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TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL: TO WALK
OR DRIVE?
by Tiffany
Quilter, graduate student, Central
Washington University
 It
is well known that more people in the
United States are becoming obese every
year (obesity
trends CDC). Children are also becoming
more obese and less physically active.
Physical educators have an opportunity to improve awareness and encourage healthy lifestyles.
Several studies have been conducted
to examine the relationship between
the built environment and physical activity
levels. The built environment is a combination
of our surroundings and how we perceive
those surroundings; including, sidewalks,
parks, trails, traffic safety, and neighborhood
aesthetics. Children should be encouraged
to use the built environment and increase
physical activity. This article will
discuss one way this can be done, through
"active" transport to and
from school.
The built environment is an invaluable
resource in promoting physical activity.
In many cases, sidewalks and trails
are already accessible for children
to use. According to a review article
by Giles-Corti and colleagues in 2009,
children are most likely to follow activity
patterns of their parents (1).
The authors describe adolescents to
be more independent in decisions about
using the built environment for physical
activity because they are able to make
safe assessments of their surroundings
and are beginning to form their own
patterns of physical activity (1).
For this reason it is very important
for parents and teachers to encourage
physical activity and educate children
and adolescents on how to use their
surroundings for increasing physical
activity.
Many students live close enough to
schools to be able to walk or ride their
bikes. However, it seems that an increasing
number of students are being driven,
or drive themselves to school. A study
conducted by Faulkner and colleagues
in Toronto, in 2010, evaluated the reasons
for the choice method of transportation
to and from school (2).
They found that parents generally made
the decision on how the child would
get to school. They also found two common
decision making questions: first "to
escort or not to escort," and second,
"to walk or drive?"
The common answer to the escort question
had to do with age or skill level of
the child, and how safe the environment
was perceived to be. The most common
answer to the specific mode choice was
efficiency. Time and ease were large
determining factors. It was interesting
to note that parents within and without
the school bus zones (1.6 km/1 mile)
commented that they didn't walk because
it was "too far." The authors
concluded that the increasing number
of children being driven to school is
a result of our cultural and social
patterns(2).
The issue of changing travel mode
is going to be difficult, but we can
take it one step at a time. My younger
brother made this comment when he was
in high school (he lived less than one
mile from his school): "I don't
want to ride my bike to school because
no one else does, and it is not coo."
I know that all of you have heard this
from students, whether it is riding
a bike or some other form of physical
activity. This thinking is not how it
should be.
Physical activity should be exciting
and encouraged. As physical educators
and fitness experts, we can encourage
physical activity by setting the example
ourselves. If your home is close enough
to your school, try to walk or ride
your bike whenever possible. Encourage
parents to give their children other
options for transportation to school.
If the parents are not comfortable sending
their kids to school alone, then encourage
them to walk or ride with the child.
This will also get the parents participating
in more physical activity.
I understand that many parents work
outside of the home, and walking to
school with children might not be possible.
In this case a "walking school
bus" route could be set up. A walking
school bus is a group of children,
usually accompanied by two or more adults,
walking together to school. Meet with
other parents in your neighborhood that
have children around the same age, or
that go to the same school. You can
set up a schedule between parents to
take turns walking with the children
to school. Set up "bus stops"
just like regular bus routes, and pick
up the children that are waiting.
Just like regular bus stops, if someone
is late to the stop, they will have
to find an alternate way to school;
this way the bigger group will not be
late to school. This idea will take
some planning and organizing. It will
also take a lot of responsibility on
all of the parents' part, but once the
program is established more people will
be interested and children and adults
will be getting more physical activity
every day.
In my neighborhood, there are enough
children that they fill up one whole
school bus. My neighborhood is exactly
half a mile from the middle school,
one mile from the elementary school,
and just over a mile to the high school.
I am pleased to say that I do see several
middle school students walking to school.
Most of the high school students drive
themselves, and a school bus picks up
the elementary students. The bus comes
to our neighborhood because the children
would have to cross a highway in order
to get to school. However, it only takes
me 15 minutes to walk to the elementary
school. I plan to walk my children to
school until they are old enough to
safely cross the highway on their own.
I understand that the safety of the
children needs to come first, but let's
all get out and be physically active
together!
A possible class activity, or homework
assignment, could be to have students
figure out how far they live from the
school, and what mode of physically
active transportation would be best.
Google has a mileage tool at geodistance.com
that your students could use to find
this information. I know that some students
are going to live too far away to be
able to use physical activity as a way
to get to school. You can encourage
them to suggest another way, besides
PE class, that they can incorporate
physical activity into their day.
References:
1. Giles-Corti B, Kelty SF, Zubrick
SR, Villanueva KP. Encouraging walking
for transport and physical activity
in children and adolescents: how important
is the built environment? Sports Med
2009;39(12):995-1009.
2.
Faulkner GE, Richichi V, Buliung RN,
Fusco C, Moola F. What's "quickest
and easiest?": parental decision
making about school trip mode. Int J
Behav Nutr Phys Act 2010;7(1):62.
Tiffany is currently an Exercise Science
graduate student at Central Washington
University. She also coaches the throwers
on the track team at Moses Lake High
School. She received a Bachelor of Science
in Exercise Science from Central Washington
University while also competing on the
track team. She is married, and has
one beautiful daughter that keeps her
busy. She hopes to be able to make a
difference in the world by encouraging
physical activity and promoting healthy
lifestyles through modification of,
and education about, our built and natural
environments.
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