Here's a fucking rant for you (PE Related)

[jed peters]

They just announced in our school district (Elk Grove, CA) that kids now only have Physical Education TWO days a week.

So fat, obsese kids are okay, as long as they get good grades?

I don't have kids yet, but this could mean that I'll likely put them in private school that encourages physical as well as mental education.

BTW: Elk Grove already was recognized as a leader in all levels of education by state and federal gov't, so presumably they didn't need any more help in the "scholastic" department.

Jeez.

[Daywalker]

Not completely changing the subject, but an article I already ranted on to some friends, "You Are What You Eat at Work" http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2464612&page=1

Includes the quote, I wish I was making this up:
"We spend more time at work than at home," said Linda Shak, program coordinator at the Prevention Institute, which advocates healthy workplaces. "We really need to shift away from individual responsibility to corporate and government responsibility for creating an environment for healthy eating and activity."

Yeah, the government and corporate America are making you fat because you can't stop buying the cheesy poofs out of the vending machine. TAKE SOME F'ING RESPONSIBILITY AMERICA.

[edg]

France gets one a week, and their rates of obesity are far below yours. What's your point? And besdies, when you can get gym credit for *bowling* you'd be fighting a losing battle...

edg

[lemon boy]

Damn, I totally thought this was gonna be about Chuck and Flava!

[cj001f]

Fat obese workers seem to be preferred for promotion, why not breed them young?

[fez]

i saw an article today in the newspaper that said that on average kids only get about 12 minutes of actual activity in a gym class.

[MarsB]

Damn, I totally thought this was gonna be about Chuck and Flava!

[Theodore]

Damn, I totally thought this was gonna be about Chuck and Flava!

I thought it was going to be a story of delaming or and early season rock/edge blow out...

[satori]

In Japan, where I teach, they have PE about 4-5 times/week. Very regimented like the old military but at least theyre active. Now if the fcukers would only learn how to think logicially...

[splat]

Teach them nutrition - and not the government's version that enriches corporations producing shit foodstuff [/emphasis on stuff].

[Ripzalot]

fat kids today means fewer social security beneficiaries when they reach retirement age. social security problem = solved!

seriously tho, it's not the state's responsibility if your kids are fat. it's yours. people shouldn't expect the gubment to do their job. teach your kids well and they will be just fine.

[Steven S. Dallas]

Damn, I totally thought this was gonna be about Chuck and Flava!

Me too, boyeeeeee!

[cj001f]

seriously tho, it's not the state's responsibility if your kids are fat. it's yours. people shouldn't expect the gubment to do their job. teach your kids well and they will be just fine.

Yeah, teach them to exercise in their nonexistant free time. It's working so well for adults

If the corporate/government 'responsibility' was termed 'fiscal incentives' for healthy workers (lower insurance premiums, etc.) you people would be creaming your pants.

[smmokan]

Nonexistent free time? That's a bunch of shit. Kids have plenty of time to exercise. Adults do too, unless you're a working stiff staying until 10:00 every night. All it takes is 30 minutes a day to stay in decent shape. I'm pretty sure we can all make that available if we want... its just a matter of getting those lazy fat asses away from the TV.

[Dantheman]

seriously tho, it's not the state's responsibility if your kids are fat. it's yours. people shouldn't expect the gubment to do their job. teach your kids well and they will be just fine.

The government does have certain responsibilities, like actually enforcing labeling laws (that are lax to begin with) and giving schools a reasonable amount of money to spend on school lunches. Also, we ought to ban all advertising directed at children 12 and under. The agroindustrial marketing machine isn't making parents jobs any easier.

[bad_roo]

The agroindustrial marketing machine isn't making parents jobs any easier.

Last time I checked, the agroindustrial marketing machine was out cold lampin' with Flava.

[cj001f]

Nonexistent free time? That's a bunch of shit. Kids have plenty of time to exercise. Adults do too, unless you're a working stiff staying until 10:00 every night. All it takes is 30 minutes a day to stay in decent shape. I'm pretty sure we can all make that available if we want... its just a matter of getting those lazy fat asses away from the TV.

Blah, bLah, Blah. Encouraging employers to give employees more flexible work schedules to increase exercise would definitely be a bad thing. Whatever was I thinging.

Clearly the solution is to yell at people more. Yell louder if the aren't responding. If we yell enough they'll accept responsibility. It's worked so many times in history.

excuse me while I rub one off to Atlas Shrugged.

[brutah]

They just announced in our school district (Elk Grove, CA) that kids now only have Physical Education TWO days a week.

In the New York Times last week there was a short little article in the science times saying that kids really don't get that much exercise in PE because too many times PE activity is throwing out some balls and letting the kids have at it.

The study was done to show state legislatures that increasing gym time may not make students any healthier, and by increasing gym time they saw a decrease in physical activity by these students outside of class. it concluded that there was little evidence that increased gym time meant more fitness.

Either way, how your children percieve fitness comes from their parents not the school. I am assuming that you lead an active lifestyle and that lifestyle will be seen and emulated by your children. that's how it went in my family, my dad was always dragging me to the slopes or throwing me on a bike to go biking with him, by the time I reliezed that these activities were good for my health, i was already hooked on them and not because I gave two shits if i was in shape but because I had fun doing these things.

Bottomline: No school is going to get kids in shape, it all comes down to their parents.

[BigDaddy]

My kid gets PE one day per week. I make sure she does a lot of other stuff after school, biking, running around, hip-hop classs, etc. Hell, I even take her skiing one day a week...!

[crashnburn'd]

hip-hop class

Hip-hop has a long history of obesity. Be careful.

[Spats]

Given the uselessness of every PE class I remember, we'd be better off having PE 0 days a week and letting school out 45 minutes earlier.

[BigDaddy]

Hip-hop has a long history of obesity. Be careful.

Bwaaaaaaaaa!

[skiing-in-jackson]

Working as a bike guide in the summers I am amused but the "fit & healthy" trend that pervades adult thought, yet many of the children I come across in the summer were so fat and sloppy- some of which, who at 12 yrs/old had never riden a bike

I watched children at ages 10-13 (mostly boys, girls strangely suck it up ) throw tantrums wanting to quit and play xBox...

For real...

[The AD]

Anyone else get to play with a parachute in PE?

That was sickter.

[Sinecure]

If Elk Grove is like our town, the PE issue is a funding one. The only reason kids in San Carlos have PE, Art and Music is because the Education Foundation (private fundraising) goes out and squeezes $400K/year out of parents to fund it. The gubment don't do shit fo us.

Make sure your local rep knows how you feel.