The Crisis In Physical Education

By Judy Molland


 


Overweight, Less-Active Kids Fuel Movement to Revamp Phys-Ed Class


 
“What did you do in gym class today, dear?”
yle="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Nowadays, asking your child that question is likely to produce the response, “Not much,” or even “We don’t have phys ed this year!”


yle="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Across the nation, parents, educators and health experts are becoming increasingly concerned about the high cost of allowing our young people to become sedentary.


Why all the concern? These statistics, from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), speak for themselves:



• Participation in physical activity declines as children get older: 69 percent of ninth graders take part in regular, vigorous physical activity, while only 55 percent of 12th graders do.



• The percentage of students attending a daily physical education class has dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 28 percent in 2003. In fact, only 8 percent of elementary school, 6.4 percent of middle schools and 5.8 percent of high schools provide daily physical education or an equivalent.



• PE requirements in U.S. public schools have been decreasing for more than two decades.


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