Thursday, November 7, 2013
Response to "How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success"
Well this shouldn't be a surprise to most educators, it is something that has been popping up in the news quite frequently. Physical education, fitness, activity, etc. seems to have a positive correlation with success in school. Thus, this is the argument most physical educators push for when PE is eliminated from schools. My school has students run or exercise 10 minutes before a standardized test, because studies have show exercise helps brain activity. While we may not know exactly what types of activity specifically help aid learning it is important we understand the correlation between physical activity and learning. Many of the teachers at my school participate in Brain Breaks 1 or 2 times a day because our students only receive 1 day of PE a week. Not only are brain breaks a good way to stimulate learning they also get some of that excess energy out that may impede learning!
Reynolds, G. (2013, September 18). How physical fitness may promote school success. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/how-physical-fitness-may-promote-school-success/?_r=0
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Alexander, I can't believe your students get only 1 day of PE each week. What are we doing to our children? It is a proven fact that a healthy body and mind go together, and have outstanding results on both sides. I truly believe that being fit can make you smarter and that exercising regularly clears your mind, helps you handle stress and improves thinking abilities.
ReplyDeleteWow Alexandra, that is awesome that your school has student's exercise prior to standardized testing! I have not heard of that but that is such a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI teach at a community college and while I encourage my student's to exercise throughout our rigorous and stressful program, I never thought to actually "make" them do it prior to a final exam or especially their national boards. This is something I will definitely think about incorporating.
I also think it's just crazy that they are thinking about taking physical education out of the curriculum. Especially, with the increasing numbers of childhood obesity. I think PE should be a required class daily, even if it's just for a half hour or if they replace one recess with an instructed PE class. This is a whole other topic itself and I could probably go on for days :)
Thanks for the good read :)