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Welcome to April's edition of PELINKS4U. Thanks to all of you who
took the time to visit the PELINKS4U booth at the New Orleans AAHPERD
convention. Our "No Child Left on Their Behind" buttons
proved a major hit among convention participants. In three days
more than 2000 buttons were given away and in the first morning
the 50 T-shirts we brought with this logo were gone.
AAHPERD featured many outstanding sessions and we're planning to
invite selected presenters to share their information in future
editions of PELINKS4U. One of the great advantages of the web is
the ability to share not just written articles but also slides and
photos. Be sure to check back over the next few months to enjoy
some of these excellent presentations.
Of most interest to me at this year's AAHPERD were several sessions
that connected children's health, physical activity, community collaboration
and environmental design. It's clear that physical educators alone
cannot hope to halt the obesity epidemic. Physical educators cannot
work harder. However we can and must work smarter by collaborating
with others who share our concerns.
Dr. William Dietz from the CDC noted how communities were becoming
increasingly disconnected. He was referring to environmental planning
(construction) that resulted in decreased physical activity and
increased driving. Rather than connecting neighborhoods, its become
increasingly popular to isolate families along dead-end streets.
These streets offer safe havens for young children to play. Unfortunately,
when these youngsters reach about 9 and no longer want to play in
streets, they now live too far away to walk or ride bicycles to
local parks or playgrounds. And schools often located within a short
direct distance now demand a long circuitous journey unlikely to
be traveled by foot or bike.
Some community efforts to counter decreased physical activity include
"Walk-to-School" programs and "Walking School Buses."
We can only hope that these catch on more as parents become concerned
about their children's health. Perhaps we can also add school bus
drop-off zones located a reasonable walking distance from schools,
and road closures around schools that prevent vehicular traffic
from decreasing the air quality next to school playgrounds.
As a profession we need to move faster to refocus both our goals
and language on improving physical activity and nutrition rather
than promoting exercise and diet. Exercise (and fitness for that
matter) and diet have clearly negative connotations. We cannot effectively
motivate children to stay healthy by promoting exercise or diet.
In contrast, participating in physical activity and making healthy
food choices is something children of all abilities can do and feel
good doing it.
Despite the urgency to halt the obesity epidemic we shouldn't expect
fast changes. Dr. Dietz compared the challenge we now face to that
faced more than 30 years ago with smoking. First there needs to
be a greater awareness of the health threat. Then as initiatives
are proposed to counter the threat, positive changes will occur
slowly at first and then faster.
As physical educators, perhaps our most urgent challenge is to resolve
what Dr. Thomas McKenzie referred to at the AAHPERD convention as
the "muddled mission" of physical education. Too often,
physical education is promoted as a panacea for almost all of the
ills facing today's youth. While it may be true that PE can indeed
impact children physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually,
it's clearly not going to happen in the hour a week (at elementary
school) or hour a day (in middle and secondary schools) that students
currently spend in physical education.
"Together we can lead the way" was this year's AAHPERD
Convention slogan. As professionals dedicated to promoting health
and active lifestyles, now is a good time to reflect on our mission
and on the connections we need to make to truly impact the lives
of the children we serve.
Steve Jefferies
Central Washington University
Publisher PELINKS4U
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