Fitness=Academic Success!

In the Cape Cod Times, an article appeared, link on left side of page, about the positive relationship of fitness and academic success. At Ezra Baker Innovation School, we have been studying this relationship between the Pacer Cardiovascular fitness Test and Academic performance as measured by the DRA test of reading for the past 3 years. To date our analysis is finding a match between fitness and academic performance for over 63% of the kids and in some classes over 70% relationship match! This practical study conducted within a public school does demonstrate that the "better than chance" results indicate that if kids are fit then they probably will do better academically in better than 63% of the time. We already know the health benefits of fitness but now this academic relationship makes it clearer for parents to support the schools in getting children to move for fitness for lifelong benefits. Many private schools do not have P.E or substitute walking for a P.E curriculum, which is not effective. Your public schools value the total child and offer your children the best opportunities for academic success by teaching to the total child, unlike most private schools. We appreciate the parents who support our school and believe in us to work with their child to develop their child to their maximum potential!

Love Football....but at what cost!

Bryant Gumbel, known sports reporter does a TV program called Real Sports and in it he covers many topics. The lastest that caught my eye, link to the left on this page, he talks about concussion and the effects of long term brain damage related to the game of Football. In his report he raises issues which I hate to hear because I love football. All of the recent rule changes in football to protect players irks me, but I understand the why's. The game has changed ....for the better! In his report, he indicates that recent surveys find that over 80% have heard of the link between concussions and brain damage. Polls have indicated that 33% of adults are less likely to have their children play youth tackle football, which has translated to a 13% drop in kids playing youth football. And fans of the game were polled and 14% said that they find football less enjoyable because of their awareness of what it's doing to the players. The poll looked at income and found that people who earned below $50,000 and who did not go to college heard less about the effects of concussion. The conclusion could be that the game of football is played by the poor...for the enjoyment of others! Remember at one point the sport of Boxing was one of the most popular sports until people realized what what happening to the athletes! In my opinion, recent rule changes in youth football to limit live tackling to only 1/3 of a weekly practice makes sense and safety along with proper tackling skills is essential in which kids learn to tackle with their shoulders and not lead with their heads! Coaches need to be closely scrutinized for their adherence to proper safety! Playing the game is fun but not if it means memory deficits which last a lifetime and thus effect a person's lifelong behavior, academic performance, social and personal relationships, occupational choices and lifetime income potential. Yes all of that to play the game of football!

BMI... Not Politically Correct

The Cape Cod Times is following the easy path of being politically correct! The use of BMI in schools has never been to intimidate kids, as a matter of fact, kids that are physically muscular are showing up with high BMI's! Are they being made fun of in schools, not in my school! BMI continues to be a valuable tool to look at fitness and academic success, but weight issues continues to be a sensitive issue for parents because of the emotions involved. But in reality, BMI has its role, it is telling parents to look deeper into their child's health. In this forum I have elaborated numerous times about the benefits of BMI. The State of Mass. required it based on health reasons and yet not one of the state's health experts can be found to add some merit as to why its important...why because parents complain and it becomes a political liability.! Too bad... but then even P.E. professionals don't understand it and are against it so what does that say! Geez! Mr. F.

Walking... again shows benefits if at a moderate pace!

Walking Works for everyone...but you need to walk at least 3 miles/hr pace, for cardiovascular benefits! Walking is great for social and quiet time and allows you to enjoy the beauty around you! Try and walk at least 30 minutes at that pace and then reap the benefits! See the link to the left!

Physical “Lack of” Education...

… In the Cape Cod article on the link to the left on this page, the Cape Cod Schools are identified as having various P.E Programs that are in compliance with MA state Education laws for meeting the physical education state requirement. As a Physical Educational Professional, I read the article about what is considered physical education, Fitness for life, Wellness and how schools try to squeeze in P.E. in deference to the academic classes, and I felt so frustrated by the articles references to what Physical education is currently in Mass. In the Dennis-Yarmouth Elementary Schools, the P.E professional staff discuss the issues of what a comprehensive P.E curriculum should entail and what is happening in our schools day in and day out. Our curriculum addresses how children learn to move and control their bodies in space; they learn the value of developing body coordination to perform complex movements inherent in games; they learn the physical reasons and benefits of safely performing exercise; they learn how to utilize strategies to accomplish difficult personal and team goals; they learn game concepts and playing fairly and respecting themselves and others, sportsmanship and fair-play; they learn values about hard work, team play and working as a unit for the benefit of a group; they learn a comprehensive list of activities so that they can personally decide what it is that they are good at and perhaps want to learn as a life long activity; they learn that every year that they advance in school that new layers of learning occur and that hard work has to continue to become the best at something; they learn to respect others hard play and that failing is an opportunity for growth and not an end to one’s pursuit of success,; they learn how to set goals for themselves and learn strategies to accomplish those goals. Our physical education staff would never be satisfied with a goal of walking without an understanding that moderate exercise is essential to cardiovascular health and that walking at a slow pace has little health benefit for the normal person, or that strength and conditioning be used as a sole curriculum focus and that wellness would never be defined by soley offering yoga or conditioning alone nor would be walking with friends as a goal to "balance the body and mind” to be with friends ever pass our test for learning. These concepts that exist is an example of an ignorance around a discipline but yet people believe it to be the true measure of wellness or being fit because the state approves it.! Something is wrong with the Mass. mandate and with Education if academics become the driving force and this becomes the definition of Physical Education!. Yes education is crucial but for adults it’s the physical health concepts of healthy living, proper exercise and doing fun social things that keep us alive for many years. Yes electives and choice is great in schools, but without the mandate to require those electives to be taught along with the reasons for and to teach the why’s of good health values, people will never grow to learn these concepts, values and practices of an educated person’s knowledge to fully implement a quality fitness for life strategy. Lets hope that Physical Educators speak out about why the need to be educated about our ability to move in life and remain healthy is as valued as getting an academic education to work and become productive in society. Too many “educated people” are dying early because of a lack of “education” about their bodies, and understand what are good health practices. P.E. practices teach personal control and if people are having difficulty with self control to implement their life choice knowledge, perhaps it is because they missed out in their own P.E history because it wasn’t required and thus they never had the opportunity to learn what our DY kids are learning every day in their physical education classes. Our staff work together so that essential learning concepts occur for all of our kids without the guidance of the State mandates but with a staff sense of professionalism.

Pacer Cardiovascular Fitness Test at OneTrueMedia.com

The Pacer Test is a good indicator of fitness for children. Used in conjunction with goal setting, it provides children with an experience about their level of fitness and how to use various strategies to meet a goal!

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www.onetruemedia.com

Florida Mother Outraged at School's 'Fat Letter': Is BMI Bogus?

BMI misunderstood once again! See the article to the left for more details. Parents receive these letters without a full understanding nor explanation of what BMI is looking at for a person. And yet the mother in the article list many of the reasons explaining why a high BMI is not significant for her daughter but complains about getting the letter! BMI only looks at height and weight and a mathematical figure to arrive at a BMI score.Understanding that requires some further explanation: BMI does not identify muscle in a body. Muscle weighs more than fat and so this is the unknown factor when reading a score. Just because a BMI is high could mean that the person is very muscular and thus being overweight would not carry the same impact if one were mostly body fat. Next: If one is physically fit either by running alot or playing sports then again BMI can be misleading due to muscle mass, and thus fitness is the more important factor than a high BMI for health. Next: BMI is important to consider because medically, research has shown a relationship with high BMI and diabetes, strokes, cardiac conditions etc., and so BMI is not something that should be ignored. Next: BMI is only a tool in further looking at yourself or your child and evaluating your own or your childs physical condition and health and then making adjustments to your diet and activity level. If you are not physically fit and have a high BMI then you need to pay attention to that score for your own health and your future. This is only a brief explanation of BMI and I hope you can look at it as a tool to help you to self evaluate your own wellness or that of your child's. DON't dismiss it as stupid and insignificant as the medical literature substantiates the value of looking at BMI. But you knowing the in's and out's of BMI will help you to better understand what it is telling you! Your comments are always welcome. Mr Fantaroni