Do Schools Need to Re-evaluate How They Think About PE? What Do You Think?

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Physical education (PE) and exercise play vital roles in the healthy development of a child, yet for many schools PE is often underrated.

According to Dr. Gregory Myer, director of research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Sports Medicine Division, many kids only get PE once a week.

While students must be well prepared academically, can students really thrive and reach their fullest potential without being given an opportunity time to be physically active throughout the school day?

Myers believes it’s time we take a new approach to how we look at physical activity. Instead of just looking at minutes spent being active, perhaps we need to take into account more.

Myers says we should begin exploring  aspects of physical activity that might lead to:

(1) skill development;
(2) socialization; and
(3) enjoyment of exercise.

While the need to improve physical activity in schools across the country exists, we also need to think about minority majority schools. In many predominantly Latino schools, kids are less likely to get the required amount of physical activity.

Read more about Myers’ work in this review article and on ischoolguide.

To learn more about the importance of providing Latino children with opportunities for high quality physical education and physical activity, check out Salud America!’s Active Play resources here.