Rep. Megan Rochelo’s bill to increase physical education in elementary schools, LD 1280, is a well-intentioned but misplaced effort that we believe should be rejected.
The bill would set up a pilot program to increase physical education in four of Maine’s elementary schools, in an effort to improve students’ health and their academic performance. Our question is, “Where will schools find the time?”
As a nation, we simply do not have more time in the school week for students to waste learning how to kick around a ball when they could be learning vital skills that will help them become leaders, from picking up another language to mastering multiplication.
Yes, statistics show that Maine second-grade students have less time in physical education than the national average and it’s widely known that childhood ”“ and adult ”“ obesity is a problem. Physical activity has been shown to improve health, concentration and behavior, and we are not arguing any of those points.
However, in the real world, despite the fact that it would supposedly benefit productivity, companies do not prescribe a period where employees are encouraged to give the monkey bars a try or run around a track. Many employers do, however, offer insurance incentives for people who use their gym memberships or refrain from smoking, thereby encouraging physical activity on the person’s own time.
School should be the same: A place for students to concentrate on their work while they’re on “company time” and get their exercise in afterward. The school day isn’t even eight hours long and includes a lunch break and, for the little ones, a recess period during which they can get some energy out. Breaks are important and so is a recess period for very young students, who simply don’t have the attention span for a full day’s worth of study. But as far as we’re concerned, 36 minutes each week is plenty of time for themto learn the rules of volleyball or the finer points of shooting a basket.
Physical education should not be a priority when American students are falling behind in math and science and often have trouble writing a grammatically correct and properly spelled sentence in this age of texting and email.
Too much of a burden is being placed on schools to be everything to everyone. Schools exist to teach our children the basics so they can be productive citizens when they grow up. The school day should focus on reading, writing, math, science, history and other relevant subjects that provide students with the skills necessary to get a job and contribute to society intelligently when they grow up. Especially with today’s technology, students must be instructed in various computer programs and their applications, along with all of the basic subjects.
After-school recreation programs and at-home play are the place to focus on physical activity, not during the school day, which is already filled to the brim with the many courses students will need to complete to get along in the world of tomorrow.
Though Rochelo’s goal of helping to decrease obesity rates in youth is laudable, we would caution against putting further burdens on our school system ”“ especially ones that will not contribute to American students competing globally.
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Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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