Today’s current adolescent generation is in the worst physical condition since the conception of the United States. Obesity, diabetes and heart disease among young people is hitting record highs. The amount of time adolescents exercise continues to decrease. Health Care is in the news daily, and with the fitness levels that are recorded throughout the country, it should be of great concern to all of us. We are moving less, our diet continues to deteriorate, and we are getting sick earlier in life.
Students do not move today like they did just 10 to 15 years ago. In fact, many parents are more health conscious and in better shape than their children. Here is one example of society’s contribution: a student can get into the car, drive to get something to eat, check his voice messages, check his text messages, respond to both, check his email, browse the internet, order food, eat his food, return to school, and NEVER leave the comfort of sitting on his fanny. There was a time when you had to at least get out of your car to go up and order your food.
Some day the quality of life, physical appearance, looking younger, and being physically fit will be of great importance to these students. It is one of the largest markets in the country…just check out the infomercials on the weekends: six-minute abs; beauty cream that makes you look five years younger; get fit without leaving the comfort of your home; lose 10 pounds in 7 days. Many research their personal health and fitness AFTER they have experienced a life-altering situation. Our goal is to educate before something such as this happens.
Without the tools to explore the basic knowledge of one’s physical fitness levels and capabilities, the basic nutritional components, one’s genetic risks, and the knowledge of how fitness and nutrition can contribute to quality of life and reduction of stress, we as educators are depriving our students of some of the most relevant information possible. If ever there was a course that creates motivation through relevance, it’s Physical Education.
Here is an example of how far removed we are. Today, students have no idea what the original purpose of summer vacation was. Working the fields, harvesting the crops, splitting the wood, stacking the hay in the barn – these are only a few examples that today seem foreign to our adolescent population. Technology is wonderful, but it has made our younger generation sedentary and lazy. They have learned to expect things at their fingertips. When explaining the days of biking to school or walking to the library, many give a puzzled look. The library? What’s that?
Canyon High School is piloting the “new” Physical Education program for the William S. Hart Union High School District, which addresses the Physical Education Standards and Framework set by the State of California. They include: effects of physical activity upon dynamic health; mechanics of body movement; Aquatics; Gymnastics and Tumbling; Individual and Dual Sports; Rhythms and Dance; Team Sports; and Combatives. At Canyon High School we will also be teaching First Aid, CPR/AED to our second year students, and at the completion of this course the students will receive certifications from the American Red Cross. We will also incorporate a Fitness, Nutrition, and Wellness component with the aid of a Physical Education textbook. At the completion of our P.E. curriculum, our main goal is as follows: give students an appreciation of fitness through knowledge and what fitness can do for them now, as well as valuing lifelong fitness and health as adults.
Yes, we plan to put the “Education” back in P.E.
Gino Pomilia is a Physical Education Instructor at Canyon High School in Canyon Country.
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