You may have heard that the Portland School Board could cut physical education classes in an attempt to balance their budget by voting to approve Superintendent Carole Smith's proposal next month.*
I'll get the obvious out of the way, first: this is a ploy. This is what politicians and bureaucrats do - it's part of their job to trick the public into voting in more money each year. When students, parents, teachers, celebrities and, yes, even scientists, become concerned by such cut-backs that could seriously undermine "the future of our children," those prone to rally will take up their megaphones, and those prone to cave in will eventually cave. The money will come from somewhere - either through taxes, private donation, or both.
Those who want to save physical education are, of course, correct in that physical education is the most important element of education. Physical education - the primal process of learning physical movement and how to interact with other people, builds the mental and emotional foundation upon which all other arts and sciences can be taught. Those who are physically active, especially early on, are more efficient at learning than those who are not.
Exercise and fitness is the number one key to health, wellness and happiness, and the lack thereof leads to excessive physical, mental and emotional disease. No wonder we have such a problem with health care. When average Americans stop exercising - or, never start exercising, their bodies start to age early and spoil. They get aches and pains, and, without an athletic mentality, they are reduced to taking prescription drugs to ease the pain of living, which sets them off on a costly downward spiral. Nice.
But, Carole Smith has unsuspectingly proved a point - Portland Public Schools are terrible at teaching physical education. The Save Portland PE Coalition claims that "in Portland, nearly one in four children are overweight or obese." Yep. So, why give more money to a system that doesn't work? Everyone knows that PE teachers don't actually teach anything - they don't have time to do anything but baby-sit. If a kid is overweight or seen as not athletically gifted, they get a pass, and don't have to do any work. Those that are seen as athletically gifted get recruited by sports teams. PE is basically just a recess, nothing more.
Ironically, Drew Mahalic of Oregon Sports Authority makes this point while trying to justify saving PE. "It's a question of social justice: Disadvantaged children are the ones who suffer the most. They're the ones who don't get any (regular supervised physical activity) at all." Right. Those who can afford the high-priced and privately-funded extra-curricular sports can provide an adequate physical education for their children. Those who have to rely on public education get nothing.
Among the supporters of the Save Portland PE movement is Nike and the Portland Trail Blazers. Both of these organizations have given a lot to the community for many years. These private organizations are actually really good at helping youth and teaching physical education; their programs have actually made a difference in people's lives. Portland Public Schools, on the other hand, is a joke. Everyone is guaranteed an education, but not a very good one.
2 comments:
"Everyone knows that PE teachers don't actually teach anything - they don't have time to do anything but baby-sit. If a kid is overweight or seen as not athletically gifted, they get a pass, and don't have to do any work. Those that are seen as athletically gifted get recruited by sports teams. PE is basically just a recess, nothing more."
Really? Everyone knows this? I run at Grant Park throughout the year and frequently see PE classes running on the track -- kids of all shapes and sizes. It's really cool.
It's cool when it happens. I'm admittedly cynical at this point, though, so I'd say most likely it's someone volunteering their own time and / or an employee of Nike. (Which is fine, if that's the case - it's still people out there teaching kids.)
The Portland Public School System simply does not see P.E. as an integral part of education, but as a peripheral study of health and wellness. All the "real" physical education is metered out in "sports," which is dominated by a combination of for-profit and not-for-profit leagues and clubs that rely on private funds and donations. (Even if they do wipe out their P.E. program, they will still have teachers and / or volunteers teaching P.E. - they're just going to stop investing money into it.)
My argument is this. Why bail out a program if they're already half-ass'ing it and don't really see the point? Why not just completely privatize it, and then teachers and coaches will get the money they need to make a difference?
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