Legally Fit?

Laws are created, amended, passed, vetoed and so on across our country all the time.  For example, the Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act (TADRA), enacted on July 1, 1997, has strict specifications for obtaining a driving permit and license.  This legislation was enacted in an attempted to allow teenage drivers to safely gain driving experience thereby reducing the number of accidents they are involved in.  I think we can all agree that it is a good idea to keep our little friends on the kindergarten hall from driving to school every morning! 

The Georgia General Assembly is currently considering a bill, Senate Bill 474 (SB 474), that would directly impact you.  This bill is known as the “Student Health and Fitness Act”.  It would require that each student in elementary school participate in 150 minutes of Physical Education a week, which is the equivalent of 30 minutes a day.  This legislation is intended to help prevent childhood obesity.  To read SB 474 just go here.  I’ve highlighted some of the parts I thought you might find interesting.     

As a democratic society, we have the right and obligation to voice our thoughts about these matters.  I have contacted members of the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Senate to express my opinions, but I’m interested in knowing what you think. Remember that you currently have P.E. two times a week for 45 minutes (or 90 minutes a week).  We are 60 minutes below what the legislation proposes.  Consider the possibility of having P.E. everyday for 30 minutes. Does that sound good to you?  What if having 30 minutes of P.E. a day meant that you would no longer have Art, Music and Computer Lab?  Does that change your opinion?  Do you think 30 minutes would be enough time to use the pedometers, heart rate monitors and other cool equipment we have? You are all such smart boys and girls that I cannot wait to hear what you have to say.  And maybe after you share your ideas with me I will tell you my opinion on the subject!

::UPDATE::

I spoke with a Georgia State Senator on Friday about SB 474.  He is a member of the group that wrote and proposed this legislation.  In our conversation he assured me that including the additional P.E. time would not result in the elimination of Art, Music or Computer Lab.  I thought that was great news and something that you all needed to know!             

Comments

[jorge art]

30 min s not a good choice for me.I want our regular TIME.

[JOSHUA]

I think that we should have P.E. because we need to loose weight.

[alexander]

I think we should have longer school days.

[elizabeth]

i think that we need more time in p.e.

[Anabel]

You're cool.

[martin]

I would like p.E every day.

[brandon]

Cool that sounds like fun.

[Jose-Juan]

I want us to have the 30 mins a day.

[jadae]

I think it's cool to have P.E. everyday.

[Shanta]

Ilove pee so much i wish you where my mother.

[shelby]

I'm glad that no speacals will be gone. That changed my mind alot. But I will not mined that school lasting 30 min.s or a hour long. I will love to see you'r lovly face every day.

Bye

[Genny]

I like P.E. but every day of the school day is too much P.E. one day I chased a lizerd all around the back yard.

[jose]

I think that having pe two times a week is good for some of us and also sad for others becuase many other kids like the other clases.

[celest]

I would love to have P.E. everyday for 30 minutes because I love P.E. Also I need to get in shape. Is 107 over wieght for an 11 year old and also for me.

[[email protected]]

I like this idea it's for you to have P.E every day.

[becky art]

I believe that obesity is a very important matter and as long other things aren't changed according to the UPDATE then its fine. However I actually exercise after school as well as during school and it wears me out. It may push others to hard. So I don't have much of an exact opinion.

[meghan]

I think that we should extend the school day so that we can have Art, music, or computer Lab for thirty minutes and P.E. for thirty minutes. Instead of having a different special each day of the week, we can have days A, B, and C for art, Music, and Computer Lab. We can have P.E. all week long.

[kerri]

I think we should have more time in school to have time for art, music, and computer lab because those skills are very important for us kids to learn in life, but i don't think the school days should be that much longer. Maybe a half an hour (wich would mean we'd get out at 3:00) and a or so. As for chorus students after school we could do it could begin at 3:00 and we'd be out at 5:00 wich isn't that late and we could still have time to do our homework.

[Jessica Wilson]

I totally disagree with this bill. I am a sophmore in high school and I've been involve in the music program since well elmentary school with the music classes Im also involved with My high school swim team (and i've lettered both this year and last year) and i've recently started track. Those music classes inspired me to become a musician I am today and without that I would not be playing one of the most difficult instruments in the band. It might seem like it is ok to have music, art and computer class taken out but its not ok. Children benifit from music and art, it has been proven that music increase the brain activity making the children smarter. So why take away something so good for the brain? ITS NOT OK. And can you imagine in middle school trying to teach a sixth grader how to play a new instrument but you only meet two times a week... Teaching a new instrument is like learning a how to write. You need to practice it day in and day out and you need a teachers instruction at the beginning. Teaching a music class, art class, FORIEGN Language will difficult if theres only classes two times a week. Does that sound right to you? I think not. The Future Generation in music, art, and theatre will be destroyed becuase of this act. Its not fair when only 35% of the population is obesed. What about the other 65%? We arent obese. Obesity starts with the parents not with the children. Its the parents fault that their kids are fat, chunky, obese. ITS THEIR fault that they dont know how to feed their children, they do not know proper nutrition. ITS THEIR FAULT. NOT THE CHILDREN. and PHSYCIAL ACTIVITY WILL NOT HELP!
What will happen to the Alanta Ballet Orchestra, The Altanta Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitian Youth Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Youth Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitian Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble, Emory Youth Wind Ensemble, Gwinnett County Wind Ensemble, and other county symphony orcestras/ wind ensembles???? What will happen to them? They will not be around anymore becuase Georgia is trying to get rid of music, art, foriegn languages, and theatre, All activites that do not involve two people tackling each other. Does that sound right to you... No music in georgia, no Theatre, No Art (Which means the high museum in atlanta), No Foreign Languages ( There goes help with SAT... like latin, french, spanish, and german. Why get away with something that IMPROVES your learning skills.) Latin has help me go from CP freshmen Language Arts to Junior Gifted Language Arts why take away things that improves a child and allows them to reach their highest possiblility.

[rocio]

I think we should`nt have p.e every day because then every one is going to get board and there is not going to be enough space for 4 classes each day.AND I SAY NNNOOO!!!!!!!!!

[Craig Miller]

This is great! I’m from New Jersey and I’d like to shed some light on the subject. I agree with having elementary students participate in 150 minutes of Physical Education. It is obvious to see that elementary students look forward to Physical Education because they enjoy participating in activity. Lets face it, they’re kids! I don’t think adding minutes of elementary PE is as essential as it is the high school level. If you take a look at our society, we are an obese country. People do not maintain healthy diets and exercise on a regular basis and it doesn’t just effect them, it effects every one (health benefits). I teach high school PE at a large district in New Jersey. The district is allowing high school students to opt out of PE and create a journal as to how they have accomplished the curriculum standards set by the State of New Jersey on a daily basis. My question is what is preventing a student from making up (lying) what they did? It sounds like the district is trying to save a buck. I feel elementary, middle, and high school should increase the minutes of PE per week.

[Craig Miller]

This is great! I’m from New Jersey and I’d like to shed some light on the subject. I agree with having elementary students participate in 150 minutes of Physical Education. It is obvious to see that elementary students look forward to Physical Education because they enjoy participating in activity. Lets face it, they’re kids! I don’t think adding minutes of elementary PE is as essential as it is the high school level. If you take a look at our society, we are an obese country. People do not maintain healthy diets and exercise on a regular basis and it doesn’t just effect them, it effects every one (health benefits). I teach high school PE at a large district in New Jersey. The district is allowing high school students to opt out of PE and create a journal as to how they have accomplished the curriculum standards set by the State of New Jersey on a daily basis. My question is what is preventing a student from making up (lying) what they did? It sounds like the district is trying to save a buck. I feel elementary, middle, and high school should increase the minutes of PE per week.

[Craig Miller]

This is great! I’m from New Jersey and I’d like to shed some light on the subject. I agree with having elementary students participate in 150 minutes of Physical Education. It is obvious to see that elementary students look forward to Physical Education because they enjoy participating in activity. Lets face it, they’re kids! I don’t think adding minutes of elementary PE is as essential as it is the high school level. If you take a look at our society, we are an obese country. People do not maintain healthy diets and exercise on a regular basis and it doesn’t just effect them, it effects every one (health benefits). I teach high school PE at a large district in New Jersey. The district is allowing high school students to opt out of PE and create a journal as to how they have accomplished the curriculum standards set by the State of New Jersey on a daily basis. My question is what is preventing a student from making up (lying) what they did? It sounds like the district is trying to save a buck. I feel elementary, middle, and high school should increase the minutes of PE per week.