Posted on: Thursday, July 29, 2004

ISLAND VOICES
PE classes critical to education

By Donald B. Weisman
Hawai'i government affairs director of the American Heart Association

In a July 23 article headlined "Law costing state extra $30 million," state Board of Education Chairman Breene Harimoto's comment that the estimates of the cost of the No Child Left Behind federal law might be understated is perhaps itself an understatement.

Not only is the mandate resulting in increased implementation costs, but also it will cost taxpayers much more in long-term healthcare and is having a dire effect on students' health. Hawai'i public elementary schools have no certified physical education instructors.

Although most schools claim to be implementing the required amount of PE, implementation enforcement is lacking. In middle schools, the situation is even more tragic. A policy adopted last year behind the scenes will drop the PE requirement for middle schools beginning this year. The timing of implementation will likely mean that the new policy will not take hold until the next school year, but at that time, the decision on whether or not PE will be offered in middle schools will be at the discretion of the principals. Much of the blame for this lack of focus on PE in our schools is being placed on No Child Left Behind and the need to focus on core curriculum.

The irony in that reasoning is that PE and physical activity in schools play a key part in academic success. Research has shown that schools that offer intense physical activity programs have shown: positive effects on academic achievement, including increased concentration; improved mathematics, reading and writing test scores; and reduced disruptive behaviors, even when the physical education reduces the time for academics.

Obesity in the United States has become epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that overweight and obesity cost Medicare and Medicaid programs $175 per person annually. Hawai'i is by no means immune to these costs. The CDC estimates that Hawai'i spends $290 million on obesity-connected health costs, 4.9 percent of total annual medical expenditures. Research on the youth obesity in Hawai'i is limited to date, but the limited research that has been done suggests that Hawai'i youths may be at even greater risk than their Mainland counterparts.

A healthier population would save taxpayers a huge amount of money. It is also clear that losing sight of the importance of PE as part of our public schools' core curriculum will also work against the purpose of No Child Left Behind — to increase academic success.