The Effect of Physical Education on Academic Achievement Essay

First of all, students do not have much knowledge about the different fitness components; they do not understand the relation between the fitness components and health. If students acquire the background knowledge about fitness, it could improve the class engagement and motivation, and increase the independent drive to exercise. Second barrier to students’ achievement is the lack of motivation to be active, and even more difficult, to specific fitness activities, such as sit-ups and push-ups. In today’s society, students spend more time sitting in front a screen and less time moving. Parent and school today have more responsibility making sure the children get enough physical activity. According to the New York Times (2016), “early school physical education (PE) programs can make a significant difference, and the earlier these routines are learned the more likely they will be carried forth into a healthy adulthood”. Another barrier that prevents students’ success is the loss of instructional time due to discipline problems. The classes are too big, with many diverse students with individual problems, which are difficult to address when these issues are from very different backgrounds. Finally, there is not enough support from home affecting not only physical education, but

A. What was studied? (theoretical framework) The time allocation for physical education school-based physical activity is often replaced with other classes in an effort to increase children’s academic performance. However, a growing body of literature suggests that physical activity either had no effect on academic performance or that it enhanced it..

Not only do schools offer unhealthy foods for children, but most do not offer the required amount of physical activity. Most adolescents fall short of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommendation of at least one hour of aerobic activity every day. Only 18% of students in high school met that recommendation in 2007. All schools need to require some sort of a physical activity class. In 2009 only 33% took daily physical education classes. (CDC 2) Needless to say, schools play a very crucial role in the problem of childhood obesity. Physical Activity in schools could be a huge key in helping fix this problem.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) note that when children participate in the recommended level of physical activity of at least 60 minutes per day multiple health benefits ensue. Nevertheless, since the creation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) increasing focus has been dedicated to bridging the achievement gap among students and less emphasis has been placed on non-academic curriculum such as physical education. Research has shown that approximately 3.8% of elementary schools provide formal physical education with this percentage steadily declining as children continue onto middle and high school. This decrease in physical activity is in line with reports from the CDC which estimate that one third of children in the United States are overweight and, within those cases, the CDC has documented that children who are overweight have higher absentee rates, have poorer health and experience early signs of mental illness all of which have an impact on academic performance.

S. Surgeon General has declared childhood obesity to be an “epidemic” with significant adverse health consequences, including vascular disease and Type 2 diabetes that significantly raise health care costs for youth.” (The Impact of Physical Education 3) “The U.S. Surgeon General attributes the rise in childhood obesity, in part to, school cutbacks in Physical Education (PE), and urges all school systems to mandate daily PE that last at least one hundred and fifty minutes per week for elementary schoolchildren.” (The Impact of Physical Education 3) Research shows exercise aids children in maintaining a healthy body weight, strong and healthy muscles, strong bones and joints, improves sleep, school attendance is improved, self-esteem is better, and they are less likely to develop anxiety and depression. Those are just a few benefits of physical activity. Schools require subjects such as Math, Science, English, and Social Studies in order for children to graduate. Therefore, physical education should be a required course. Not only will adding physical education requirements help children physically but also, studies show that exercise helps with brain stimulation, which will help with test score and understanding in the classroom. Physical education will not only help with obesity but also improve some other problems schools deal with because of obese

Over the last 30-40 years, the amount and intensity of exercise has gradually declined. Few children in the United States have actually met the recommended “sixty minutes of vigorous exercise” per day (Institute of Medicine, 2013). Although most states and districts have policies pertaining to physical education, these programs lack reinforcement and are often considered weak. Physical education has slowly declined throughout the years, and the the purpose of encouraging students to make physical activity part of their daily lifestyle has been lost. Recent research from Cornell University has found that the average high school gym class consists of students being active for an average of only sixteen minutes! This is nowhere near the recommended sixty minutes of physical exercise. Physical education has been pushed to the side while academics have been prioritised. P.E. classes have become overlooked by society as a whole. Students simply see it as a courses used only for socializing, or to avoid academic courses such as Algebra, Biology, and History. While teachers no longer encourage students to be active, this should not be the path in which we take physical education. The importance of exercise and physical activity goes beyond the classroom with is proven benefits in memory, cognition and attention which are skills that can be used for daily life activities. In recent times, many programs are popping up across the country to emphasize the importance of being active!

Due to a variety of factors – from increased time in school to long hours of watching TV – many young people spend little time exercising. In addition, as budget cuts force schools to drop programs, PE is all too often the first to go. Although the recommended amount of exercise for children is reasonably small – under 30 minutes a day – most schools provide virtually no opportunity for physical activity. Providing even a short “exercise break” could help kids get in shape; according to Science Daily, “Research results show that 30 minutes of exercise hard enough to produce a sweat is enough to turn the tide on an unhealthy body mass index” (University of Copenhagen). Raising the physical education requirements in America schools gives kids an opportunity to exercise without having to set aside extra time in their day. Just as academic subjects like math, science, and reading are core components of education, so also can physical fitness be taught through PE programs. Raising healthy kids is certainly a primary goal of the school system, and requiring even a scant 30 minutes a day of physical activity in schools could be the key to cracking the problem of childhood

It is recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that children receive at a minimum of 60-minutes of cumulative physical activity per day. Many children do not get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Regular physical activity during adolescence has many beneficial factors including, healthy bones, weight control, and prevention of many chronic diseases (CDC, 2013). Physical activity can be playing a simple game of tag, or advanced as an organized sport, as long as it gets the child up, off the couch, and active. Despite this recommendation, many children fail to receive adequate physical activity. In 2006, only 27.1% of students in the United States had fulfilled the recommended amount of physical activity (CDC, 2013). In 2012, 56.3% of eighth grade students in Multnomah County “watched TV, or played video games, or used the Internet for 3 or more hours daily”(OHA, 2012). With an eight hour school day, three hours of video games, and at least an hour of homework adds up to 12 hours of the day, that with family time, meals, and “leisure” time, doesn’t allocate much time for physical activity. The lack of physical activity, combined with extremely long periods of sedentary behavior, coupled with junk food and sugary

There are only six states in the United States that require physical education in every grade, K-12 (National Association for Sport and Physical Education & American Heart Association, 2012). Those states include Illinois, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, and Vermont. The other 44 states either allow some form of waiver, exemption, or substitution from physical education classes or do not require physical education in every grade. By allowing waivers, exemptions, and substitutions, students are not meeting the national requirements for physical activity because their activity time is cut. The national recommendation for physical activity of school-aged children is 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day (“Opposing Substitution and Waiver/Exemptions,” 2006, para. 3). It is estimated that 40% of children ages 18-24 do not get the recommended daily amount of exercise (Mears, 2010, para. 7). The lack of physical activity has led to growing obesity rates in the United States and there is an even bigger need for students to learn the knowledge and skills associated with living a healthy

Currently, kids in high schools are becoming fatter, slower, less intelligent and less motivated than past generations. We know that many teenagers would rather be sitting in front of a television than be doing something physically active. Teenagers believe they do not have enough time, opportunity and freedom to engage in physical activities. I believe the first way we can solve this issue is by starting in the high schools themselves, as students are able to receive an adequate among of exercise as well as receive guidance from instructors. In our society, physical education is only mandatory for one year, and I feel if the situation were reversed, fewer kids would be lacking physical exercise and our society of teenagers would be more active. Therefore, I feel that every student should be required to take a Physical Education class every year of high school because it promotes healthy living and makes students more well-rounded physically, mentally, and spiritually. Primarily, in our growing world, obesity is becoming more prevalent, and mandatory Physical Education classes would solve these problems and teach kids better strategies for living healthy lifestyles in both the present and future. In addition, Physical Education gives us more energy and increases our brain function which is known to help us in other subject areas. Finally, physical education is able to give teenagers skills necessary for social function such as valuable skills like communication and

Kirk Disrude, a volunteer for the American Heart Association, stated this about a child’s physical education, “Ensuring that quality physical education is implemented across our country is a lifesaving measure for the youth of our country. Now is the time to invest in physical education. We need to improve both health and (the) well-being of our youth and their overall cognitive functioning (SOURCE #2).” This quote should stand out to us as a nation. Major issues in this nation include cancer, drugs, violence, pollution, global warming, and conflicts with other nations, but one of the hottest problems that sticks out in the United States is known as obesity. Obesity is defined as someone who is overweight. This is not the only problem with obesity. From 1971 to 2011, the obesity in children has tripled and that concerns parents as that is the number one health concern to them. For that reason, kids see themselves with a negative body and have low self-esteem.(SOURCE #6). Kids also become obese by not acquiring the exercise they need because many schools do not offer the classes or at home. Only 3.8% of elementary schools, 7.9% of middle schools, and 2.1% of high school offer a physical education class. In addition to this, 22% of the United States schools do not offer a physical education class at all.(SOURCE #2) Those numbers should not that be low. The schools should not be shooting down physical education instead schools should encourage its students to go out and play for the full hour. Even at home, 61.5% of kids between the ages of nine through thirteen do not participate in any physical activity with an organization and 22.6% of them do not play in any organization as school is not in session (SOURCE#7). Many benefits of exercising or doing a physical activity include decreasing the chance of having type two diabetes, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and having stronger muscles and bones (SOURCE #1). The rate of obesity for kids has risen the past couple of years; however, that can change when children should and need to receive at least one hour of exercise a day every day.

Physical Education (PE) has been a staple in schools for decades. Alarming trends suggest the prominence of PE is lessening in school districts across the nation. Only 1/3 of children are physically active every day. (President 's, 2016) The importance of PE must be elevated before poor health trends become a national epidemic. Over time, the side effects from the loss of PA could result in reduced academic discernment and an increased strain on our healthcare system. These trends can threaten our nation when competing economically with other countries. Robust PE programs insure children are given time for exercise during the course of the school day.

Another unfortunate hindrance to physical activity in schools is the notion that physical activity takes away from time that could be used for academic studies. This is unjustified however, because children of this age group are unable to sit and concentrate for long periods of time without being able to get up and move (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).

In 1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued an executive order that would increase and enhance fitness programs in schools for America’s youth. When issuing this executive order the President gave a speech saying, “Recent studies, both private and public, have revealed disturbing deficiencies in the fitness of American youth; and since the youth of our Nation is one of the greatest of our assets, it is imperative that the fitness of our youth be improved and promoted to the greatest possible extent; and such fitness is the responsibility of the government at all levels, as well as the responsibility of the family, the school, the community, and other groups and organizations. . .” (Eisenhower: "Executive Order 10673—Fitness of American Youth”). This executive order created a lot of talk regarding the importance of exercise and teaching younger populations about the benefits it can have. This movement was very successful for a long period of time however; in the past few years there has been uproar with parents across the nation wanting to remove physical education programs out of schools. Many of the issues these parents are having can be resolved if the government and school districts take the time to address the conflict and explain why exercise is so important for their children. Physical education courses must stay in elementary schools because the lifestyle changes can reduce the risks of childhood obesity, and other non-communicable diseases, as well as increase

In the modern schools, too many elementary schools are so centered academics and don’t focus on the well-being of the students. The school systems also don’t realize that physical activity can help students perform better in the classrooms. In the recent years, there has been a worldwide tendency to reduce school-based physical education in favor of academic subjects. Given the beneficial effects of exercise and the disadvantages of a sedentary lifestyle, cutbacks in physical education lessons are not near as productive as people think. Systematic reviews provide clear