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Expert Q&A

	By Zac Robinson certified fitness trainer, certified youth fitness trainer and physical education teacher

My son's school is cutting back on physical activity. They use to get two recess periods a day – one 20-minute break in the morning and one 20-minute break in the afternoon. They are cutting out the a.m and p.m. routine and going to a single 15-minute recess after lunch. The kids are very upset, and so are the parents. Is there any evidence that you can provide us with that shows that physical activity is important to the way kids learn?

Wow, your son must go to the school at which I teach! Sadly, it seems that a lot of schools are going through this same process when current trends in obesity rates suggest we should be doing just the opposite! Unfortunately, I don't have much hard and fast evidence to provide that shows a link between fitness and learning, but will provide a couple of article links in support of this concept (after reply).

I think the biggest evidence is the aforementioned obesity epidemic. Our children are on a collision course with numerous health issues due to inactivity and increased body fat. This is the big picture and in and of itself should make school districts realize the importance for daily activity. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education does have some guidelines that demonstrate that 15-minutes of activity is woefully inadequate.

I know you mentioned the kids and parents were upset about the changes – well let me let you in on a secret, most likely the teachers are also very upset! Teachers know the importance of "running off all that energy." As adults when we attend conferences or meetings we take regular breaks – we have to or else we drift off into la la land. It is crazy that we then turn around and expect kids to sit for long periods of time and still be able to concentrate on the task at hand. The good news is there are a lot of people who are on your side. The bad news is the people who make these decisions are stuck with trying to implement way too many ideas/programs into the school day, and when this happens, physical education/exercise is the first to get pushed out the window. I think they know it is wrong, but fear the consequences of poor test scores which in their minds demonstrate that the students are not learning. Unfortunately, this is backward thinking, because by keeping or even increasing activity time students will then be better able to concentrate and focus. Again I don't have much hard and fast evidence to support this, but have talked to numerous classroom teachers who always state that their kids concentrate more and learn better after being physically active.

I'm not sure if all of this helps (I kind of got off on a little rant there), but even if those who make the decisions aren't willing to change, there are other options. Most everyone at the school level is for physical activity, so there may be a lot of support for a health and well being team in your school. Parents, teachers and students can meet and brainstorm ideas for increasing physical activity and creating a culture of health and fitness throughout the school.

One great idea is "Journey Around the World." Classrooms choose a state or country in which they would like to travel and then earn miles by walking or running for a set period of time during the school day. The teacher can take them outside and the students earn their miles, even 10 minutes will do wonders. The kids then return to the classroom and tally their distances. The distance traveled can then be plotted on a map. Once the destination is reached, the class can do a report on it and maybe even have a "party" based on that particular culture. An experience like this equates to real learning, much better than rote memorization. This activity includes so much more than fitness. Math, geography and learning about other cultures are all tied in, so anyone making the decisions to cut activity would be hard pressed to nix this idea. It can also be expanded to include earning miles for reading books or performing "character" activities. The kids can even do passports and learn the process for traveling to other countries. This is obviously a big project and requires a lot of parent support, but it is really cool!

There are other great "alternative PE" programs out there. The key is just making them happen in your school. The powers that be may take away the traditional activity times, but a groundswell of creativity regarding other options may result in even fitter students.

Although I didn't provide you with exactly what you asked for, I hope this response was helpful, good luck!

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