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Health Concerns
Spark Demand for Physical Education Teachers
These days,
kids spend most of their time watching TV or playing on computers. As a
result, youth are becoming less physically active and more sedentary.
So how do we get them off the couch and moving again?
Some physical education experts in the U.S. may have found the answer.
The physical education teacher at Cabell-Midland High School in
Virginia teaches children how to ride mountain bikes.
Kids at the Coleman Middle School in Kansas play air piano as they
learn how to line dance at the hands of their physical education
instructor. In Illinois, youth in the Naperville school district are
exercising in their "target rate zones."
These are just some of the latest trends transforming the way physical
education has traditionally been taught in schools. What has been
dubbed the "new PE" is introducing youth to a wider range of physical
activities, from mountain biking to ice-skating.
"It is all the forms of physical activity we can think of that might
engage kids," says Judith Young. She is the executive director of the
National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).
"In Alaska, some of our teachers are doing ice-skating and
cross-country skiing. In some of our western states, they do things
like juggling. Other programs include martial arts, aerobics, rock
climbing and Rollerblading."
In fact, recent studies have indicated a drop in physical activity
levels among North American youth. A report put out by the U.S. Surgeon
General reveals that "nearly half of young people aged 12 to 21 are not
vigorously active on a regular basis."
"We're in the midst of an unprecedented epidemic among young people,"
reported Howell Wechsler in an article in USA Today. "It's been
consistent in every demographic group you can imagine." Wechsler works
for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division of
adolescent and school health.
Aside from leading to heart disease, obesity heightens one's risk of
colon cancer, diabetes and adult diseases like osteoporosis. There are
also emotional and psychological complications associated with weight
gain, such as depression, anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Andrea Grantham is a communications consultant with a physical
education association. "If they are not getting it through a daily
physical education program, then they are not going to get it," she
says. "Hence, the health problems existing today in kids will continue
and multiply into adulthood."
Marilies Rettig is a physical education teacher. She agrees. "That is
why it is absolutely critical that schools provide a physical education
program."
But when you look at the prevailing attitudes towards physical
education, the situation doesn't look good.
Many people believe schools aren't delivering in the area of physical
education. The average elementary student participates in one to three
25- to 30-minute blocks of physical activity a week. The average high
school student gets a maximum of one year in a four-year period.
Time constraints are another reason why a lot of students don't take
physical education in high school. "Knowledge has expanded in the last
100 years and the school day and the school year are the same as they
always were," says Young. "We have a lot more to learn and the same
amount of time to learn it in."
That is why more schools are going back to teaching the basics. The
problem is that programs like physical education, art and music end up
being compromised for courses in computers and technology.
The Hiring
Crunch
Given that, employment prospects for physical education teachers remain
up in the air.
But there is some glimmer of hope. Both the U.S. and Canada are facing
massive teacher shortages within the next few years.
More openings for teachers could mean more employment possibilities for
physical education teachers.
"There will be a demand for teachers in some subject areas. And
certainly the demand for physical education teachers will escalate if
indeed the appropriate stress and recognition is given to physical
education," says Rettig.
Teachers who supplement a background in physical education with math,
science or computers will be able to cash in on the teacher shortage by
making themselves that much more marketable. "Those are good
combinations [considering] there is a demand for those other subject
areas," says Rettig.
The need for qualified teachers in these areas has already hit the U.S.
"We already have a shortage of teachers in math and science," says
Young. "And a number of teachers are already having to teach outside
their qualified areas."
A good example is elementary teachers who double as physical education
teachers. "In elementary, classroom teachers teach most of the physical
education. It usually is a matter of perhaps supervising a few games."
But that also prevents more physical education teachers from being
hired. And that's bad news at a time when specialists in this field are
needed.
"We feel that this is really a negative turn, given the fact that
physical education is viewed as a frill. It is not just a matter of
getting kids to throw a few balls around," says Grantham.
"A physical education teacher is someone who knows how to teach
children how to be active. They are not there to run around and do
skipping at recess. They are there to learn the skills that are
necessary to carry on into lifelong physical activity."
A Love for Sport
So what does it take to become a qualified physical education teacher?
"You don't have to be an athlete to be a physical education teacher,"
notes Young. A love for sports is enough. "It is the same qualities we
would like in any teacher -- an interest and enthusiasm for the subject
they are teaching. Physical education is the same."
A desire to share your passion for physical activity and fitness with
children and youth also helps.
"That was my drive to be a physical education teacher, to instill in
children and youth an enjoyment and desire to participate in physical
education," says Rettig. "That has to be central, regardless of what
your experience as an athlete is."
There is also the matter of obtaining the right credentials.
The path one must take to become a physical education teacher in the
U.S. varies from state to state. "There are specific certifications in
all states for physical education," says Young.
"Sometimes it is by level. Sometimes by K to 12. Those require a
bachelor degree in physical education and some of them have to pass the
national teacher exam or other state tests for teachers."
Those interested in pursuing a career in physical education can also
expect to take courses in child development, anatomy and physiology,
psychology and biomechanics.
The Future of
Physical Education
Until schools make physical education a mandatory part of one's
education, opportunities for physical education teachers will be
limited. Organizations like NASPE are working hard to get that message
out, but it isn't always easy.
"It is not like some other campaigns that we go out on like seat belts
or bicycle helmets where we have very dramatic immediate results," says
Young. "The impact of physical activity is cumulative over a period of
time, so you do not have these striking incidents or problems as a
result of not being active."
In the end, many hope that changes in public perception towards
physical education will spark a demand for more physical education
teachers. With time, people in all walks of life will come to
understand the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle.
As Young points out, "As the whole of society, both adults and
children, get increasingly sedentary, we will begin to realize that we
were meant to be moving entities."
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Net
Sites
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National Association
for Girls and Women in Sport
A nonprofit organization of over 25,000 professionals in the fitness
and physical activity fields
http://www.aahperd.org/nagws/template.cfm
Physical Activity
and Health
Have a glance at the U.S. Surgeon General's report
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/ataglan.htm
PE Central
A site for physical education teachers
http://www.pecentral.org/
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