Note: Reprinted from the Ahwatukee Foothills News, March 17, 2015, reprinted by permission.

Over the last few months, much has been written about funding for Arizona education. The seventeen percent decrease in funding in recent years and diversion of funds designated for education have prompted a variety of comments. Rarely mentioned, however, is the fact that art, music, and physical education programs have been dramatically cut as funding has decreased. Improving test scores in math and language arts seems to be the primary goal and “special” programs such as art, music, and physical education are the first to go when budget shortfalls occur. If and when funding is restored, these programs sometimes, referred to as “frills” are rarely restored.

But what does the evidence tell us about these “special programs?” It tells us that they really are special, not frills. Lets take a look at the evidence. Students who participate in the arts read more often, are four times more likely to do public service, four times more likely to be in a math or science fair, and three times more likely to bet elected to a class office than other students.

Congratulations!
Today is your day,
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

(Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!)

At the recent SHAPE America National Convention in Seattle, President Dolly Lambdin made a historical announcement. During Wednesday’s opening General Session following an opening message from First Lady Michelle Obama, Dolly informed the audience of SHAPE America’s new statement of purpose.

This fall, students starting preschool will graduate as seniors in 2029. SHAPE America is committing to ensuring every single student regardless of ability will by then be physically active and healthy. Clearly an ambitious and somewhat daunting goal, the 50 million strong by 2029 statement was reminiscent of President John Kennedy’s 1961 vision to put a man on the moon within a decade, and return him safely back to earth. And similar to Kennedy’s moonshot vision, SHAPE America plans to succeed.

Years ago, business visionary Peter Drucker challenged companies to imagine what they’d look like if they hadn’t inherited their present structure. In other words, what would they do differently? What would success look like? It was a novel way to think about change and to resist complacency. A way for companies to anticipate how to stay relevant in a fast-changing world.

Similarly challenged, I’m confident that most physical educators would imagine success as a world in which all of their students choose to be physically active and healthy. It’s something clearly not a reality today but indisputably desirable. The tough part has been translating this vision into practice. Having a clear destination is one thing, but like summiting a mountain, choosing the best route to the top is harder to agree upon. And within the physical education profession, despite consensus about what we’d like to achieve, agreeing on how to get there continues to elude us. This isn’t new. Looking back, it pretty much characterizes our history since the birth of our professional association, the Association for the Advancement of Physical Education (AAPE) 130 years ago.

Unresolved divisions and differences of opinion over professional practice have for more than a century handicapped efforts to move the physical education profession forward. Contentious debate has prevented us from realizing our potential and getting the respect we’ve worked hard to deserve. The lack of agreement on content and outcomes has muddled our mission, confused our thinking, and bewildered the outside world as to what “good” PE looks like. While we may argue otherwise, to the public there’s no difference between physical activity, physical education and athletics, and PE teachers and coaches.

Personally, I like kale, though I haven’t always enjoyed it. Likewise, while I could eat kale plain, I prefer it sauteed in garlic and olive oil or better yet, blended with bananas and strawberries in a smoothie! Practicing skills is the same to me. I have always loved to move but I definitely needed competition, challenge, or socialization to make it palatable for me in my younger years.

Over the past year, I have noticed a recurring theme at conferences: the role of games in physical education. Here is my take on the topic.

Literature Enhanced Physical Education