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PE in Public Education
Josh Jensen
In recent discussions of physical education in public schools, a controversial
issue has been whether or not it should be included in public education. On the one
hand, some argue that it is essential to help fight the obesity epidemic. From this
perspective you can see how physical education should be required in all public
schools because it leads to a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, however, others
argue that physical education should not be included in public education because
the programs are inefficient and therefore a waste of money. According to this view,
physical education is not well organized and produces minimal results. In sum, then,
the issue is whether or not physical education should be included in public
education.
Obesity in kids ages 6-11 has increased from 4.5% in 1968 (Cawley 61) to
about 18% in 2012 (CDC n.p.). There are several factors causing this. Kids are now
more sedentary than they have ever been. Television, video games, and snacking are
partially responsible for such increases, and the need for more exercise is obvious.
However, it should be considered whether or not that exercise should come during
school time. There has been a huge push in academics and trying to revise the
education system for public schools ever since the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act,
and with that push schools have started focusing more on class time and educating
children rather than allowing them more playtime. While motivating schools to a
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higher level of education is a step in the right direction, schools are taking time away
from recess and using it for more class time. Only 19% of public schools have an
actual recess policy; 64% of public schools do not have a recess policy; and 17% do
have a policy but is limited to less than 20 minutes (Rochman n.p.).
When it comes to the topic of sports, most of us will readily agree that they
are beneficial for your health and that we all need to exercise in order to avoid major
health problems later on in life. Some of the benefits include lower blood pressure,
weight regulation, it combats heart conditions, boosts energy, improves mood, and
promotes better sleep (CDC). However, the main complaint against having PE in
public schools is that the programs are ineffective. Students, according to a study
done by Cornwell University, only get 16 minutes of exercise a day during PE class
(Cawley 64). So what are they doing with all of that other time? If kids are to get the
amount of exercise they need and PE is trying to supply that then there is a serious
problem if kids are only getting 16 minutes of exercise every day.
The call to remove public education based solely off the fact that the
programs are ineffective seems like a bad solution. Why not just call for a revision of
the PE program? This brings up another issue. How big of a role should public
education take on for children? Should we put public schools in charge of not only
the academic portion but also teaching children about good lifestyle habits? How
much should schools be in charge of teaching children? This is a difficult question to
answer because there are so many controversial views. A lot of parents are against
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religion being taught in schools because people have differing opinions on religion,
and this can be applied to any subject in school like sex education. Some parents
would prefer to teach their kids at home because they have a different opinion on
what should be taught in schools, so they decide to take that responsibility upon
themselves. Many people say that schools should be more conservative while others
are all for having schools teach their kids everything. One solution could be to allow
children to choose what to learn about in schools. Maybe they should be allowed to
choose whether to participate in PE or not, but if children can choose not to
participate in PE class, why shouldn’t they be allowed to choose whether or not to
learn about grammar or math skills? This point focuses much more on the purpose
of public schooling, what counts as a suitable subject to study, and what the role of
