50 Million Strong by 2029: A Recipe for Success

Right now, I’m guessing that somewhere in the world someone’s searching the Internet for a “Chicken Dinner Recipe.” They know what they want for dinner but aren’t certain what the other ingredients are or how to combine them to get the desired outcome.

As physical education teachers, we know that our goal is to create physically literate, health conscious, active adults.  However, if there were a way to do an online search to find the recipe for this “meal,” physical education classes would only be one of many ingredients.  Consequently when looking at accomplishing 50 Million Strong, we need to look at the entire recipe and analyze how we can contribute to ensuring all of the ingredients are included in the proper amounts, then put together in the correct order to create a “five star” entrée.

Here are what I consider the main ingredients for a successful recipe and how I think they should be ordered :

1. Families that value health and physical activity.

The first and probably the most important ingredient for establishing a foundation for a healthy lifestyle is parental commitment.  A family that values health and physical activity will undoubtedly have a higher chance of raising healthy, physically active children than those that do not model and promote appropriate behaviors and choices.  In order to meet 50 Million Strong, educate and involve the family in school based health/physical education programs and encourage families to participate in health/fitness activities in the community.

 

2. Quality Health and Physical Education Programs.

The second ingredient is a quality, standards based health/physical education program that follows best practices for active participation and instruction.  In order to meet 50 Million Strong, align the school based health/physical education program curriculum to the state and/or national standards.

3. Community that embraces movement and promotes healthy choices.

The third ingredient is an environment that values the growth of the whole child and not just their intellectual growth.  In order to meet 50 Million Strong, formulate a plan to develop a school and community culture that supports health and physical activity.  Look to make changes in recess policies, cafeteria menus, brain break and kinesthetic classroom usage.

4. Social group that encourages and applauds the successes of its peers for making healthy choices.

The fourth ingredient is creating and encouraging positive social behaviors with regard to health and physical activity.  In order to meet 50 Million Strong, peer groups needs to be supportive and encouraging of healthy choices and physical activity regardless of skill ability.  Develop social groups around health/fitness that students can join and teach positive interactions in a variety of scenarios.

5. Caring teachers committed to ensuring 50 Million Strong succeeds.

Finally, the ingredient that binds all of the other ingredients together is a caring, committed teacher.  In order to meet 50 Million Strong, be a role model for a healthy lifestyle that children can emulate.  Be a teacher that cares about students as individuals and takes an interest in their health beyond the doors of the classroom.

I suggest that physical and health educators should combine these ingredients and continue mixing them for the 13 years the nation’s youth are in our public schools.  After each academic year, we must assess the quality of each ingredient and find new and improved ingredients to spice up the recipe. But while the basic recipe for achieving 50 Million Strong will be similar nationwide, each and every teacher must add and experiment with additional ingredients to meet the unique needs of their students.

In summary, it’s up to all of the nation’s physical and health education teachers to ensure that we consistently deliver the highest quality of these essential ingredients for 50 Million Strong to succeed. Doing this will transform the American landscape and ensure the nation’s youth will have the skills, knowledge, confidence, and motivation to lead healthy and physically active lives.

(Publishers Note: This article is based on a presentation made by the author as part of the 50 Million Strong by 2029 Forum held at the 2017 SHAPE America National Convention.)