New Year's Resolutions

Christmas, like other family holidays, is characterized by good food and better company. It is therefore very common to start the New Year with resolutions that include eating healthier and losing weight. In short, exercise more.

This is a good time to look at exercise holistically, not to become a world athlete but to simply be happier and more productive. Join the 44% of Americans who will make resolutions for 2011in a few days and be sure to add more physical activity to that list. We all know the benefits of exercise to the waistline and to our hearts, but what other benefits will result from a brisk walk, cycle, or Wii Fitness?

For one, older people cut the risk of general dementia in half and their risk of Alzheimer's by 60% with regular exercise. It has been proven that one of the best ways to cope with stress and anxieties of life is through regular physical activity. Many experts say that exercise is a 'happiness booster'. Duke University found exercise to be generally as effective as drugs for treating depression.

These are preventative attributes but what about the role of exercise on mental development? This forum has posted numerous studies showing that exercise has positive influences on concentration, memory, and classroom behavior amongst students. We also reported on the fact that kids just moving around enhance intelligence, creativity and planning skills. Finally, large group studies shows a direct correlation between increased exercise and academic performance on standardized test scores.

We don't need a lot of exercise, just regularly. Join me to stay at it throughout 2011. See you on the road.
Michael Cordier

Nutrition Bill Passed

Almost 5 years in the making, the child nutrition bill called Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act came to pass in the House of Representatives and is heading to the President who will sign it immediately. It will require that the USDA updates the national standards to get soda and junk food out of school vending machines, a la carte, and school stores.  

The child nutrition bill also includes important provisions to increase funding and technical support to improve the nutritional quality of school meals, strengthen local school wellness policies, make it easier for qualified children to receive free school meals, extend after-school meals to more at-risk children, and provide funding for farm-to-school programs.

Opponents criticized it as government's interference with freedom of choice and control over the complete food chain. It is tough to argue against hungry students but some of my fondest memories are the pies and toffees I obtained from the school store with hard-earned pocket money. P & J sandwiches only went so far on the taste buds scale!

Obscure in this marvelous piece of legislation is a report from the Chronicle in Sacramento that the California Appeals Court ruled that parents can take their children's public school to court to force educators to provide the minimum amount of physical education required by law! California's education code requires elementary schools to offer 200 minutes of PE every 10 days and 400 minutes in middle or high schools - not including lunch or recess. A small study found that more than half the schools failed to provide the required minutes of PE. Oops!

Finally the court gave teeth to 'feel-good' legislation. Combine this with recent legislation from Texas that discarded the 'opt-out' clauses for participation in PE, I dare say that momentum is building to the day that PE takes it's rightful place in the core curriculum.
Michael Cordier

Impact of Sleep on Learning and Weight

UCLA researchers found that children who don't get enough sleep might wind up with an overweight body. Looking at sleep patterns of 1,900 children between the ages of 1 and 13, they found that children maintaining less than 10 hours of sleep a night had an 80% more probability of being obese. The study furthermore found that naps during the day did not offset the effect. The believe is that a lack of nighttime sleep throws off key hormones that affect weight and metabolism.

So how much sleep is needed per 24 hours?
Birth - 2 months: 12 - 18 hours
3 - 11 months: 14 - 15 hours
1 - 3 years: 12 - 14 hours
3 - 5 years: 10 - 11 hours
10 - 17 years: 8.5 to 9.5 hours
Adults: 7 - 9 hours
Insufficient sleep is also associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and depression. The promotion of regular sleep is referred to as 'sleep hygiene'. Here are some simple sleep hygiene tips:

• Go to bed at the same time each night, and rise at the same time each morning.
• Sleep in a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment, which is neither too hot nor too cold.
• Make your bed comfortable and use it only for sleeping and not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or listening to music.
• Remove all TVs, computers, and other "gadgets" from the bedroom.
• Avoid physical activity within a few hours of bedtime.
• Avoid large meals before bedtime.

Michael Cordier

Dance and Core Academics

In an April 2011 speech, Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan made the point that "for decades, arts education has been treated as though it was the novice teacher at school - the last hired and the first fired when times get tough". He was echoing a sentiment of many prominent educators who have championed the inclusion and/or expansion of arts in schools. Dance in particular has suffered as the smallest of the four art forms.

But that is changing. EdWeek reported on an elementary school in Maryland where students execute dance movements to simulate the elements of photosynthesis, including water, sunlight, carbon dioxide, and chlorophyll. They leaned, reached, and flowed with surprising grace. Want to bet that the retention and understanding of this lesson is much higher?

And that is the point. Cross curriculum or mutual learning takes place when core subjects are matched with rhythm and movement. GeoMotion, a company based in Orlando, FL, has developed a mat with numbers on it. By following the numbers and directional ques, students integrate math and other core subjects while working out. Their 'Meaningful Movement' program is based on integrated learning and it makes sense - it addresses all the levels of optimal learning to include:

• Rhythmical / Musical
• Visual / Spatial
• Body / Kinesthetic
• Auditory / Verbal
• Mathematical / Logical
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal

Very few teaching tools can claim the inclusive approach to learning. Does this mean that every teacher must be a dancer as well? Obviously not - but why not? The research sited on this blog in the past confirms over and over that cardiovascular activities increases learning without decreasing test scores if time is taken away from 'regular' classes.

A survey taken in 2000 indicated that only 14% of schools offered any form of dance (excluding PE activities).  Now 36 states offer K-12 teaching credentials in dance. The growth is spurted mainly through PE programs and is increasingly taught as an art form or exercise form. Purists maintain that the art of dance uses movement to create meaning about the human experience and is far more that just art or exercise. Irrespective, dance and other forms of art programs provides a variety of academic and social benefits to students. It seems a powerful way to to promote critical thinking and creativity amongst other skills.

It's time to put on those tapping shoes!
Michael Cordier

Hot Topics for November!

Now that everyone has weighted in on bullying - from People Magazine to the White House -  I am still confused by the definition of bullying. Is it physical contact, verbal abuse, false third-party stories or all of the above? The physical connotation I get. High school freshman year flash-backs confirm that on. Belittling and 'talk-down' is clear as well. But when someone writes something nasty about another on FaceBook and the ego suffers a bit, is it bullying? It certainly is when the ego is crashed to the point of suicide as recently happened. But where does one draw the line? There will always be someone louder, bigger, and meaner around - irrespective of age and circumstance. Its called 'life' and the nature of humankind. Should we then try to legalize morality to protect perceptions if actions cannot be defined?

Then there was the midterm elections and a dramatic shift in the political balance that could have a huge influence on education in the future. The National Education Association spent $40 million dollars to campaign for candidates from the Democratic Party. But the chairmanship for the committee dealing with educational affairs will be replaced by a Republican due to the House majority. Suddenly the Race to the Top program is in jeopardy, the reauthorization of the 'No Child Left Behind' can change again, and decentralization of education is back on the burner. All I know is that a strong opposition is healthy in any democracy, irrespective the ruling party.

Did you hear about predictions that online learning will overtake traditional classrooms in the next decade? The Los Angeles Times reports that there is no substitute for in-person classroom teaching but that type of education will become the minority by 2020.  Hopefully education leaders will not use it as an excuse to properly maintain real-life buildings!

In Scotland, primary schools are piloting philosophy to improve students' critical thinking and listening skills. Students are engaged in discussions on topics such as society, leadership, and which is better: being strong or being clever. Teachers report that "they have seen clear changes in their listening, in the way they express themselves and how they think". Seems like Plato and Aristotle had it right all this time. Who would have thought?
Michael Cordier

World issues on Education

Education headlines in America report on funding issues, political shifting, integration issues, charter school dominance, and union entitlements amongst still-declining budgets. These are noble issues to discuss but pales in comparison with happenings around the world. Perspective is sometimes necessary to understand how well students and teachers have in America.

In South Africa a recent study reported that as much as 70% of SA's public schools are dysfunctional. This is an education sector in crisis. Politicians long for a general society that were united on education issues as manifested at the end of Apartheid era. The South African Democratic Teachers Union declared that South Africa was running out of time  to improve the system that impacts the lives of 12 million students attending public schools.

The Philipines is trying to meet a shortfall of 70,000 classrooms while legislation is proposed to add two more years of basic education that will require another 55,000 classrooms. Imagine not having an option of even a dilapidated building to host students.

Sweden led the charge to inspire other countries to adopt the 'free schools' model that was developed two decades ago. Ten percent of the government funded schools are run by religious groups and several have been cited for misconduct. Turns out that at least one school received money from a group that is also funding the Taliban and al-Quida. And we thought the Tea Party was radical.

In Kenia a need was raised for major changes in Kenyan schools. A standardized test used to determine whether children should progress from eight grade to high school was dropped or changed. The government's response was that reforms ' must not be rushed'. In New Zealand teachers delayed a strike to continue bargaining for better benefits. Sounds familiar? As recently as last year Hawaii teachers opted to teach four days a week rather than take a small pay cut to teach a full week - costing Hawaii students almost 40 less days of school.

Students do not have a vote, cannot dictate policy, cannot enforce best practices or build classrooms. Adults are in charge and maybe, just maybe the wise can take a page from the young ones who so desperately want to learn.
Michael Cordier

Higher Education for Me?

It would be easy to report on a wonderful 5-acre urban garden project in Arlington, VA where inner city students get the experience to plant, care and grow vegetables in 19 plots as part of their community service work. Where one high school senior commented that she did not know that sweet potatoes grew underground until the garden project.

 

Equally noteworthy is the hard-core fitness program developed by PE teacher, Orlandus Thomas at Comer Preparatory School, a charter school in Chicago. There, music fills the air and students never stops from moving - except when they participate in a cooking class or have discussions about healthy nutrition.

 

But what caught the attention is a Canadian report this week concluding that many young students set their sights on university or college much earlier than believed - before they arrive in Grade 9! The Toronto Globe & Mail reports that  research shows that almost half of low-income students make their decision about post-secondary education before they even set foot in high school, regardless of the financial burden. 

 

As the USA and other countries try to curb drop-out rates amongst high schoolers, education agencies should be challenged to rethink their approach as attitudes about higher education is just as important as access to it. It seems that a strategy needs to be developed at elementary and middle school levels to encourage adolescents and teens to start choosing career paths with the possibility of attending college or university.

 

 In the study of 10,000 low-income secondary students it was found that for every teen influenced by parents or culture to obtain post-secondary education, others receive little input. Furthermore, it’s these late deciders who are much more likely to leave university or college without graduating.

 

Neither mom or dad attended university the household I grew up. Since I could remember there was no option for any of the kids. We were raised with the notion that we will go to university. We all did. The thought of the consequences if we did not weight far too heavy! Thank Mom. Thanks Dad.

Michael Cordier

Nutrition and Legislation

In the past we have reported that the government is not capable of telling parents what their children can or cannot eat, but can legislate what can be served in public institutions supported by tax dollars such as schools. The government can demand healthier burgers, limited or no sugary sodas, low-fat milk, wholewheat bread and so forth when they pay for it. In fact, health advocates have sought for more than ten years now to get legislation passed to such effect and made major overtures to major food and beverage companies to support this cause. Finally everyone is on the same page but there is one caveat: better food choices cost more and who is going to pay for it?

First Lady Michelle Obama has lobbied aggressively for the proposed Child Nutrition Bill as part of her "Let's Move" program. She installed a fresh vegetable garden at the White House and addressed the Senate and House on this issue. She 'made an extensive outreach' to the Speaker of the House to rally support for the Child Nutrition Bill but to no avail.

One hundred and six Democrats could not stomach the thought that money from the Food Stamps fund be taken to pay for part of the $4.5 billion cost of the Child Nutrition Bill and voted against the bill. As a result, the bill is back to the drawing board. Obviously legislators have being eyeing large pots of money for different usages.

Even if the bill is approved after the elections it is only the first step in revamping school lunches. No clear guidelines exist to determine what kinds of foods could be sold or what ingredients may be limited. The Agriculture Department will decide that. It is fair to say that we need to get ready for a real food fight!
Michael Cordier

PE and Concussions

Looking at my nephew recently it dawned on me how much taller and bigger today's teenagers and young men appear to be compared to my youth. Seems like they started hitting the weight room at a much younger age or they are consuming some strange substance containing growth hormones!

So it was fascinating to read in the media that the number of sports-related concussions reported by young athletes is on the rise, prompting awareness campaigns from athletic- and medical groups to set minimum standards for concussion management not unlike steps taken recently by the National Football League. Even politicians are getting into the fray as the House Education and Labor Committee is planning to introduce legislation in this regard.

A study published in September in the medical journal, Pediatrics, noted that visits to the emergency room for concussions for children ages 8 to 19 had doubled from 1997 to 2007. In came despite a decrease in participation in organized sport. Furthermore, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on concussion in high school sports that said there was no mechanism to track overall estimate of occurrence, but the injuries may be under reported because of athletes not wanting to be removed from games (EdWeek, Sept, 2010).

This 'macho' image is understandable amongst teenagers but unacceptable from coaches. One cannot simply shake off a hard knock, or 'walk it off' as some coaches prefer to handle it. A coach can't be everywhere, can observe all parts of a play, or prevent students from hitting harder. But they can intervene immediately when having any doubts and that is where awareness education should be focused.

How does this relate to PE? Any PE professional will tell you that a proper PE program teaches anatomy and physiology in addition to practical applications: how to roll, fall, run, kick, dive, tackle, and so on. Practical skills to be applied anywhere and in any sport. Somehow this fact escapes the legislators, medical professionals,  and week-end coaches. It is one of the reasons that there are over 500 middle and high schools with the emphasis on sports in the U.K. called Sports Colleges: to produce better prepared sportsmen and women at club and national levels - and prevent injuries where possible.

As for my nephew, he beats me in arm wrestling. I am OK with it. Chess is a different matter.
Michael Cordier

3 million TX Students Can't Be Wrong

Recently the results of the Texas Youth Fitness Study was announced. It provided an in-depth analysis and evaluation of data collected through state-mandated health-related fitness testing of all public school children in Texas, from grades 3 through 12. James Martin and Scott Morrow from the University of North Texas co-authored the document and presents key findings and issues associated with fitness in Texas.

Key points include:

• Higher physical fitness test achievement is related to higher state academic test scores and higher attendance, fewer negative school incidents and overall school quality, as indicated by the state ranking system (exemplary, recognized, acceptable, or unacceptable);
• Teachers work hard to conduct important and quality testing and do a good job of testing despite often challenging school settings;
• Teachers share their positive and negative experiences and provide ways to improve testing in challenging school settings and for large-scale testing across a state;
• Reliability and validity of large-scale testing is good; and suggestions for testing in challenging school settings and in large-scale testing for regional, state, and national settings are provided.

The study funded by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation was coordinated by the Cooper Institute. The study's focused on the relation between fitness test achievement and academic achievement; the reliability and validity of fitness testing with large samples; teacher interviews regarding large-scale fitness testing; psychosocial variables related to cardiorespiratory fitness and body mass index, and school and teacher characteristics associated with fitness test achievement.

Clearly, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and any doubts about the impact of physical activity on academic performance can be put to bed. Student behavior modification as a result of physical activity was an interesting component. Obviously, healthy students as a whole perform better and behave better. If 3 million Texas students can't be wrong, why are physical education not a bigger part of every school, every day?
Michael Cordier

Our Priorities Backward?

Over the years billions of dollars have been spent on ELL programs in schools and rightly so. These programs help students who have a different home language than English to get up to speeed in regular schooling. In addition, billions are spent on Title 1 programs to provide day care, after school programs, and school meals to students from under-priviledged communities. This spending is equally neccesary to improve scholastic performance and create safe environments for children to function properly. Add to that the discretionary spending of $5 billion dollars by the Secretary of Education in the Race to the Top money (to improve schools, student assessment, and teacher development), and it is clear that education speding is doing well.

Obviously a lot of tax payer money goes to the upliftment of our student population so it is with trepedation to learn about federal funding for gifted education being on the verge of elimination. Christina Samuels from Education Week reports that the ONLY funding at federal level for gifted education (Jacob Javits Gifted  and Talented Education Act) might be cut. If it was to the amount of billions one could emphasize with such a decision but it is a measly $7.5 million - a drop in the education-spending bucket. To blame the current administration will not be fair as the program was repeatedly dropped during the previous administration.

Two issues comes to mind:
1) How can we afford not to support the one segment of our student population that will guarantee academic performance;
2) Why is the amount so small to develop the gifted in our society who has the best potential to become leaders in any field they choose?

It is unimaginable that China or India place such a small premium on their best and brightest. It is equally unimaginable to assume that gifted students will excell without any help. But the most scary part is the fact that there is no federal mandate to provide gifted education. This means local districts dictates the services provided and a lot of the Javits program money goes to teacher training to accommodate gifted students in some shape or form.

I was not a gifted student but I grew up with a few. One committed suicide in our junior year because he hated school and was bored out of his mind. The system failed him. How many others with such potential has suffered as well?
Michael Cordier

Online Making Headlines

More and more rumblings about online teaching or online applications are being heard in education circles. Just this week the following healines made the news:

• Free Online Tool Help Teachers to Track Student Progress (T.H.E. Jornal) reports on a new tool to help teachers monitor student progress towards classroom and state goals. This free online grade book records comments and student grades compared to state standards. Washington and Oregon standards are completed, California, Alaska, and Idaho will be added next.
• Texas Students, Teachers to Share Materials on iTunes Channel (The Dallas Morning News) explains how students and parents in Texas now have free access to multimedia educational materials that are uploaded by teachers through the Texas iTunes U Channel. It allows teachers to share and comment on each other's videotaped lessons. (This is new to me!);
• Chicago Pilot Program to Extend School Day with Online Instruction (Chicago Tribune) reports on a proposal to extend schooling for 15 elementary schools by adding 90-minutes to the end of each day. The block would be used for math and reading using a combination of online instruction and nonteacher supervision. Union leaders are naturally upset.
• Early Elementary iPad Use Sign of Things to Come? (Converge Magazine) informs us that more than 20 city public schools are testing the new tablet computing device this year to run applications that help early elementary students answer abstract questions, refining their handwriting, take audio notes, and produce their own multimedia projects. The reference is not to fist and second year college students, but early elementary students!

These headlines are mentioned as our family embarked on an interesting experiment this year: total virtual school for our daughter. Instead of a 180 school days, she is enrolled year round. Instead of access to teachers for six hours a day, she has access to teachers 12 hours a day. Instead of a heavy carry bag full of books, everything (literally) is delivered online. Instead of having a close circle of friends (clique), she has met tons of new friends at the local home school group and home school sports clubs. Together with a councilor and teachers, we as parents dictate the pace and schedule. We reward or discipline. We have a choice of a regular pace or accelerated pace, regular curricula or accelerated content.

Come to learn that last year 24,000 students were enrolled full-time in virtual school in our state. These students were supported by over 1,000 full-time teachers. Online schooling (virtual school) are no longer an experiment. It is the fastest growing sector in the education market and soon to be mainstream. Question is, when do you embrace it?
Michael Cordier

The Learning Process

Someone once said that when we stop learning we might as well die. It is for this reason that two sciences developed in the field of learning: Pedagogy - the teaching of children; and Andragogy - the training of adults. Both groups of students set out to absorb new content but is motivated by different outcomes. We can agree that any learning should develop critical thinking and problem-solving in our modern society. Or should it?

The London-based Institute of Education just published a study under the direction of Chris Watkins in the Research Matters journal that ties the current discussion over how to teach modern critical thinking and problem-solving skills back to the decades-old discussion of students' motivation in the classroom. They found that two parallel motivations drive student achievement:

1) "Learning Orientation" - the drive to improve knowledge and competency;
2) "Performance Orientation" - the drive to prove that competency to others.

Guess which orientation is being developed under the current US-style assessment accountability system?

Watkins found the highest-achieving students had a healthy dose of both types of motivation, but students who focused too heavily on performance ironically performed less well academically, thought less critically, and had a harder time overcoming failure. Improving meta-cognition (exercises such as journaling or class discussions) does not always take place in a Learning Orientation environment which robs a student from showing or proving competency. On the flip side, a Performance Orientation emphasis does drive up competition in a classroom (which I personally don't think is a bad thing).

Education Week (Aug 17, 2010) which highlighted this study reports that the likelihood of U.S. or British schools moving away from high-stakes accountability is low, and the Research Matters review suggests educators should stop thinking of learning and performance as diametrically opposed. What educators should be aware of is that both motivators exists for optimal learning and to incorporate it in their teaching strategy.
Michael Cordier

Teacher Takes a Stance

Kate Quarfordt is a mother, teacher, artist, and writer. But she is not a policy wonk who scrutinizes education proposals for legislation. That is until she was asked to appear at a briefing on Capitol Hill representing practitioners to discuss policy recommendations for the Well-rounded Education in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The act itself sounds great after years of hearing about math, science, reading and writing being highlighted in the 'No Child Left Behind' education policy. The budget request for ESEA in 2011 does reflect an increase of 38.9 million in funding to support teaching and learning in arts, history, civics, foreign languages, geography, and economics. But it seems as if this increase is achieved by combining eight subject-specific grant programs into a single competitive grant program.

Kate realized that disciplines other than math and science will have to compete against each other, "with some of them undoubtedly getting the short end of the stick". She further recognized the fact that pitting subjects against each other will undermine or eliminate the spirit of collaboration among disciplines in schools aiming to provide a well-rounded education.

My problem in addition to those stated by Kate lies in the small increase to cover so many important disciplines. $38.9 million dollars in the overall education budget is a proverbial drop in a bucket and will not have any impact on our 100,000 public schools. Neither will it lead to a truly comprehensive, well-rounded education program. A small comparison would be to look at the fully fledged foreign language schools in India and Pakistan to prepare their youth for the global markets. Or China focusing on world history and economics for the next generation to be the new world power.

The argument for more funding for the so called 'core subjects' is a mute point by now. It is well funded and fully integrated. The challenge now is to position our students to be competitive against students from the rest of the world. Somehow that critical point is lost in translation.

Michael Cordier

Nutrition Becomes a Strategic Issue

The House Committee on Education and Labor passed the "Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act". This will now go to the House floor for financing - probably from the "Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010" passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee funded at $4.5 billion over 10 years.

A major push for this legislation comes from the military. Finally it is being acknowledged that obesity impacts the strategic balance of the country. For years, the fight of obesity was waged on micro level but now it is being fought at macro level because the increase of obesity threatens the very safety of the country. The 15,000 military recruiters found that 1 in 4, or 27% of all young adults between 17 and 24 cannot enlist. They are too overweight. As a result, hundreds of otherwise excellent recruits are being turned away.

The statistics are well known: Childhood obesity rates have tripled in the past 30 years. According to the CDC, in 10 years the number of states reporting 40% or more young adults as overweight or obese jumped from one to thirty nine!

A group of 150 retired generals and admirals released a report called "To Fat to Fight" to raise public awareness about a national security implications of the childhood obesity. The consensus is that parent choices cannot be legislated but food provided in school can be regulated. The price tag of $4.5 billion over ten years is far less than the $75 billion spent each year on health care costs related to obesity.

Finally, obesity is every one's problem.
Michael Cordier

Accountability

An interesting article from the Washington Post by Daniel Willingham caught the eye the other day. It had nothing to do with physical activity on which we normally focus but might have everything to do with leading healthy lifestyles.

The author questions the push of the Department of Education towards teacher accountability where teachers could loose their jobs if student performance does not improve. The Department in essence gives students a free pass for any accountability (if tests scores are discounted). The point is made that it is fair for a first grade teacher to reach out to students as they might not respond on their own. But if the same thing is said to a high school teacher the system failed to teach and prepare students to handle responsibility.

Dr. Willingham, who teaches at the University of Virginia, reflects that freshmen are unaccustomed to the idea that they are fully responsible for their actions in the academic arena. In contrast, most professors think of students as 100% responsible for their own learning while their job is to teach well. It is indeed the same attitude in the workplace or military. Why then the entitlement attitude of young adults to think that someone else will step up or that there is always a plan B?

In all the formulations of teacher accountability for student performance, student responsibility is not taken into account at all. Failure is blamed solidly on teachers. Certainly students are responsible to do their part and society should demand it.

The same principle applies to leading a healthy lifestyle. One can have all the knowledge, all the equipment, and all the support, but if you don't take the first step you can expect personal results. It remains the responsibility of the individual.
Michael Cordier

The Heavy Weights Weigh In

Imagine the incredible brain trust or think tank you get when combining the resources of the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services. This happened recently when a research paper was published that summarized all research related to the association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance.

In fact, the team reviewed 406 articles from nine databases against a set of indicators including cognitive skills and attitudes, academic behaviors, academic achievement, physical activity, physical education, recess, classroom-based physical activity, and extracurricular physical activity. In the end, 50 unique studies from 43 articles deemed appropriate to analyze and draw conclusions.

 Interestingly, across all 50 studies there were a total of 251 associations between physical activity and academic performance! Of all the associations examined, 50.5% were positive (supporting the benefits of physical activity on academic performance), 48% were not significant (in behavior, attitude, or academic change), and only 1.5% were negative.

In essence, 14 studies found one or more positive associations between school-based physical education and indicators of academic performance while three found no significant associations. Eight studies found one or more positive associations between recces and indicators of cognitive skills, attitudes, and academic behavior. None of the studies found negative associations with recess. Eight out of nine studies found positive associations between classroom-based physical activity and cognitive skills, attitudes, and academic behavior. The focus was on 5 - 20 minute activity breaks in academic classes (excluding PE).

All 19 studies examining relationships between participation in extracurricular physical activities (interscholastic or other sports) and academic performance found one or more positive associations between such activities and academic performance.

The implication of this report for policy is far reaching. There is substantial evidence that physical activity improve academic performance including grades and standardized test scores. It underscores that physical activity have an impact on cognitive skills and attitudes as well as academic behavior - all of which are important components of improved academic performance. Finally, increasing or maintaining time dedicated to physical education may help, and does not appear to adversely impact, academic performance.

We rest our case.
Michael Cordier

Ohio Gets It Right!

The legislation in Ohio just signed the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children into law and will take affect in the new school year. They are obviously serious about curbing obesity in this state where it is estimated that 19% of all kids are overweight. The legislation calls for:

1. Healthy interventions from Kindergarten through 12th grades;
2. Schools to use Body Mass Index (BMI) to estimate a healthy body weight (but parents can opt out);
3. PE teachers hired after 2012 must be certified and licensed;
4. All schools are required to offer a pilot program with 30 minutes of rigorous physical activity each day - aside from recess;
5. Schools are forced to provide healthier options in cafeterias and vending machines.

We know that an obese 10-year old has an 80% chance of being obese as an adult. These initiatives from Ohio will go a long way towards proper education for healthy lifestyles in the long term. It is a big step closer to stem the the obesity growth and who knows, see a decline in a generation. Well done to all the legislators from both parties who supported these efforts.
Michael Cordier

The Crux of the Matter

Cleveland.com reported that lawmakers in the Ohio State House voted 77 - 21 to approve legislation which pushes out candy machines and soda pop in favor of low-fat milk, fruit juices, water, and healthier food in Ohio's school lunch rooms by 2014. The bill furthermore requires Ohio schools to measure student's body mass index in Kindergarten, third, fifth, and ninth grades and calls for 30 minutes of physical activity a day. So far, so good.

Then the infighting started. Republicans say that government is interfering too much and taking responsibility away from parents. They admit that one third of students in Ohio is obese. It is therefore a difficult argument to make because one third of parents are contributing to the obesity problem. The Democrats argues that they know physical activity and nutrition will improve the health of youth but there are possible exceptions. Immediately the door opens for both parties to 'pull the teeth' from good legislation for their own political purposes.

The end result is that school districts can seek a waiver to drop the body mass index measurement. Who is going to add more work on an overburdened system? It is fair to assume that this initiative has already failed. Furthermore, school districts successfully lobbied to turn the 30 minutes of daily exercise into a pilot project for districts who want to participate. Guess what's going to happen amongst scheduling nightmares? It's not going to happen.

So the winners are the politicians who tackled a 'tough subject' and passed some legislation and the school districts which can opt out in the primary areas of assessment and activity.

The biggest losers? The students - again!
Michael Cordier

The Truth and Nothing But the Truth

Finally someone spoke up and reported it: the state mandates for physical education is a farce in most cases. It lacks the teeth to be effective due to the rising number of mindless waivers and exemptions that students and parents can use not to partake in physical education.

The Associate Press reported on a study by the American Heart Association and National Association (AHA) for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) that shows more states requiring physical education at elementary, middle, and high schools but few require students to exercise for a specific amount of time. AHA's Nancy Brown comments that "the movement has not been more significant and it is more of a sporadic approach".

Waivers and exemptions include participation in band, ROITC, one semester of organized sport, dress-out restrictions, and the list goes on. The end result is that students are denied proper teaching of healthy lifestyles. It is well documented that physical education counters obesity and long-term health problems in addition to better academic performance.

84% of states require PE for elementary students, 76% for middle and junior high schools, and 90% in high schools. This is significantly higher than a few years a go. Interesting to note that only five states require PE consistently from K - 12.

Both the AHA and NASPE recommend 150 minutes a week of instructed physical education for elementary students and 225 minutes a week for middle and high school students. The issue remains to get students in the PE class!
Michael Cordier

Physical Education Legislation - A Positive Step

The 'Fitness Integrated with Teaching Act' or FIT Kids Act has been approved by the US House on April 21, 2010 and is heading to the Senate for approval. However, this legislation has met some opposition and the fear is that it could get bogged down due to the measure's new reporting requirements.

The legislation would impose a new set of reporting requirements on virtually all school districts to make it easier for members of the public to learn what physical activities and education schools offer. The argument is that these reporting requirements would burden local schools already struggling to meet a vast array of federal mandates.

Like so many initiatives, this bill does not provide federal aid for districts to spend on PE but does call for an unspecified amount of funding for the National Research Council to examine and make recommendations on 'innovative and effective ways to increase physical activity'. As if we need yet another study to confirm findings of hundreds of other studies over the past 10 years.

Boo-hoo to both groups for opposing accountability to finally make PE part of a level playing field (pardon the pun) and legislators for proposing a toothless initiative where the money is not where the mouth is. It sounds like a lot of 'feel-good' language to counter a growing concern about childhood obesity in the USA.

The upside is that physical education is on the front burner of legislators and critical issues are being addressed to imform parents and the public on:
- The amount of time students are required to spend in PE by grade level compared to national recommendations;
- Whether schools follow an age-appropriate PE curriculum;
- How schools promote 'healthy lifestyles' including school programs and policies on nutrition and physical activity as it relates to Title I recipients.

Data collection costs money and so does good programs. Perhaps research appropriation should go to data collection which will identify good practices and thus provide direction on proper spending or equipment and curriculum.
Michael Cordier

Washington DC Takes the Lead

Washington DC is not a principality but the smallest state in the nation. It could be the most important piece of real estate in the USA, serving as the capital and power bastion. Washington District of Columbia does not house many folks due to cost and size, but saw development of many housing projects during the previous century which today accommodate 71,000 school students. Sadly, it boasts one of the highest obesity rates  in the country. 43% of students enrolled in the school district is overweight or obese.

Finally the 13-member  DC Council proposed legislation to increase physical education and clamp down on fast foods served in the schools. There is a political angle to this change of heart: Michell Obama's initiative on healthier foods in schools is sited as inspiration.

The Washing Post reports that, "The bill would ban trans fats and limit sodium and saturated fats. City public and charter schools would have to meet the federal "gold standard" for lunches, which requires that a different fruit and vegetable be served every day and that only low-fat or non-fat milk and whole grains be offered.The estimated cost is $23 million over four years. The measure would establish mandatory guidelines on caloric intake at breakfast and lunch, effectively forcing smaller and healthier portions. In elementary schools, breakfasts would have a required range of 350 to 550 calories, and lunches would have a range of 450 to 600 calories. In high schools, the required range would be 450 to 600 calories for breakfast and 750 to 850 calories for lunch".

The bill also put much greater emphasis on physical education in city schools. Elementary students, for instance, receive an average of 45 minutes of physical education a week. The bill would increase the requirement to 150 minutes starting in 2014. In middle school, where students now have physical education for one trimester, they would attend gym class throughout the school year for at least 225 minutes a week. 

This is not a lot of money given the size and impact of a very good program but is still unfunded in a struggling economy. Proposals are on the table to levy a tax on soda sales in the state - which has soda distributors and manufacturers up in arms! If approved, it is a giant leap in the right direction!
Michael Cordier

Play, Play, Play

Here is a story that 'warms the cockles'. The Arizona Daily Start reports on a preschool program that was started in 1948, is owned and managed by parents, and became fully integrated three years before it became state law in 1954. The Tuscon Community School hosts about 80 children from ages 3 to 6. All learning takes place through PLAY. It was the mission back in 1948 and it is still the mission.

"Children should be able to try things out. Play is how you learn things," says school Director Mary Sue Houser, a proud alum of the school herself back in the late 1960s. Parents can't just simply 'drop off' their kids and drive into the sunrise every morning. It is expected that each parent puts in 12 to 18 days a year on site! "Involved" is the operative word in this unique school.

Activities are split between inside and outside, with inside learning also revolving around play. There are pianos to bang on and art projects to tackle - but NO coloring between the lines. Annual fees range from around $1,500 to $3,300, depending on age and number of days attended. Scholarships are available, and the school holds regular fundraisers.

Reporter Bonnie Henry comments that, yes, kids will still be kids. When they get too rambunctious, they're given 'good work to do'. "We give them hammer and nails and something to work on", says the principal.

Now that sounds like kids being kids.
Michael Cordier

Fitness and Learning

Imagine a school setting where equal goals are assigned to reading, math, and physical activity? Leveling the playing field through equal priority given to academia and movement.

It is exactly what is going on in in Oklahoma at Steed Elementary School. Coordinated amongst all  grade teachers students are called to master 26 math skills, learn 26 reading skills, read 26 books and RUN 26.2 miles! Yes, a full marathon - even if it is over time.

Teacher Christine Paradise says," the goal is to get the kids involved in more physical activities and running is a natural fit as they do it anyway."

The program's success is in students running and learning gradually. They keep journals on their progress and a teacher or parent verifies that each task is completed. Needless to say, students can run any time. The program is now implemented from pre-kindergarten through fifth grades. The finale will be for students to run the final 1.2 miles of their 'marathon' at a Kids Marathon in Oklahoma City.

Goals are pretty tough. One math assignment would  be the mastering of the multiplication table. In reading it could mean the ability to understand inferences or main ideas. Ultimately the idea is to encourage students to keep going and persevere - A rare commodity now a-days.

The cool part is that several teachers have joined the program as well, setting 26 personal goals in addition to running a 'marathon'. Breaking it up in parts makes it easy and enhance the chances of success. Such programs teach life skills in addition to personal development, self-discipline, and intrinsic motivation. No fault can be found with this formula.
Michael Cordier

Fatter than we thought!

US researchers declared that obesity among American children is much worse than previously believed, putting them at greater risk of serious health problems as they age. Begging the question where those researchers were hiding during the past 5 to 7 years?

The Journal of Pediatrics quoted a study of 700,000 student in southern California alone that found 45,000 students to be extremely obese (sounds like a new category) with boys leading the charge. Co-authored by Dr. Amy Porter of Kaiser Permanente, says that the study showed extreme obesity rising in almost every group (multi-ethnic study by age, race, and gender). This translates to 7% of boys and 5% of girls being extremely obese and 2% of all children under 5 years old. Previous research from federal health surveys suggested 3.8% of children were extremely obese.

The researchers pointed out that without major lifestyle changes, these kids face 10 to 20 years shorter life spans and will develop health problems in their 20's that we typically see in 40-to-60-year-olds. Scary thought!

And the bottom line? Two-thirds of all adults in the USA are overweight or obese. One third of all children in the USA is obese. The increasing risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses adds about $150 billion a year to US health care costs.

There is not single solution but a combination of more physical activity during the day, healthier nutrition, and participation in organized sports will be a good start.
Michael Cordier

Victory in Small Increments in Texas

Earlier this year the Texas Department of Education lowered the physical education requirements for elementary and middle schools as well as those applicable for graduation. A slew of substitutes to fulfill the PE requirement were also approved. Those included ROTC, cheerleading, or a sememster of organized sports.

The message sent by the Department did say much about their feelings and priority towards physical education. It also send a message to professionals who dedicated at least for years to formal education to become certified physical education teachers. A ground swell of advocacy took place in many districts and local school boards listened.

On March 25, 2010 the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees approved an amendment to Board Policy EIF (Local) Academic Achievement, keeping the local high school graduation requirement for Physical Education at 1.5 credits and the high school Health Education requirement at .5. So, although the state has reduced the requirement from 1.5 to 1.0 for Physical Education and from .5 to .0 for Health Education, the Dallas Independent School District will keep these requirements for our students entering the ninth grade during the 2010-11 school year and thereafter.

It is an a victory for passionate teachers and highlights the importance of physical activity and good nutrition. Let all of us continue the good fight.
Michael Cordier

Effective Recess

Used to be that recess was a time for kids to hang out and take a break from sitting in a chair all day. Used to be that kids received their dose of physical activity in a daily PE class. But those good old days are gone. Physical Education has been watered down so much that the challenge is not to get out of it but to be part of it!

In comes 'the new Recess'. All of a sudden the role that recess time plays in schools have been expanded and structured. The start was the Wellness Act implemented by the Bush administration (toothless legislation as no money or penelties were built into it). It mandated structured, supervised recess time for 30 minutes a day in schools as part of a comprehensive school wellness plan.

Several companies such as Playworks jumped on board to develop activities to include before- and after school recess times. These programs focus on good sportmanship, character building, team participation, and fighting obesity. In essence, it provides for structured play and involves participation from all teachers - not just PE specialists. A new set of teachers are taught the fundamental benefits of physical activity.

It is a known fact that children need a time, place, and space to release pent-up energy. Active recess serves as a time to generate fresh blood to the brain to highten concentration and focus in the classroom. This leads to fewer conflicts in class and nurture natural leaders. Many programs allow well-behaved students to become junior coaches to lead or teach recess activities.

It is easy to support structured recess if it get kids moving. Let us all embrace and encourage it.
Michael Cordier

Link between Physical Health and Test Scores

Yet another study finds a "link between physical health and academic test scores". It is not sure how many studies must be performed with:

•  small groups and large groups;
• long term or short term;
• young or older students,

before someone high up in the business of education gets it: Fit students perform better academically!

The latest study comes from West Virginia University where author Lesley Cottrell, associate professor of pedeiatrics, found that "children's fitness is associated with their academic performance". Her team found that the fitter the student, the better the test scores. They evaluated 1,200 students and assesed fitness in fifth and again in seventh grades using a standardized test. They also tested students in four subjects (math, science, reading, and social studies) - again using standardized tests.

The hypothesis was that students maintaining or improving fitness scores over a two-year period would have the best test scores. They were right. Who would have known?

Taken a bit further, they found that students who were unhealthy in 5th grade scored worse at reading in 7th grade. Students who were fit in 5th grade but were not fit by 7th grade did only a little better academically. However, those  who were not fit in 5th grade but became fit by 7th grade increased their reading score quite a bit. The best performers were obviously fit students in 5th grade who maintained their fitness through 7th grade.

It is important to note that the emphasis was on fitness not body weight and thereby accommodating different body types, hereditary discrepancies, and cultural differences. It did not matter if a student carried a few extra pounds. Now if we can only get administrators and some parents to wake up to the obvious: Fit bodies = healthy minds.
Michael Cordier

Obesity Prevention Intervention Study

What happens when students of all economic backgrounds are exposed to a school-based obesity prevention intervention that included dietary, curricula, and physical activity components? How does this intervention impacted body mass index (BMI) percentiles and academic performance among low-income elementary school children?

Well, its been done for two consecutive years involving 5,488 students of which 48% were Hispanic. Think about simplicity of the intervention: helping students understand their eating habits, promote healthier choices and increased physical activity. This in itself is a worthy effort to pursue by any school who serves free and reduced lunches. But when one adds the outcomes from this study in is inexplainable why such an intervention is not mandated on a national level.

What researcher, Danielle Hollard and her team from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine found is astonishing:
1) Obese children experienced a drop in their Body Mass Index (BMI) - probably expected
2) Regular students maintained their healthy BMI's -probably expected
3) Significant increases in math scores were experienced during both years of the study - surprising!
4) Improvement in math scores occured in both Hispanic and White students - surprising!
5) Higher readings scores were experienced as well for both years but not as high as math scores - surprising!

It is therefore possible to have a regular school program that impacts both the health and academic performance of students. Furthermore it makes  the healthy body / healthy mind connection yet again. How many more of these studies are needed to make the same point?

Visit http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/AJPH.2009.165746v1 to see the complete study.

Michael Cordier

Motives for Getting Involved in Education

Perhaps the most politicized public forum in any community is the typical school district. The appointment of the Superintendent is determined by party lines and that tone cascade to the lowest levels when it comes to career development.  But the refrain continues that "it is all for the kids". Hypocrisy! Here is what Rick Hess had to say on his Blog 'Straight Up'. I believe he has a point and a good one.

'It's for the Kids' Needs to Go

By Rick Hess on February 17, 2010 7:28 AM | 11 Comments | No TrackBacks

It's time to banish the phrase, "It's for the kids," (that's "IFTK" for those of you keeping score at home) from the edu-discourse, along with its insipid cousins like "it's all about kids," "just for the kids," and "we're in it for the kids." Actually, it's way past time.
Two things recently reminded how much I loathe IFTK. One was a terrific little essay penned by my old mentor, Harvard University's Dick Elmore. The other, which I'll take up tomorrow, was AFT President Randi Weingarten's painful interview recently on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show.
Elmore bracingly terms "We're in it for the kids" a "monument to self-deception." He argues, "Public schools, and the institutions that surround them, surely rank among the most self-interested institutions in American society"--with school boards "training beds" for would-be politicians, superintendents sketching grandiose visions and then fleeing for cushier positions, and unions sacrificing student interests in the name of teacher job security.
"It's for the kids" is a phrase that encourages obfuscation and posturing. It allows self-interest to hide behind self-righteousness and vapid sentiment. It also imposes real costs.
First, the rhetoric of "it's for the kids" makes it easy for serious disagreements about policy or practice to devolve into name-calling and questions of motive. If I'm "in it for the kids" and you oppose my stance on teacher licensure, desegregation, charter schooling, or merit pay, it can be easy for me to assert (and maybe even assume) that you're not in it for the kids. This fuels ad hominem attacks and makes it more difficult to find workable solutions.
And, honestly, I can't see why motive much matters. I couldn't care less whether my doctor loves me; I just care whether she's any good at her job. If someone is in it for the kids, for the adoring news coverage, or for a buck, all I really care about is whether they deliver. If they do, terrific. If they don't, their noble motives don't matter.

Is Winning Everything?

A poll from Darien Conn., wherein over 800 students in sixth to eight grades who particpated in junior football and basketball were targeted, the crucial question were asked, "Why do you play sports?"

Turned out the answer were quite simple. Not to one day play in the Super Bowl, not even to win - but for fun! While parents dream big it seems as if the children focus on small stuff, like having FUN.

The single page questionaire asked to rank 11 reasons why children participates in sports. Options such as 'to have fun' and 'to make friends' were added to more serious options such as 'to win' and 'to earn college scholarships'. From the mound of data gathered, researcher Peter Barston found a striking pattern. No matter how he categorized the responses, the most important reason youngsters gave for playing sports was the same: to have fun. That was the top response from football and basketball players, from boys and from girls, and from players in each grade from fourth to eighth.

In fact, the response from male basketball players were 95% and from females 98% listing 'fun' as the most important reason for participation.

The preliminary findings are not far from what the Michigan State researchers Martha Ewing and Vern Seefeldt concluded in 1989. Their study of 28,000 boys and girls around the country asked, Why do you play sports? The top answer then was “fun,” followed by “to do something I’m good at” and “to improve my skills.” “Winning” did not crack the top 10.

All this is a good sign and a strong message to parents: Back off on the winning at all costs theory!
Michael Cordier
Source: EdWeek - Mark Hyman 1/30/10

Geocashing is Going Mainstream in Schools

Geocashing is fun! And it is healthy! And it incorporates technology! And its free! So how does it work?

Geocashing is a high-tech game played using coordinates and global positioning systems (GPS) to find hidden stuff (treasures). Very few treasures have any value but many of them are well planned and could take days or months to uncover - moving from one lead to another. Some treasure are found in extreme places. It is rumored that one clue will lead you to the top of Mt. Everest!

For the mere mortals coordinates can lead to a bottle cap imbedded into a tree and painted the color of the bark. Others can lead to logbooks to be signed by those who found it. Fact is that each search is an adventure with a keen sense of achievement when found. Several school districts have embraced it over the past four years with excellent results. Particpants walk, communicate, and explore new areas such as parks, suburbs, and trials.

The Inquirer reports that youth programs, such as offered the Salvation Army, has embraced geocashing to introduce kids to new expereinces, sights, and scenes. Old cities such as Philadelphia is riddled with caches and a great way to learn history. The idea is to find things you would otherwise not have seen or known about.

To get started visit http://www.geocashing.com/

Have fun! Michael Cordier

The Role of Arts in Schools

The concept of developing 'the whole child' has been around for as long as education became a structured process. With globalization a new premium was placed on competition which resulted in targeted teaching content such as math, science, and reading. Resources for everything else declined and in some cases almost disappeared. Proponents of 'the whole child' movement claims that excellence in core subjects can be reached with an all-encompassing program uses the arts as medium to teach core subjects.


A wonderful program in Tuscon, AZ proves the point. In the program, different fine-arts techniques are used for students' academic development. At the Peter Howell Elementary School, Kindergarteners use instrumental music to develop auditory acuity; first-graders use opera to develop language acquisition; second-graders use dance to develop kinesthetic awareness; third-graders play the recorder to learn composition; fourth-graders play the violin to develop abstract reasoning; fifth- and sixth-graders compose, direct and stage original works to learn how to research, create and perform. By middle school, their learning becomes an integration of all previous experiences.


In an EdWeek article, ( http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/01/11/fineartsacademics ), the concepts of "Opening the Minds through the Arts" (OMA) program is explained. Says OMA Director, Joan Ashcraft, "The children go to middle school with such a heightened understanding of connections in the world," explains Ashcraft. "The teachers tell us that they have to redesign their classroom lessons because the children are challenging them and they have to elevate their work because the children are thinking more creatively."


Needless to say, when fine arts are infused with traditional lessons, teamwork and creativity are often byproducts. "Fine arts can stand all by itself, but when you take it and purposefully use it as a tool to help academic achievement, it really cements the concepts," says Howell principal and pianist Mary Ann Jackson. Whether acting, singing, dancing or drawing is used to reinforce lessons, the connections students draw are incomparable to textbook-style learning. Who would have thought?


Here is the kicker: Independent research firm WestEd Inc., has determined that students in the OMA program have higher AIMS and Stanford 9 test scores, regardless of ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds!
 
My guess is that the preparation, scheduling, and staffing will be offered as excuses not to replicate this living example of a successful program to develop the whole child. Those are poor excuses to excellence in teaching our children.
Michael Cordier

New Connection Between Fitness and Brain Development

A recent study published by three universities (Sweden & USA) under the authorship of Maria Aberg et al., and titled "Cardiovascular fitness is associated with cognition in young adulthood", is filled with lots of statistical methods and complex formulas. (PNAS
December 8, 2009
vol. 106
no. 49
20911).

What makes the study interesting is that it is a longitudinal study amongst a large group of men (1,221,727) born in 1950 and tracked through 1976. The group included full-sibling pairs, twin pairs, and monozygotic twin pairs (identical). Both physical fitness and intelligence performance data were collected and linked with other national databases for information on school achievement, socio-economic status, and sibship.

Cardiovascular fitness was measured by ergometer cycling and muscle strength by strength tests. Discarding heritability and non-shared environmental influences, the results were striking:

Cardiovascular fitness, not muscle strength, at age 18 years is associated with cognitive performance. Cardiovascular fitness changes between age 15 and 18 predicted cognitive performance at 18 years. Propositional-hazards models showed that cardiovascular fitness at age 18 predicted educational achievements later in life!

Various forms of intelligence exists and the research shows cardiovascular fitness increases:

• Global intelligence
• Logical intelligence
• Verbal intelligence
• Visiospatial intelligence
• Verbal intelligence
• Technical intelligence

The study concluded that "these data substantiate that physical exercise could be an important instrument for public health initiatives to optimize educational achievements, cognitive performance, as well as disease prevention at the society level".

So why is physical activity not a priority nor a part as we reshape the Education model in America?

It now seems likely that the 'Race To The Top' grants for $4 Billion to states across the country is in fact the blue print for the next version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that is due to be renewed in the next year. A close adviser of Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, confirmed that the future of our education system will rest on the core foundations of the Race to the Top program:

1. turning around low-performing schools,
   
2. improving teacher quality and distribution,
   
3. bolstering state data systems,
   
4. improving the use of data and assessments,
5. Expanding Charter School programs

Glaringly missing from the core of the future of education is the role of arts in the development of the whole child. In particular, nothing has been mentioned about nutrition and physical activity in the formal mouthpieces of education publications.

It has been reported that Mrs. Duncan is a certified PE teacher but even the largest organization promoting physical education and sport has failed to solicit a positive response from her to promote healthy lifestyles. It might be that the Secretary wants to fix the 'big issues' first before being bothered by the mundane such as a healthy body harbors a strong mind.

But if one wants to follow the money, it might behoove our leaders to pay more attention to an article posted in the Atlanta Constitution by Bryan McCullick: http://www.ajc.com/opinion/obesity-wont-improve-without-235301.html It might behoove all of us to not only read the article but pass it on to others.

It is clear that a new generation of students exposed to quality physical education can diminish the escalating costs associated with health care - irrespective any health care reform.
Michael Cordier