WELCOME

Welcome to the February edition of pelinks4u. Please be sure to check out the seven new and original articles featured in this month's issue. Topics include:

1. IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN RURAL SCHOOLS
2. WHY TEACH HEART HEALTHY ONLY IN FEBRUARY?
3. COACHING AND SPORT
4. OBESITY AND THE ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT
5. A BETTER COMPETITION FOR OUR YOUTH
6. CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT OF POSITIVE EXPECTANCY FOR YOUR ATHLETES AND TEAMS
7. SICKLE-CELL DISEASE AND RHABDOMYOLYSIS: EXERCISE RISKS

It's now less than two months to the annual AAHPERD convention in San Diego and the PE2020 Forum. If you will be in San Diego, please participate in the Forum and help plan the future for physical education. If you can't be there, be sure to add your thoughts to the plan that emerges from the Forum. Also, if you haven't yet contributed your personal vision there's still time: www.pe2020.org. We have close to 2000 visions already posted, and would love to exceed 2020.

I'm also pleased to share that pelinks4u is a supporter of the new Let's Move in School initiative. Designed to complement the First Lady's Let's Move campaign, LMIS is focused on partnering with groups interested in expanding opportunities for students to be physically active before, during, and after school.

And finally, last month Jack LaLanne, one of the pioneering figures of the 20th century fitness movement passed away at age 97. LaLanne's philosophy about good nutrition and exercise is worth quoting:

"Living is a pain in the butt. Dying is easy. It's like an athletic event. You've got to train for it. You've got to eat right. You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take out. Exercise is king and nutrition is queen: together, you have a kingdom."

LaLanne was famous for remarkable fitness feats. In 1984 (age 70), handcuffed, shackled, and fighting strong winds and currents, LaLanne towed 70 rowboats, one with several guests, from the Queen's Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary, a distance of 1 mile. If you are looking for inspiration, read more online about this truly amazing individual.

ARTICLE INTRODUCTIONS:

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN RURAL SCHOOLS
Rural schools face unique challenges regarding their physical education programs. Inadequate curriculum, untrained teachers, meager program support and a whole host of other challenges can hinder the physical education experience for students. With the increased awareness concerning the importance of physical education and health, more steps are being taken in order to bring a higher level of physical education to rural communities. Nick Cutforth and Elaine Belansky describe a new, exciting, collaborative project being conducted in Colorado’s San Luis Valley between physical education teachers, community health specialists, and a group of university researchers.

WHY TEACH HEART HEALTHY ONLY IN FEBRUARY?
Every February heart health receives special attention. But elementary physical education teacher, and regular pelinks4u author Tom Winiecki, wonders why physical educators would want to promote healthy hearts only one month a year! The same is true with fitness testing. Fitness tests give students feedback about their physical abilities. However, the goal of physical education is not to prepare students for fitness tests, but rather to prepare them to live a healthy lifestyle past their years in public education. In this article, Tom reminds us that much of want we want our students to learn in physical education should be taught continuously throughout the year, and not reserved for special occasions.

COACHING AND SPORT
The issue of drugs in our public schools is a major concern that is constantly present. Student athletes, as well as those students who don't participate in extracurricular activities, need leadership from both school personnel as well as parents as to how to handle situations concerning drugs. Coaches, athletic directors, teachers, and parents all have opportunities to help students, through activities and discussions, to think about appropriate choices when it comes to drugs. Regular pelinks4u contributor Deborah Cadorette, and Dusty Oates, a high school athletic director from South Carolina, share advice and resources for educating student athletes about the dangers of drug use.

OBESITY AND THE ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT
Overweight and obesity are growing concerns in the physical education environment. Authors Phillip Conatser and Chris Ledingham explain that with the increase in obesity rates, physical education teachers need to become more aware of adaptive physical activities to accommodate the unique physical and emotional needs of overweight or obese students. When these students with special needs are unable to participate in the general activities they should not be overlooked. Instead, specialized activities need to be selected in order to offer those students the same physical education opportunities enjoyed by other students.

A BETTER COMPETITION FOR OUR YOUTH
In this intriguing reexamination of the meaning of "competition," author John Strong introduces us to the concept of "true competition." In contrast to the traditional view of competition that focuses on attempting to conquer an opponent, a different view of competition offers a more productive means to self-improvement. Instead of creating rivalries between students, competition can be structured as a means for students to make improvements together. This mind set has the potential to keep students better engaged in their physical education classes and provides students with more skill and fitness learning opportunities.

CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT OF POSITIVE EXPECTANCY FOR YOUR ATHLETES AND TEAMS
Young people excel when given plenty of encouragement and affirmation. As an Athletic Director, responsible for 18 middle schools and 14 high schools in Greenville, South Carolina, Bill Utsey routinely sees the different environments his student athlete are exposed to. Bill believes that through manipulating the teaching and coaching environment, leaders can provide their students a wide variety of positive learning experiences. By taking these opportunities to impact athletes, coaches and athletic directors can change the lives of athletes. Don't miss Bills practical coaching tips and suggestions.

SICKLE-CELL DISEASE AND RHABDOMYOLYSIS: EXERCISE RISKS
Exercise is highly beneficial for virtually all people, but when taken to extremes, especially in individuals with special risk factors, exercise can become dangerous. A well-known, but often underestimated risk factor is sickle-cell anemia, which is exacerbated by exercise and can lead to death. In this article, Katie Olson introduces readers to the signs and symptoms of two diseases. Olson emphasizes that prior knowledge about these diseases, and pre-screening, will help prepare teachers and coaches to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences.

EDITORIAL:

As I write its no pleasure to report that House Bill 1025, now under review in the Washington State Legislature, proposes to cut the requirement for school districts to offer K-8 physical education. If passed, it would give school districts the right to create their own policy "regarding access to nutritious foods and opportunities for developmentally appropriate exercise." I doubt it will pass, not much does these days, but this news does reflect the sorry state of affairs public school physical education too often finds itself in today.

How far would a proposal to eliminate English as a required school subject go among state legislators? How about math? Nowhere. It would be viewed as absurd. Voters would question their representatives' sanity. In today's world students obviously need reading, writing, and math skills. But why so obvious? It's not as if there's something students have to read as adults. There's nothing they have to compute. People around the world can, and do, get by without these skills as they have for centuries throughout the history of civilization. So why are they so important today?

I'm guessing it's due to a belief that these skills will enhance the quality of our children's lives. Sure, they can live perfectly well without them. But they will live a lot better with them. Reading, writing, and mathematics are a vital part of becoming "educated" which itself isn't an end, but rather a means to an end. Educated children possess knowledge and skills that improve the quality of their lives. Education prepares them to be productive and successful future citizens.

What about physical education? Why don't we see the same public support?

Every year, in some state or in some school district, physical education is threatened with being cut. Maybe it begins with someone who had a bad personal physical education experience as a child? But if so, why do 'PE cutting proposals' gather so much support? It's tempting, but naïve, to believe that physical education detractors are all fools. They aren't. Which begs the question, "Why do people of above average intelligence, who are concerned about education, believe that students would be better off without school physical education?" Is it true, as circus owner P.T. Barnum reportedly said, that you can fool some of the people all of the time? What's scary is the thought that these repetitious efforts to cut physical education might reflect a different, but more insidious threat, to our professional future.

Amazingly, PE cutting efforts go on when almost daily we learn more about the negative consequences of sedentary living. And I don't just refer to physical health. It's becoming clearer that people who don't move enough suffer all sorts of undesirable social, emotional, intellectual, financial, and yes - physical and health consequences. But just for a moment, thinking only about health care, it's clear the nation is headed for economic catastrophe - total derailment - if we don't regroup and focus on wellness rather than sickness; prevention instead of treatment. Does this mean we all need to do a much better job justifying physical education as the solution to our health malaise? Maybe. But maybe that's only part of the problem. Is the problem the message or the messengers?

What about the possibility that the public understands the threats of sedentary and unhealthy living, realizes that something must be done, but just doesn't see school physical education as the solution? And why should they? Where's the evidence justifying physical education's place in our public schools? At best it's weak. Think about it. What if our pleas to be taken seriously were, well… taken seriously? Maybe it's lucky that no one really listens to us. If they did they might ask for more than anecdotal evidence.

In contrast, it's easy to justify teaching math. When was the last time anyone questioned requiring math in the school curriculum? Examples of math skills and knowledge are easy to articulate. Math is generally viewed, not just as worthwhile, but as essential. The same is true with language and literature. It doesn't matter where you learn them or who the teacher is; reading, writing, and math skills are identifiable, assessable, reportable, and comparable. And assess and study these outcomes, we do.

Not so with physical education. What do students learn in physical education? Rarely can we visit two neighboring schools and identify the skills in common that kids in both schools are learning. In fact, in most places we can't even watch classes taught by two different teachers in the same school and see consistent learning outcomes. Forget even thinking about being able to explain the learning occurring in an entire school district's program, or physical education in different cities - much less an entire state, region, or country. Sadly, that's a huge impediment to us being taken seriously.

We are convinced that what we do is worthwhile, even if it looks very different from the next person, but we struggle to convince others. Are we deluding ourselves? Acting like the Emperor who, convinced he is wearing some fine new clothes, parades around naked in the famous Hans Christian Anderson tale? Why can't others see our importance? What's wrong with them? Like trying to explain something to non-English speakers. In frustration we may talk louder, when it's not their hearing that's the problem.

Jo Anne Owens-Nauslar, former AAHPERD President, has many times challenged us to recognize that "If the horse is dead, dismount." Instead, we persist with the same inconsistent messages. Only when it's too late - threatened with extinction - do we realize we have a problem. Often it's too late. We try laboriously to backtrack. We implore for continuance. Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we fail. But then the story repeats itself as it has done for decades. Can we delay the inevitable? What's to be done?

Well first, we've got to sort out in our own minds where we are going with physical education, and why. Twice weekly, or even daily, physical education classes aren't going to solve obesity. Heck, they aren't even going to keep most children from becoming increasingly slothful and moderately tubby. PE classes are not the solution to getting kids to meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Neither are we going to improve scores in math and reading by making kids count and read task cards in the gym. That just decreases their physical activity.

Sadly, physical education classes also aren't going to develop character traits such as ethics, leadership, honesty, etc., without a whole lot more class focus on these objectives. Classes that consist of kids playing games of basketball might develop some interesting characteristics, but they sure won't lead to the kind of positive personality development many people believe is possible through physical education and sports. And we know that 3-week skills units are no way to develop competent and confident skillful movers or game players. Unfortunately, solid evidence supporting the justification for including physical education in our public schools is elusive at best. Truthfully, unlike English or math teachers, we can't stand in front of our detractors and prove them wrong. In honesty we probably don't even want to try, because like the Emperor we risk our nakedness being publicly revealed.

It's depressing, but not hopeless. Our future is in our hands. We do have a choice. We can continue with the status quo and simply anticipate annually hearing about, and fighting, physical education program cuts. Because, let there be no doubt, that's what's going to happen. Everything about today's educational trends suggests accountability is not going away. If we choose to continue along the same path of waiting then reacting to threatened program cuts, we need to quit whining. We need to quit feigning surprise. It will continue unabated, because in fact it is a quite reasonable question for anyone to ask, "What is it that you do?" and then follow up with "Where is the evidence?"

Imagine if private businesses ran school physical education programs. You don't think school administrators and the taxpaying public would expect these commercial groups to prove their effectiveness?

In trying to justify physical education we overlook the obvious. We are too quick to grasp onto the latest fads and fashions. Obesity a problem? Physical education to the rescue. Want to improve academic scores? Physical activity will help brain development. Want better people? Give them more character-building team games. Have we all forgotten why WE fell in love with physical education? It wasn't to lose weight, get smarter, or to become leaders. It was because we loved games and sports and physical activities. It's that simple.

We loved to move. It made us happy. It connected us with the world, with our brains, and with our developing bodies. There was no final goal. There was no specific outcome. It was the journey that delighted us, and helped us to become healthy, happy, and productive citizens. The process of becoming physically educated was important for our human development.

The end. No further justification needed. But how to explain this to others? Ah, that's the question that needs answering.

Steve Jefferies, publisher
pelinks4u