Virginia State Senate Approves Mandate to Require 150 mins of PE a Week (house, middle schools)

[Gottasay]

The Virginia State Senate recently approved a bill that would require elementary and middle schools to offer at least 150 minutes of physical education a week in order to "combat childhood obesity".

What do you think of this proposed mandate and what kind of change would it mean for your child's school? Would recess count? Would music or art programs have to be cut back? I've heard that superintendents and school boards are strongly opposed...

Virginia Senate approves House version of public school phys-ed mandate bill - WTKR (http://www.wtkr.com/news/sns-ap-va--xgr-physicaleducation,0,4882193.story - broken link)

[gallowsCalibrator]

So basically, 30 minutes of the school day will involve the children doing more than just sitting down and vegetating? Sounds like a good thing to me.

In my elementary school, we had a 45 minute PE class every single day. In middle and high school, it was a 90 minute class that was every-other-day. It didn't affect music programs at all. Schools should have PE classes because it gets the students up and moving - and not just sitting in an uncomfortable desk while they zone out to a lecture.

Physical activity is good not just to "combat obesity", but it also raises energy levels and awareness.

[yamota]

Heck when I was a kid there was no problem appropriating time for both phys ed and art and music, but of course we didn't have the internet or Wii or PSP or texting or cellphones to take up a lot our time either

[CaliTerp07]

I don't think it will be that big a deal in middle school, where PE is a mandatory class that kids attend daily. In elementary school, I think it will have a bigger impact--especially if the school doesn't have a dedicated PE teacher, because then the classroom teacher is responsible for coming up with activities.

[South Jersey Styx]

Hmm, my kids aren't in elementary and middle school so I didn't realize they were getting less than 30 min a day.

Sounds good to me. If the school system needs to hire a PE Teacher then they should scrape up the funds somewhere without losing the music, art, shop, etc. classes. When we were growing up, I remember having PE longer than 30 minutes a day as well as after-school intramural sports activities.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

Hmm, my kids aren't in elementary and middle school so I didn't realize they were getting less than 30 min a day.

Sounds good to me. If the school system needs to hire a PE Teacher then they should scrape up the funds somewhere without losing the music, art, shop, etc. classes. When we were growing up, I remember having PE longer than 30 minutes a day as well as after-school intramural sports activities.

You were quite lucky. My elementary school had a PE teacher until I got to 2nd grade. We had 30 minute PE classes 2x per week with the special teacher. In 3rd grade, the budget for that was cut (somewhere circa 1995). Individual teachers could plan games or activities outside, but it was up to them. (And I never had art or music in elementary school).

Once I got to junior high, PE was a mandatory class, so everyone had it an hour a day. Art, music, and shop were electives. There was nothing after school.

From studying various school systems across the country as I work towards my teaching licensure, it's become obvious to me that NoVA schools are absolutely not the norm when it comes to specials. They go far above and beyond what the average school offers/requires regarding elective type classes in elementary school.

[hl6451]

Originally Posted by Rita Mordio

Physical activity is good not just to "combat obesity", but it also raises energy levels and awareness.

And as an elementary teacher I must add that allowing them to run around outside/inside and burn off stress, etc, makes for much quieter, more attentive students.

And parents will also appreciate calmer, quieter, more tired children.

But yes, you're right about the physical connection to learning. I think the new law is a great thing! At least in theory, and at least for now. Let's see how it plays out...

As for combating obesity, is there a way to make their parents take 150 mins of PE?

[Forehead]

From what I remember in elementary school, we had PE three times a week and music class twice a week. And of course, there was recess, but the general rule regardless of grade seemed to be that if you were behind on your homework, you couldn't participate, and had to sit on the benches catching up while the other kids got to play.

I should know, I sat pretty frequently because of this rule. Stupid homework.

[tgbwc]

To the general public this might sound great, but I don't know from where this time will be carved out. My third graders currently receive 70 minutes of p.e. a week plus 80 min. of recess (20 min. T-F). They have music 70 min. a week. Art is 60 min.
150 min. of required p.e. will mean structured activity, I'm sure. Do we then take away the unstructured recess time to help get in reading, writing, math, science and social studies? I already have difficulty getting in all of the academic curriculum that is required.

[Gottasay]

I don't think anyone will disagree that physical activity will combat obesity. By the way, my kids' school has no obesity problem whatsoever. The problem is, for those of us who actually do have kids attending public schools in Virginia, that a couple of courses will need to be taken away because their schedules are already packed with a lot of very valid activities, such as foreign language instruction. Kids have gym 3x a week already and almost 100 percent of the students are involved in some kind of afterschool sport anyway -- so it seems redundant.

This is the nanny state at its finest, in my opinion, and another example of government trying to solve a problem that doesn't apply to an entire populace .