Why pe should be mandatory in schools

Physical Education. Quality physical education programs are needed to increase the physical competence, health-related fitness, self-responsibility and enjoyment of physical activity for all students so that they can be physically active for a lifetime.

Physical education programs can only provide these benefits if they are well-planned and well-implemented. Skill Development: Develops motor skills, which allow for safe, successful and satisfying participation in physical activities. Regular, Healthful Physical Activity: Provides a wide-range of developmentally appropriate activities for all children.

Support of Other Subject Areas: Reinforces knowledge learned across the curriculum. As reported in USA Today , what would benefit children more is periods of rigorous physical activity that makes them break a sweat. High-energy games like tag and dodgeball are great examples of activities that have little downtime. At a minimum, elementary aged children should get 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Middle school and high school students should get 45 minutes of exercise a day.

And about half of that time should be spent in activities like those mentioned above that get the heart racing. While many of the nation's gym classes may not be performing at peak levels, supporters of fitness education aim to spotlight the potential of reform, as well as the accomplishments many public schools have achieved.

Strengthen Physical Education in Schools pdf icon [PDF — KB] —This data brief defines physical education, provides a snapshot of current physical education practices in the United States, and highlights ways to improve physical education through national guidance and practical strategies and resources.

High School Students report pdf icon [PDF — 3 MB] explains the secular changes long-term trends in physical education attendance among US high school students over the past two decades. In order to maximize the benefits of physical education, the adoption of policies and programs aimed at increasing participation in physical education among all US students should be prioritized. Download the report for detailed, nationwide findings. It is designed to help school districts and schools conduct clear, complete, and consistent analyses of physical education curricula, based upon national physical education standards.

Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. CDC Healthy Schools. From Clueless to Superbad to Spiderman: Homecoming , parodies of gym class are a pop-culture darling. A recent working paper focused on a massive P. On the contrary: They found that the program, which ran from to , actually had detrimental effects, correlating with an uptick in discipline and absence rates.

As for why this particular P. Students are more likely to be bullied in middle school than at any other point in their academic careers, and P. Read: The cost of cutting high-school athletics.

The paper posits that by subjecting participants—namely low-income kids, as the Fitness Now grants targeted campuses serving disadvantaged populations—to these circumstances on a daily basis, the P.