In order to have more time to prepare for testing during the school day, some Texas students are exercising for short increments during their regular classes. A few minutes here and a few minutes there add up to required minutes for P.E. Are do they?
Now I am an enthusiastic exerciser and totally believe that it's possible to work in mini workouts throughout the day. I do leg lifts while I'm blow drying my hair. That's why my hair always looks so bad. However, is this really the way to get kids to take exercise seriously?
Even before testing became such a debacle in Texas, (thanks, George), I used to have my students stand and do a few exercises to help stimulate their thinking. Sometimes just moving around and grooving to a little music gets students energized. One of the biggest obstacles to this strategy is finding room to move. Wait a minute. Watch out for thirty kids, thirty desks, purses, backpacks, and books. Then, there are the kids that just can't take this kind of activity seriously.
Let's not do away with P.E. classes just to spend more time on strategies for taking tests. There is plenty of time in the school day for learning and physical activity.