilities and limitation and of a working as a team can lend itself to accepting diversity in other school settings.” It is said by many specialists that physical education is the ‘perfect arena” in which social skill are develop.
Personal Responsibility
Ever hear the old saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? Well it’s certainly true and in all aspects it definitely applies to discipline. When discipline is planned with prevention as the main goal, it is truly proactive class management. As students work in groups, they are taught the importance of safety and how to be cooperative with members in their group in order to succeed their goals. With that said, the students now have a responsibility while exploring with the activities.
Cognitive Skills
By having students using a bodily-kinesthetic approach, students can enforce and extend the habit of problem solving; therefore it will help their achievement across the curriculum in and outside the classroom.
[edit] Conclusion
A successful Physical Education program at school is one that promotes the understanding and appreciation of a wide variety of physical activities, that encourages students to participate in physical activity beyond PE classes such as during recess, at home, or in the community. Research has shown that when children are engaged in Physical Education programs, they: -usually perform as well or better academically than those receiving curriculum time and less PE - develop positive attitudes about school - develop lifelong positive personal health habits, are less likely to smoke, use drugs or alcohol - can develop active lifestyles that help to address health issues such as obesity, high blood pressure and osteoporosis. Participation in daily PE programs in childhood is positively associated with higher levels of physical activity in adulthood. There is a link between physical education programs and physical activity because physical education provides an opportunity for students to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to successfully participate in a wide variety of physical activities .Whether we are teachers, parents, or students, the next steps that we all take are important. In order to safeguard against the disease and illnesses associated with physical inactivity, it is essential that we take action now so American children gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to participate in active health lifestyles.
[edit] Essay
Due to the new technology in our generation, many students lack a lot of physical activity outside the school. The ideal place in which students would be able to find adequate time and opportunties would be in the school itselfs. However, how can the school monintor physical activity outside the school to know that the students understand the benefits that come along with physial activities?
Essay Answer by Steve Theriault
As a future health and physical education teacher one of my main goals is to get to a point where the student has enough knowledge to go out and have a physically active lifestyle. I know that my student is going to be active for the required amount of time in the physical education class but what I want is to extend that activity in the community. One way to do this is to have an accountability sheet. This is basically a checklist that the student can fill out every time they participate in an activity outside the physical education class. This can be any activity as long as it is at least 20 minutes in length. Also, it can be made into an assignment so that you know that the student is actually doing the activity. The only problem with this is that there is not a lot of accountability. By making the parents aware of the assignment and having them sign it to ensure the activity was actually done you can make it much more accountable. Another way to make sure students are active outside the classroom is to have an after school program for parents and students. A physical education teacher would be able to open up facilities and equipment for use and parents and students could come and use the facilities on designated days during the week. Students would have to sign in to use the facilities and a teacher could easily see which students are participating and which are not. A final way to ensure activity outside the classroom is to make it extra credit or part of a project. The student would have to prove they did the activity by bringing back a receipt or scorecard or something that proves they did the activity.
[edit] Questions
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is a physically educated person? Someone who:
a. Participates regularly in physical activity because it is enjoyable and exhilarating.
b. Understands that physical activity can support self- expression and provide for social interaction with others.
c. Acquires skills that will help him or her to become physically fit.
d. All above.
2. When students experience a quality Physical Education Programs
a. Sometimes they participate in PE lessons.
b. They enjoy being active, like to be fully involved in their lessons.
c. They think PE is boring anyway.
d. They complain because PE lessons are very early in the morning.
3. The American Heart Association is working in every state to require that PE be offered in all grades. The minimum standard they recommend for elementary schools is:
a. 10.min. every day.
b. 150 min. per week.
c. 225 min. per week.
d. Twice per week.
4. Mr. Balance is a physcal education teacher and is explaining to his fellow P.E. educators the key elemnets to psyical education which are:
a. acquiringa, applying, evaluating, and appreciating
b. integration, equity, inclusion, and personalisation.
c. perceiving, deciding, acting
d. cognitive, associative, autonomous
5. How is a 'teaching games for understanding' approach different from the traditional approaches in teaching games in physical education?
a. Teaching focuses on a full game rather than parts of it.
b. Teaching is unstructional.
c. Teaching focuses on stratgic understanding and then considers skill development
d. Teaching seeks to develop strategic understanding and skill development at the same time.
[edit] Sources
Bailey, Guy. The Ultimate Homeschool Physical Education Game Book. Washington: Educators P, 2003. 22-49.
Carpenter, Jeff. Mix,Match,and Motivate. Washington: Olympia School District, 2003. 13-71.
Fishburne,G., Hickon,C.What is the Relationship between Physical Education and Physical Activity. Retrieved February 16, 2007.http://www.cahperd.ca/eng/advocacy/issue_summary.cfm?id=6
Paxson, C.,Donahue,E.Fighting Obesity in the Public Schools.The Future of Children16,no.1(2006), p.3-18
Pettifor, Bonnie. Physical Education Methods for Classroom Teachers. Champaign: Versa P, 1999. 1-37.
[edit] Answers
Answers. 1.d. 2.b. 3.b. 4.a. 5.d.
Editing Assignment by Amanda Jewell
http://www.pecentral.com/ This website is the official website for Physical Education. Most teachers that are looking to apply kinesthetic learning to their curriculum, or just to enhance learning during the Physical education program. A good physical education program reinforces the curriculum that is being taught to them in a regular classroom setting. This site gives lesson plan ideas, assessment information, a site to purchase equipment that can be used in the classroom, and many sites that have games available where kids can have fun and learn at the same time. When you click on the links offered at this website, it links you to even more sites that are very useful. Keeping kids active and learning at the same time is a win win situation. This is a great site that shows that a good physical education program is not just a break from learning; it enhances kids learning ability through active tactics.
http://www.actionbasedlearning.com/ This website further talks about Action Based Learning. This is focused on brain research linked to kinesthetic learning. It’s based on the fact that physical activity enhances cognitive skills in the learning environment. The site also mentions Jean Blaydes, who is known as a pioneer to kinesthetic teaching practices. She takes the idea that with movement, the brain not only gets the blood circulation moving through, but it also helps the child focus better. With a lot children and students, an active learning environment is more beneficial. It also links you to other useful articles that give more reasons for why keeping kids active is very important and good for them. If someone were to be very serious about getting information about this theory, it gives links to Jean Blaydes's book, workshops on this idea, and a schedule of availability. This website not only gives ideas for what physical education programs are good for and can work with, but focuses on the idea that regular classrooms should take into consideration this type of teaching style because the results are amazing.
