The Need for Physical Education in Our Culture

I. We all value our health over many other things because that is what keep us alive, but with

First of all, students do not have much knowledge about the different fitness components; they do not understand the relation between the fitness components and health. If students acquire the background knowledge about fitness, it could improve the class engagement and motivation, and increase the independent drive to exercise. Second barrier to students’ achievement is the lack of motivation to be active, and even more difficult, to specific fitness activities, such as sit-ups and push-ups. In today’s society, students spend more time sitting in front a screen and less time moving. Parent and school today have more responsibility making sure the children get enough physical activity. According to the New York Times (2016), “early school physical education (PE) programs can make a significant difference, and the earlier these routines are learned the more likely they will be carried forth into a healthy adulthood”. Another barrier that prevents students’ success is the loss of instructional time due to discipline problems. The classes are too big, with many diverse students with individual problems, which are difficult to address when these issues are from very different backgrounds. Finally, there is not enough support from home affecting not only physical education, but

Physical education classes are not enjoyed by all, in fact, some students do their best to get out of the class each day, but without this class, students would sit in school for seven hours a day with the only exercise being walking from class to class. While changing clothes and possibly getting sweaty may not seem productive for students who have spent an hour doing their hair, or feel awkward changing in front of others, this class provides positive ways of fighting obesity, releasing energy, retaining more academically, and learning discipline. Thus, students should be required to take physical education courses in high school.

Physical education is good for students physically, mentally and socially. Taking proper care of their body can and will result in an unhealthy life and life style that could follow them for the rest of their lives. Schools all across the nation are full of obesity children. One of the problems is obesity, which is a growing epidemic in the United States, and it is said that seventy eight percent of Americans are not reaching basic activity level approvals. By motivating children to take a physical education class, we are forcing children to learn healthy life skills, which is something beneficial to everyone. Students should understand that not taking proper care of their body can bring health problems and by installing that in the school, system at a young age can prevent that. When kids back home, you don’t know their type of activities that they do like playing video games or just on social media. Physical education should be mandatory throughout 2- 12 grades so they could get use to it by the time they get out in the real world. Not only the physical aspect but also the health part in eating right and maintaining the body system. Besides ensuring healthy and fit society, Physical Education also allows students to develop their interactive skills, social skills, team dynamics and psychomotor skills. For example, when children play sports and games during Physical Education, students are encouraged to develop the spirit of

S. Surgeon General has declared childhood obesity to be an “epidemic” with significant adverse health consequences, including vascular disease and Type 2 diabetes that significantly raise health care costs for youth.” (The Impact of Physical Education 3) “The U.S. Surgeon General attributes the rise in childhood obesity, in part to, school cutbacks in Physical Education (PE), and urges all school systems to mandate daily PE that last at least one hundred and fifty minutes per week for elementary schoolchildren.” (The Impact of Physical Education 3) Research shows exercise aids children in maintaining a healthy body weight, strong and healthy muscles, strong bones and joints, improves sleep, school attendance is improved, self-esteem is better, and they are less likely to develop anxiety and depression. Those are just a few benefits of physical activity. Schools require subjects such as Math, Science, English, and Social Studies in order for children to graduate. Therefore, physical education should be a required course. Not only will adding physical education requirements help children physically but also, studies show that exercise helps with brain stimulation, which will help with test score and understanding in the classroom. Physical education will not only help with obesity but also improve some other problems schools deal with because of obese

Over the last 30-40 years, the amount and intensity of exercise has gradually declined. Few children in the United States have actually met the recommended “sixty minutes of vigorous exercise” per day (Institute of Medicine, 2013). Although most states and districts have policies pertaining to physical education, these programs lack reinforcement and are often considered weak. Physical education has slowly declined throughout the years, and the the purpose of encouraging students to make physical activity part of their daily lifestyle has been lost. Recent research from Cornell University has found that the average high school gym class consists of students being active for an average of only sixteen minutes! This is nowhere near the recommended sixty minutes of physical exercise. Physical education has been pushed to the side while academics have been prioritised. P.E. classes have become overlooked by society as a whole. Students simply see it as a courses used only for socializing, or to avoid academic courses such as Algebra, Biology, and History. While teachers no longer encourage students to be active, this should not be the path in which we take physical education. The importance of exercise and physical activity goes beyond the classroom with is proven benefits in memory, cognition and attention which are skills that can be used for daily life activities. In recent times, many programs are popping up across the country to emphasize the importance of being active!

First, physical activity in school would help students to improve their rate of academic learning. Children who are physically active would perform, retain, absorb and pay attention better at school and home, than students who are out of shape. ‘A study, conducted by Bryan Mc Cullick, a kinesiology professor at the University of Georgia, examined all 50 of the United States and found six states where elementary schools followed recommended physical education at the middle school level, and no states had strong enough regulations at the high school level.” This

“The authors discuss the growing evidence that strenuous physical activity is not only healthy for the students, but improves their academic performance” (Sattelmair & Ratley, 2009). This article discusses physical education programs and relates it back to the importance of physical activity and cognition. This research suggests that traditional physical education is unnecessary, as they advocate for a program that “emphasizes cognitively, socially, and aerobically demanding activity on a daily basis, one that focuses on personal progress and lifelong fitness activities by encouraging models of physically strenuous play that are engaging, challenging, and enjoyable to students” (Sattelmair & Ratley, 2009). Research evidence is provided on physical education programs that are successful in the development of mental health in the

In today’s time, more than ever, it has become clear that schools in America are complacent with the amount, or lack thereof, of physical activity happening within their walls. Schools are placing academics above teaching children the necessities of caring for their bodies. While academics are obviously important, children still need to know the importance of looking after themselves, and using a class should be an absolute in school districts across the United States. This paper will explain the benefits of a physical education class, the grave aspects of physical inactivity, what schools can be doing to teach the children, and an opposing view on physical education

I believe that physical education and health give a unique opportunity to the students to contribute to the overall well-being and student’s development. As a teacher I believe that the most important things that I can teach my students is a love to be physically active because i believe that physical ability will affect every aspect of student’s life including their mental health, academic achievement, self-esteem, social competency and ability to function well in any environment. The purpose of physical education and health class is to provide the concepts of health and skill related fitness in order to create the student with continuous physically active that can promote the development of life long movers. Physical education and health

“Physical education hopes to accomplish, to engage all students, not just the athlete elite, in fun activities that will instill a lifelong commitment to fitness.” (Johnson, 264). Physical education in the classroom can be a vital steeping stone to the way that teenagers think about fitness. Lifelong fitness is something that everyone should be guaranteed, it mainly depends on the experience that a teenager has. Like many other subjects in school, the

Currently, kids in high schools are becoming fatter, slower, less intelligent and less motivated than past generations. We know that many teenagers would rather be sitting in front of a television than be doing something physically active. Teenagers believe they do not have enough time, opportunity and freedom to engage in physical activities. I believe the first way we can solve this issue is by starting in the high schools themselves, as students are able to receive an adequate among of exercise as well as receive guidance from instructors. In our society, physical education is only mandatory for one year, and I feel if the situation were reversed, fewer kids would be lacking physical exercise and our society of teenagers would be more active. Therefore, I feel that every student should be required to take a Physical Education class every year of high school because it promotes healthy living and makes students more well-rounded physically, mentally, and spiritually. Primarily, in our growing world, obesity is becoming more prevalent, and mandatory Physical Education classes would solve these problems and teach kids better strategies for living healthy lifestyles in both the present and future. In addition, Physical Education gives us more energy and increases our brain function which is known to help us in other subject areas. Finally, physical education is able to give teenagers skills necessary for social function such as valuable skills like communication and

The perspective of this paper is to develop a philosophy on physical education and then explain what kind of job we plan on having later on in life and relate physical education to that. The purpose for developing this philosophy is to try and get the most out of the people I’m working with on physical education, whether it is an adult or adolescent.

There is nothing more important than health, especially in this day and age. It’s concerning that only 29 percent of high school students surveyed by the CDC (2011) had participated in at least 60 minutes of physical activity on all seven days before the survey. The CDC also noted that only 31 percent of these high school students attended physical education class daily. Only 8 percent of elementary schools, 6.4 percent of middle schools, and 5.8 percent of high schools provide daily physical education to all of its students (SHPPS, 2000). The government is missing the fact that physical education can actually improve test scores, not the opposite.

In the modern schools, too many elementary schools are so centered academics and don’t focus on the well-being of the students. The school systems also don’t realize that physical activity can help students perform better in the classrooms. In the recent years, there has been a worldwide tendency to reduce school-based physical education in favor of academic subjects. Given the beneficial effects of exercise and the disadvantages of a sedentary lifestyle, cutbacks in physical education lessons are not near as productive as people think. Systematic reviews provide clear