Speak Out for PE

Physical Education in public schools has been put on the “backburner.” School administrators are focusing more of their attention on issues such as assessment and less on issues for maintaining Physical Education in our public schools. The state of Texas only requires a minimum of 135 minutes of structured physical activity a week in elementary schools while other states are struggling to even meet this minimum weekly requirement. This total lack of respect for Physical Education as a core subject is outright embarrassing.

In a country where obesity is a serious life-threatening condition, it is time for all Physical Educators to take action with a mass marketing campaign. Physical Educators need to market their profession.  It’s time to take a stand; Physical Education is absolutely necessary for our children to be healthy.  Consider these 4 tips for promoting PE in your community or school:

Progress Reports – Provide progress reports that track students’ progress in PE during the semester. This may show a direct correlation to students’ progress in the classroom as well.

Newsletters – Send emails or hard copy newsletters to parents providing facts that encourage them to keep their children active at home.

Shout Outs – Celebrate students who achieve goals in PE by providing write-ups in the local newspaper. For example, publicly recognize a student that exceeds the requirement for the Miler’s Club.

Involve Administration – Keep administrators up-to-date with your PE program. Invite administrators to actively participate during Field Day competitions or FITNESSGRAM assessments.

As Physical Educators, we need to stress the importance of PE so we can reset the academic standards and get our children active, healthy, and out of the “at-risk” zone.