Going
into the education field is hard. Just being a teacher is hard enough with all
the responsibilities. For me, I
want to go into the physical education side of teaching. Most people think that being a PE teacher,
all you do is let kids play games and run some energy. I agree, there is some of that but
there is a lot more than you might think.
As a physical education teacher, we are having to control the classroom
setting, help students understand what their bodies’ go through, weight
control, and how to live a healthier life.
Today, obesity is considered a disease
and childhood obesity is on the rise. “In a population-based sample of 5- to
17-year-olds, 70% of obese youth had at least one risk factor for
cardiovascular disease” (2). There
are many different reasons why we have this issue. Physical education teachers have the obligation to show
students the right and wrong about their diets and how to control their weight.
“Healthy lifestyle habits,
including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming
obese and developing related diseases” (1).
The teaching
tolerance website has a lot of good information on it. For a physical educator the biggest
help for us would be having the parents becoming more involved. Educators can only help so much before
the responsibility is turned over to the parents and students. Parents play a big role in child’s
behavior such as their eating habit.
Having parents know the risks and the solutions will help stop the
obesity we are experiencing.
Educators could have handouts to give to students to take home for their
parents to read. Once parents have
seen the risk and statistics on obesity most would probably begin to change
their ways. Once the parent’s
change their habits, children will follow right behind them. So as physical educators our main goal
is to have the parents on board with us.
Work Cited
1)
Office of the Surgeon
General. The
Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. Rockville,
MD, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.
2) Freedman DS, Zuguo M, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS, Dietz WH.
Cardiovascular risk factors and excess adiposity among overweight children and
adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Journal of Pediatrics
2007;150(1):12–17
Matt,
ReplyDeleteInforming kids on the importance of keeping their bodies healthy is key to fixing the obesity problem in this country. This is where PE teachers can make a huge difference in children's lives. I completely agree that the biggest thing in education is getting the parents involved no matter what you are teaching. Great post!