state mandated physical education Options

[*Statues/Shadows*]

There are some ridiculously disturbing things going on in Georgia's legislature right now. Most significantly, the senate is this week voting to pass a bill that would in essense ELIMINATE MUSIC EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, effective NEXT YEAR. What bill could possibly be worth this?

One mandating 30 minutes of Phys Ed daily for grades K-5; 45 minutes daily for grades 6-8, apparently.

If this bill were to pass, schools would be required not only to make time each day for this (time which they would get from fine arts classes, since acedemics coiuldn't be sacrificed), but also have to hire more PE staff (the funding from which would come from those same "less necessary" classes' staff). Because of these cutbacks, the only accommodation being made to arts programs is the allowance of beginning level courses TWO DAYS A WEEK STARTING IN THE 7TH GRADE. This is later a year or two less playing and 2/5 the actual classes than most schools have now. No band or orchestra can be successful under these conditions.

Currently, there have been 42 yeas and 7 nays (assuming I read things right. To be honest, some stuff on the page kind of confuses me, so I might not be.)

http://www.ciprg.com/ss/legdb_detail.asp?C...ssa&L_ID=170559

Is there any f**king way that this is at all fair? Or rather, to make this more debatable, are there really any conditions that would make this law beneficial? What do young students actually get out of PE that would be so much better for them then persuing their educational interests?

[Herizon Action]

Physical education in and of itself is not a bad thing. Given the obesity problem in America, teaching kids the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and fitness is not a bad thing at all, and I think it's good to see kids being active on a daily basis—everyone should get at least thirty minutes of exercise a day.

It's unfortunate, though, that it might come at the expense of other school activities, such as the arts. Such is the trend in many American schools. But I'd wait to see what cuts are planned to make room for this possible regulation before worrying over something that may or may not happen. Organizations often find ways to make room for the new without cutting out too much of the old.

I agree with you very well on this topic. THe fact that America is on its way to be the most "fattest" country in the world shows that the future generation is already a valid excuse to impliment physical education classes.

Well, it wouldn't affect me, regardless, but everyone was freaking out over it because it very well could happen. my band director spoke to various other band directors and principals from around the state recently, and they'd already looked at what they'd have to do to get around it, and that's where the 2 days a week thing came in, as a best case senario.

The point is, although the idea of physical activity itself is not bad, why would it be so worthwhile as to destroy things that might actually be of interest to people? School's generally loathesome enough already; three's no need to make it worse. While it should not of course have to cater to every student interest, to to decide that one things is significantly more important than others is not fair, because it's completely biased torwards he althletic kids. Other people need to develop their interests too, and not all of us have any talent at all for running around with balls. Making kids resent PE will not make them decide that they want to spend their lives excersizing daily just because it's healthy, and it won't do much good either, if the kids just go home every night and eat fast food. Other skills will actually stick with you, and help you grow intellectually. Being able to run in circles, not so much.

Besides which, to balance that out, they need to give high schoolers some f**king naptime. I didn't need it when I was little, but it';d improve both my mental and physical health now. if they're really that concerned for kids' physiques, they should try keeping that in mind too. if study hall is a waste of time in a place of learning, then extra PE definitely is.

And Sunkissed, I consider marching a very physical activity too (hey, I lose 5 pounds every band camp), but we don't actually march during school hours, though I still think it should count as a PE credit.

Well, Physical Education isn't always about going to the gym to run and play with shit. In my school district, we have to take a health class that fits under Phys. Ed. and a foundations for a personal lifestyle class as well that gives us a basic understanding of the human body and what we need to do in order to stay fit and healthy. What's the difference between that and health? Health teaches us what we need to know about the body, and the foundations class teaches us how to keep our body healthy. After those two courses, we have to take two more credits of Physical activity classes.

Well at my school marching is during school hours, so I think that it should definatly cound as a PE cred.....ughhh legislature sucks lol

It does in our Distrit.

do you know how many kids go to school without even excersizing? better yet..do you know how many kids are fat?
i think its fair.

A lot of kids.

and that matters because...? School isn't for excersizing. If they're okay with being fat, leave them the hell alone. If they really want to change, they'll do it themselves. Some things have to be taught, hence having classes for them in school; running and throwing things, not to much. Plus, I'm willing to bet the drastically overweight people won't put a great lot of effort into it, or else they would be excersizing additionally. It's not fair to stop teaching something to make time for an inherent ability.

That's like looking at your own child and saying "if you're okay with being stupid, then i'll leave you alone." Generally, obese people have...less motor skills than most people because of certain obscure physical proportion, and obesity is an epidemic in this country. Also,

. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including the following:

* Hypertension
* Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
* Type 2 diabetes
* Coronary heart disease
* Stroke
* Gallbladder disease
* Osteoarthritis
* Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
* Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

As I mentioned before, there are classes that fit under Phys. Ed. that DO teach you the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle, but I'm not sure if your school has it.

Yes, kids are becoming obese, but it's pretty much their fault and their parents.

Their parents are the ones who are supposed to teach kids how to eat & exersize correctly, and as kids become older they make their own decisions on what they eat & how they exercise.

Therefore, I think kids should have a choice on if they want to take P.E/Athletics/do sports.

School is supposed to teach you, so it does include teaching you how to eat & "exersize" (ugh. EXERCISE,NOT EXERSIZE! I'm sorry, I just had to point it out. I read it like twelve billion times.)


You're right about physical education not having to take away from other subjects, but you know, it's really because of you and your fellow classmates' careless health behavior. You might not be fat, and you're right, you shouldn't be affected by this at all, but I don't think
Georgia's legislature goes around to every student to check their health and see what's fit for them. They're not rich enough.
And also, you don't need to go to school to learn art and music either. You should be greatful to even have a music/art program.
I don't think Da vinci went to his public school to learn art!
If you want any change, you better come up with a better solution to the obesity problem. Otherwise, stick with it.