How much is "too much" sport in school?

**tiggles** · 22-05-2008 13:34

This year at DD school, they have implemented the "Smart Moves" program (not sure if Smart Moves is a QLD or national program), which is 1/2 hour per day of physical activity ie sport, dancing etc. This is in addition to the normal time that is allocated for PE each week.
This is to encourage children to be active and to target child obesity.

My gripe is, this is taking so much time away from teaching time ie 1/2 hr p/day over approx 40 school weeks = 100 hours lost to extra sport time. This equates to greater than 4 full weeks of schooling per year being lost.

As parents, my DH & I are aware of how important sport is in a child's life, and DD presently does Little Athletics and netball each week, which is approximately 3 hours. We personally believe this is more than sufficient structured sport time.

I suppose my gripe is....why should fit and active children loose schooling time for the sake of a handful of obese children at the school? And lets face it, if a child is obese 1/2 hour of sport per day is not going to fix the problem. The problem lies at home beginning with diet and lifestyle.

Vent over.

I hope not to offend anyone, just my personal thoughts.

**Ffrenchknickers** · 22-05-2008 13:57

Well, I think its a GREAT idea. Kids can learn so much better if they are allowed to be physical....especially boys

I believe it is equally important to eveything else they learn at school. Everyone should do at least 1/2 hour if not more per day of exercise.

I definately think it is a step in the right direction

**mummeeto2** · 22-05-2008 13:58

I would love for my kids to go to a school like that, though I understand where you're coming from. As kids we did about 20-30mins of sport before classes most mornings. It got rid of some of our excess energy so we were relaxed for the day ahead.

**Sazeby** · 22-05-2008 14:06

I just thought i'd add my little bit.. I absolutely hated PE at school, it made me not want to go to school at all. Every PE teacher i had was so nasty. Make you run around the oval 4 times in the middle of the day with no breaks. Never ever explained how to play a certain sport (cricket, netball, football) but expected us to already know and if we ended up making a wrong move we'd be put in detention.

bad bad bad experience. I think it's a good idea to have kids being physically active in a fun way.

**MrsDribbleDrawers** · 22-05-2008 18:20

Smart Moves requires student to do 30 minutes physical activity - my understanding is that this IS NOT "as well as" regular PE classes ie PE on Tuesday, swimming on thursday, smart moves monday, wednesday, friday... I've included links to the government's flyer (this is a qld govt initiative)

I think it's a great idea - teachers at our school say that the kids in all year levels ASK "is it time to go yet"... and my kids actually spend MORE time outside playing - they often come home and head out to the trampoline now, something they never used to do! We're not a "sporty" family, so anything that gets them out and moving as my full support!

ETA - school isn't just about "teaching" IMO - learning takes all forms, and physical activity is part of that...

**Lastcenturymum** · 22-05-2008 18:27

Originally Posted by sk6

I suppose my gripe is....why should fit and active children loose schooling time for the sake of a handful of obese children at the school?

And lets face it, if a child is obese 1/2 hour of sport per day is not going to fix the problem. The problem lies at home beginning with diet and lifestyle.

A lot of schools don't have any organized sport and I know in Victoria they are trying to include more, I wouldn't say it's just for 'obese' children, it's more a plan to bring in healthy lifestyles and is needed more as children don't play outside for 2 hours before dinner anymore, they are often in front of the telly or computer or being driven to kumon, ballet, piano etc

Maybe half an hour isn't going to 'fix' a problem, but it's a start and the only exercise some kids will get.

I guess everyone has a different focus, for some it's all about sport, some all about learning more and getting good grades.

And sport can teach a lot of skills - maths, counting, social interaction and negotiating skills, it's not just running around burning fat and sweating.

Ky · 23-05-2008 10:13

At my kids school (K-year12) they do half an hour of gentle exercise first thing each morning (stretching, jogging on the spot, star jumps etc) and it seems to get them in a better mood for concentrating during the day. It seems to make their minds more alert.

I think its a great idea. The HSC results and other assessment results seem to speak for themselves - this school is doing very well in all areas! They also have a very calm bunch of students who are respectful and willing to work.

**Kittylou** · 23-05-2008 10:21

Originally Posted by MrsDribbleDrawers

Smart Moves requires student to do 30 minutes physical activity - my understanding is that this IS NOT "as well as" regular PE classes ie PE on Tuesday, swimming on thursday, smart moves monday, wednesday, friday... I've included links to the government's flyer (this is a qld govt initiative)

I think it's a great idea - teachers at our school say that the kids in all year levels ASK "is it time to go yet"... and my kids actually spend MORE time outside playing - they often come home and head out to the trampoline now, something they never used to do! We're not a "sporty" family, so anything that gets them out and moving as my full support!

ETA - school isn't just about "teaching" IMO - learning takes all forms, and physical activity is part of that...

As a person who avoided physical activity as a child whenever I could, I think it's a fantastic program. I have always been tiny so obesity was never a problem for me but I was definitely never a fit person. From what my DS tells me, it's pretty fun too - not just running laps around the oval for 30 minutes every day.

Honestly, I think some parents can be a little uptight about 'academic learning' in primary school.

**tiggles** · 23-05-2008 10:58

Some really interesting comments.

I personally believe that the onus is on parents for kids to have an active lifestyle. Thats why we (DH & I) make a point of DD having sporting activities out of school hours.

I agree that kids definitely should do PE at school, but I do get annoyed that the extra time for Smart Moves takes away time from an "already overloaded curriculum" (exact words from her teacher).

In my daughters class they have to stay in during lunch to finish work so they can keep up. I think this is really rough for Grade 2.

**Veritas** · 23-05-2008 11:03

I think schooling, especially in younger years, is about providing a well rounded education and not just cramming words and numbers into a child.....

Physical activity and the importance of a healthy lifestyle are great tools to provide our children, and programs like these don't just educate the children, but in turn the parents and communities that otherwise may not have bothered.....

If we are going to put the responsibility for "extra" activities like physical activity solely onto parents, then shouldn't we also remove arts and crafts, music, vocational subjects in high schools, etc to make sure we are not losing any more "learning" time??????