PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE NEWS
(September, 2000)

Memorandum from the President: Enhancing Efforts to Promote the Health of Young People

"I direct the Secretaries of Education and Health & Human Services to identify and report back to me within 90 days on strategies to promote better health for our Nation’s youth through physical activity and fitness, including promoting the renewal of physical education in our schools, as well as the expansion of after-school programs that offer physical activities and sports in addition to enhanced academics and cultural activities."

President William J. Clinton (June 23, 2000)

Fat for Life? Six Million Kids Are Seriously Overweight. What Families Can Do.

"Recess and physical education are vanishing from the schools’ standard curriculum. The consequences are getting serious." Newsweek (July 3, 2000)

Getting Physical: Exercising Our Demons: Sedentary Lifestyles and Fatty Foods Leave Americans Overweight and Unhealthy

By David Satcher, M.D., Surgeon General

"I am alarmed by the steady trend we have seen over the last two decades toward decreasing physical education requirements in public schools across the country. We need to create environments where healthy lifestyles are as easy to adopt as unhealthy ones. It’s going to take more than individual efforts to bring about this kind of change. Efforts must be based at the community level, including school programs. If we do not require physical education in our schools, if playgrounds and parks are not safe to play in, if adults don’t organize children’s sports activities, children will be physically inactive."

Atlanta Journal Constitution Editorial Page (March 15, 2000)

Can School PE Make Fitter Kids?

School physical education (PE) after years of relative neglect in favor of other subjects, is gaining new attention in the face of increasing obesity and inactivity among children. Educators and healthcare leaders are working to make PE more engaging, inclusive, and health-oriented. At the same time they are stepping up efforts to ensure that all students have adequate instructional time in PE classes each week."

The Physician and Sportsmedicine (December 1999)

The "New" Phys. Ed

"Many schools are adding innovative activities to their curriculums to get kids to exercise. The "New PE" expands on traditional activities–basketball and softball-by adding novel ones such as in-line skating, biking and aerobics."

Women’s Day (May 9, 2000)

The New PE

"Children who are physically fit do better in school. That’s a statement we can make," said Carl Gabbard, NASPE President. "Physical activity doesn’t make students smarter, but they’re more alert and they concentrate better. That we know. However, parents in general appear to have the feeling that their children get fit naturally. They think all children are fit and active. But what they perceive and what’s correct aren’t the same."

USA Today (May 2, 2000)

Gym Class Struggle

"Good gym classes don’t just happen. Teachers make them happen. Kids want to have their love of play validated. That’s what good gym classes do."

Sports Illustrated (April 24, 2000)

US Schoolchildren Lack Daily Exercise

"Many US schools no longer offer daily physical education, despite the fact that the vast majority of parents want such programs fore their youngsters in elementary, middle or high schools, according to results of a new survey sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education."

Reuters Health Service (March 22, 2000)

Physical Education: Should It Be in the Core Curriculum?

"Young children need to learn to be physically active in their daily lives, establishing a foundation in their early years that can influence a lifetime of behavior. The primary goal of a quality physical education program is to develop the physically educated person through a program of developmentally appropriate activities and concepts. Participation in a quality program not only improves overall physical health and motor skill competence, it enhances self-esteem, as well as personal and social responsibility. "

Principal Magazine (December 1999)

U.S. Marine Corps Support for Physical Education

"The U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC, supports the National Association for Sport and Physical Education’s effort to ensure a balanced education for young Americans. America’s educators must build strength of mind while ensuring strength of body in their students."

United States Marine Corps Press Release (March 17, 2000)

Study: Teens Need More Exercise

"Schools need more mandatory physical education classes and parents need to unplug TVs and video games, say researchers who concluded that most young Americans, particularly blacks and females, are far too sedentary. The nationwide study of adolescent physical activity was conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina and published in the June issue of Pediatrics Magazine."

Associated Press Wire Service (June 6, 2000)

Senate Bill Wants P.E. Back in Nation’s Schools

The Physical Education for Progress Act (PEP), introduced by Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), would provide $400 million in grants over five years for local school districts to develop minimum weekly and daily physical education programs, fund equipment, and support curriculum development and training."

www.education-world (May 8, 2000)

Positive Phys-Ed Experience encourage Adult Activity

"People who had a positive experience in physical education classes are much more likely to be physically active in later life, according to a new national study of young adults aged 18 to 34. The study found that young adults as a whole look back on their physical education experiences as either positive or neutral, but those who are very active today were much more likely to have had a positive experience in school"

Press Release from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (March 22, 2000)

Copyright laws prevent NASPE from reprinting these articles.

Information about the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) can be found on the Internet at www.aahperd.org, the web site of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD). NASPE is the largest of AAHPERD’s six national associations. A nonprofit membership organization of over 25,000 professionals in the fitness and physical activity fields, NASPE is the only national association dedicated to strengthening basic knowledge about sport and physical education among professionals and the general public. Putting that knowledge into action in schools and communities across the nation is critical to improved academic performance, social reform and the health of individuals.

(Information provided courtesy of www.pelinks4u.org)

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