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An Unhealthy Irony

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

While the “Next Great Depression” has school physical education (PE) budgets down on the canvas listening to the eight count, USA Today (March 11, 2009) publishes an article titled, “21% of Americans Scramble to Cover Medical, Drug Bills”.

It continues on page 5 with a headline that reads, “The biggest problem the country has is the cost of health care.” Jim Clifton, Gallup’s CEO and chief scientist for well-being and workplace management says,

“It’s a lot bigger problem than war and a bigger problem than the current (economic) meltdown because there are no fixes to it on the horizon right now.”

Well, I have a suggestion: Support the concept of quality, daily PE for every child grades K-12 instructed by credentialed, well-trained specialists.

CDC summarized the research and strongly recommends PE as an effective way to promote children’s health. The data show that highly active PE classes (like SPARK) help children move more now and hopefully, that behavior continues into the future. Simply stated, physical education IS preventive medicine. Let’s contribute to reducing the cost of health care by ensuring the next generation of adults is ill less frequently than the current one.

How to do that? I believe our challenge has been in formulating a clear message around physical education’s preventative assets and building an effective marketing campaign (simple and clear) that can be sustained. Verb (funded by the CDC) began a media blitz years ago and data show they were making some progress — until their funding stream dried up. The PEP grants (Physical Education for Progress) are federal dollars that have been generously supporting PE and PA programs (but for only 50-75 winners nationally) for the past 6 years. These dollars remain precarious year to year.

Therefore, I call upon our national organizations and friends of SPARK, including AAHPERD and their state affiliates, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, American Heart and Cancer Associations, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and all others who have a stake in public health, to work together and formulate a compelling message that can be broadcast via various media (websites, podcasts, webinars, presentations, television, radio, more) and organize behind a common theme- physical education is prevention – and a proven solution to reducing health care costs.

Speaking for SPARK, we are willing to contribute time and staff to this cause. Who will join us? Share you thoughts online and lets start the movement (pun intended) here.

-Paul Rosengard

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Man’s Best Friend (And Personal Trainer)

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

YOUR blog contributors, Dr. Jim Sallis, Dr. Thom McKenzie and Mr. Paul Rosengard (YOURS TRULY) have been conducting SPARK research and disseminating those findings worldwide (with the help of MANY of our friends) since 1989.

In the weeks and months to come, we hope to share stories of what we’ve learned, people we’ve met, and how our work-life experiences have shaped the thoughts we have today. Our observations will cover a variety of public health topics: Childhood obesity, physical activity promotion, coordinated school health, healthy eating, best practices and resources, the latest research, behavior and environmental change, and much more.

We’ll tag team this task and have a different contributor each week. Please plan to join us every Wednesday when a new blog is posted!
Man’s Best Friend (And Personal Trainer)

Wendy (my much better half who you met in previous entries) and I added Scout, a Labrador puppy, to our family last June. Since she’s a 3rd grade teacher (Wendy, not Scout) we wanted to get a puppy at the beginning of summer knowing there would be many lessons to learn (Scout, not us — at least that’s what we thought…) and the time to learn them.

We had never raised a puppy together before, so Scout was a very new adventure. Sure, I have stories to tell about crate training, housebreaking (the wet and smelly housebreaking and the other kind Scout tries from time to time) and socialization (or lack thereof) with other people and dogs, but since I’m a physical educator, let’s look at a quality of Scout’s that I’m particularly found of. The girl is a 4-legged exercise machine.

Now MY activity regimen was set before Scout’s arrival – running and lifting weights on alternate days. But Scout has changed Wendy’s life for the better. Wendy comes home for work and takes Scout for a walk every day, 5 days a week. She didn’t use to do this before, in fact, Wendy was your classic weekend exerciser. Scout is her motivation and together, they are quite a pair. Wendy feels better, is less stressed, sleeps well, and really has a better quality of life because of Scout and their daily constitution. Yea Scout! Yea Wendy!

A friend gave us a very sweet book called, Puppy MIracles that provides the following ”advice” from a very perceptive puppy (the author is anonymous):

  1. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them
  2. Run, romp, and play daily
  3. Never pass up an opportunity to go for a joyride
  4. Allow the experience of fresh air and wind in your face to be pure ecstasy
  5. Thrive on attention and let people touch you
  6. On warm days, stop to lie on your back in the grass
  7. When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body
  8. No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.
  9. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you’ve had enough.
  10. Be loyal

Scout is 10 months old now. These are lessons that Scout teaches/reinforces with us often. We love her and are grateful she’s in our lives, enriching them everyday. She’s right by my feet as I type this note, probably dreaming about her next run on the trail…

Questions: Does anyone have a ”Dog as exercise machine story” you’d like to share? Besides critters, has there been any other influencers that have gotten you off the couch and into a consistent movement regimen?

We’d like to hear from YOU.

Mans Best Friend (And Personal Trainer)

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The World According to SPARK

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Dr. Thom McKenzie and Mr. Paul Rosengard, have been conducting SPARK research and disseminating those findings worldwide (with the help of MANY of our friends) since 1989.

In the weeks and months to come, we hope to share stories of what we’ve learned, people we’ve met, and how our work-life experiences have shaped the thoughts we have today.  Our observations will cover a variety of public health topics: Childhood obesity, physical activity promotion, coordinated school health, healthy eating, best practices and resources, the latest research, behavior and environmental change, and much more.

We’ll tag team this task and have a different contributor each week. Please plan to join us every Wednesday when a new blog is posted!

The World According to SPARK- Saipan, Portugal, England, Norway, Canada, China — all trips that I was able to make because of SPARK.  I know, tough job but someone had to do it…

Besides sight seeing, learning about different cultures, trying new foods (ever had duck tongue in China?), and thoroughly enjoying the people, it was fascinating to meet and speak with physical educators in each of these places.  I was surprised to see firsthand that physical education (PE) around the world looks very much like PE in the US.  Students are doing many of the same activities and using the same manipulatives and equipment at grade levels as they do here.  Movement is truly the universal language and maybe something else that can bring us closer together.

Yet, the story is not completely positive.  Teachers complaints mirrored those we hear often in America:  They don’t feel their subject is valued like other subjects instructed, administrators are less than supportive of PE, PE days and minutes are insufficient, facilities are too small, too cold, or somehow sub-par, and classes can be too large.

I also saw some of the same instructional traits, that could be improved.  A lot of fitness without purpose or enjoyment, direct and command style teaching and little student choice or empowerment.  Differentiated learning was almost non-existent as classes take a “one-size fits all” approach to instruction, and teachers all over the world, just like here in the U.S., talk too much.  I know these are generalizations, and there are many outstanding PE programs in the US and certainly all over the world.  But my contention is there are still too many in need of improvement.

If you have traveled and seen PE programs in schools around the world, please write and share your views.

-Paul Rosengard

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Thom’s Cruise

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

It’s good to get out every now and then to see how the other half lives. To avoid the pressures of the Winter Holiday Season my wife and I took our first (and perhaps last) cruise. It was an 8-day venture from San Diego to Acapulco, planned strategically so we could avoid airplanes, crowds, and temperatures below 60 degrees.

It was a large ship (13 decks) with lots of places to be physically active (the walk around Deck 10 took 5.5 minutes) and eat (24 hours a day). One actually could continue to have a healthy lifestyle if they had the appropriate avoidance skills. Because of my good behavior management training, I was able to exercise every day and accumulated an average of 13,233 steps and avoided the three elevators except to occasionally amuse myself. The plusses were that I had lots of quiet time to grade my papers and plenty of opportunities for cultural experiences at each port of call. I got neither see- or sea-sick, so that was positive. Nonetheless, I found the midnight chocolate buffet, paying $54.00 an hour for internet service, and having tour guide in Acapulco who was from Germany a bit much. It did just not seem authentic–sort of like having a physiologist as a PE instructor—the background was there, but things just did not translate well.

-THOM MCKENZIE

Have any of you taken a cruise and found it was easy to stay active — or did you find it difficult to maintain your workout routine? What about weight gain — could you resist overeating or did you take a holiday from moderation? If you share your thoughts with us we’ll place your name in our raffle for a free dessert (kidding).

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Welcome to our first SPARK Blog!

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: I heard this Cyndi Lauper song on the drive to SPARK this morning, and thought about how much we are asked to quantify and evaluate every little thing our students do these days. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for assessment and having standards to guide instruction, yet I wonder if sometimes we’re losing sight of what makes kids (and Cyndi) want to be active in the first place — having fun?

Sure, that’s one of the differences between physical education and physical activity, yet, as physical educators, isn’t it possible for us to get so caught up in assessment and demonstrating student learning that our classes become counterproductive? Ultimately don’t we really want students to move and enjoy it without feeling we’re counting every little step they take (last pop culture reference I promise…)? And I think Cyndi knows boys just wanna have fun too. Please think about the mixed message and share your thoughts with us.

Fitness for Fitness Teachers: I always enjoy my annual trip to Florida AAHPERD and spending time laughing with Patty Lanier. Patty is one of our terrific SPARK trainers and after a 20-year career teaching elementary PE, she went to the University of Central Florida where she instructs methods classes to future teachers — among many other things. Patty and I workout together in the am before the conference and discuss our pet peeve: Why aren’t more of our colleagues in the gym with us? It’s obvious when you attend conferences that many of our best and brightest are not exactly scoring 10’s in the role model department. Patty and I think we need to walk the talk. What do YOU think? Should NASPE sponsor some type of recognition for physical educators who maintain healthy lifestyles (consistent training schedules, BMI”s within respectable limits, etc,)? Should we have to submit to testing like our students and achieve a certain fitness standard? Aren’t fire and police people required to stay in shape to do their jobs?
Let us know YOUR thoughts.

-Paul Rosengard

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