Physical Education at School
School-based physical education is an important part of your child's fitness routine. The type of instruction she receives can instill either a lifelong love or an intense dislike of regular exercise. With any luck, she'll be guided by teachers who look at phys ed as an opportunity for nurturing each child's individual strengths, regardless of their skill level. Physical education should be fun. It should challenge without overwhelming and demonstrate why regular exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
Statistically, the amount of strenuous physical activity your child gets will drop dramatically as he reaches adolescence. The Surgeon General reports that nearly half of young people between the ages of twelve and twenty-one years of age are not vigorously active. Making fitness a focus at school during this time could help ensure that older children get the daily exercise they need. Yet national surveys show that schools loosen their requirements for participation in physical education significantly as children move past elementary school and into upper grade levels.
Is Phys Ed Making the Grade?
In the year 2000, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released the results of their School Health Policies and Program Studies (SHPPS), a nationwide assessment of physical education, nutrition, and health education practices in U.S. schools. The SHPPS found that only 8 percent of elementary schools, 6.4 percent of middle or junior high schools, and 5.8 percent of senior high schools provide daily physical education or its equivalent — 150 minutes per week for elementary schools, and 225 minutes per week for junior and senior high schools — throughout the school year for all grade levels.
According to the SHPPS, 16.7 percent of elementary schools, 25.3 percent of middle or junior high schools, and 40 percent of senior high schools allow students to opt out of physical education courses completely if they meet specific requirements. This might include testing high on physical fitness exams, participating in community service, signing up for alternate approved coursework, taking vocational education, or participating in school sports.
According to the Surgeon General's Physical Activity and Health Report, less than one quarter (19 percent) of all high school students are physically active for twenty minutes or more, five days a week, in physical education classes. On average, daily enrollment in physical education classes dropped from 42 percent to 25 percent among high school students between 1991 and 1995.
As children grow older, the problem only gets worse. While about half of elementary schools require their students to take physical education, that number drops dramatically in middle and high school. By twelfth grade, phys ed participation has plummeted to a dismal 5.4 percent.
Grade |
Percentage |
Grade |
Percentage |
K |
39.7% |
7 |
26.2% |
1 |
50.6% |
8 |
25.1% |
2 |
50.5% |
9 |
13.3% |
3 |
51.3% |
10 |
9.5% |
4 |
51.5% |
11 |
5.8% |
5 |
50.4% |
12 |
5.4% |
6 |
32.2% |
Standards and Abilities
How much physical education instruction your child receives, and the content and quality of that instruction, is determined at the state or district level. Your local board of education can provide details on the guidelines for your area.
The National Association for Sport and Physical Education has developed national standards for physical education instruction from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Some districts use these standards as a benchmark for their physical education programs, and many educators use them to guide class curriculum. The 2004 standards call for the following:
At least sixty minutes, and up to several hours, of physical activity daily (at school and away).
Limiting extended periods of inactivity (of two hours or more) during the day.
Exposing youngsters to a wide variety of age-appropriate physical activities daily.
Teaching children skills that are aimed at achieving lifelong healthy lifestyles and physical fitness.
Encouraging self-monitoring of fitness so youngsters can see how active they are and set their own goals.
Individualizing activity intensity based on each child's needs.
Encouraging children to explore their unique physical talents.
Nurturing character traits that foster good decision-making for children's health and well-being.
Making Positive Changes
Unfortunately, when money is tight in school districts, the first funding cuts are usually in physical education and the arts. Considering the already insufficient time spent on fitness in most schools and the growing problem of inactivity and excess weight in American children, further reductions in phys ed funding can be devastating to the student body in a very literal sense.
You can also contribute your time and talents to your child's school. Volunteer to spearhead active student outings, such as developing a garden on school grounds, having a bike or skating safety event, or offering a fitness expo. Chapter 19 has more information on encouraging your child's school to provide adequate opportunities for physical fitness.
Parents can make a difference, however. Educate yourself on the physical education policies and funding realities in your school district. Let your child's school principal and other educators know that you support physical education in the schools, and attend your local school board meetings, as well as parent-teacher organization meetings. Encourage both educators and parents to investigate state and private grant opportunities that may fund physical education equipment or pilot programs. Finally, take your concerns to the political arena. Write your state and local representatives in support of increased physical education funding for your area schools. (See Appendix B for advocacy, legislative, and policy resources.)
