William E. Simon Jr. - Break a Sweat, Change Your Life: The Urgent Need for Physical Education in Schools

BREAK A SWEAT,
CHANGE YOUR LIFE

The Urgent Need for Physical Education in Schools

WILLIAM E. SIMON JR.

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2018 William E. Simon Jr. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/11/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-4367-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-4366-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-4365-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018906628

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Advance Praise for
Break a Sweat, Change Your Life

[T]he current levels of obesity and inactivity in our children have become the most fearful enemies to their health. Break a Sweat, Change Your Life thoughtfully and constructively addresses the health crisis todays children are facing, calling on schools to implement adequate physical education programs at all grade levels in order to give our youth a strong start in life.

From the foreword by Kenneth H. Cooper, MD, MPH, the Father of Aerobics

Break a Sweat, Change Your Life takes a much-needed look at the deplorable lack of physical education in our nations schools, identifying the science behind the need for robust PE programs, as well as ways to improve the situation. Bill Simon has spent decades attempting to revitalize physical education in schools, and everyone who cares about children should read his book.

John J. Ratey, MD,

Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

One of the best things we can do for our children is to make exercise a routine part of their lives. This is a highly readable, informative book that explains the huge physical, cognitive, and mental health benefits our children gain when we help them to stay active.

Wendy A. Suzuki, PhD,

Professor of Neural Science and Psychology at New York University and author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life

A significant amount of scientific research has demonstrated that brains, minds, and bodies of the young all benefit from exercise. Outstanding physical education programs will give middle school and high school students the skills, knowledge, and motivation to stay fit over their lifetimes. Bill Simon makes an excellent case that physical education should be valued as highly as academic studies in our schools.

Ming Guo, MD, PhD,

Professor in Neurology and Pharmacology at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

Physical education means more than exercise. It means providing children with the knowledge and understanding they need to lead healthy lives through adequate exposure to the only subject in school that nurtures the body, mind, and spirit of students. Read this book, and learn what we all need to know to help grow sound minds and sound bodies for the sake of our countrys future.

John Naber, 1976 Olympic champion swimmer, broadcaster, author, and speaker

For physical education teachers everywhere, with gratitude for all they do

to equip future generations to lead healthy lives

Contents

Appendix A: Schools in Los Angeles with
UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind
Fitness Centers

Appendix B: Additional Schools Supported by
UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind

Appendix C: UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind
Board of Directors

Appendix D: UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind
Academic Advisory Council

In the period 1976 to 1980, 5.5 percent of American children two to nineteen years of age were obese, with 11 percent being overweight or obese. However, between 2015 and 2016, the numbers dramatically increased, with 18 percent obese and 36 percent overweight or obese. That puts America in a position of having more overweight children than any other country in the world!

Along with this obesity epidemic, there has been a marked increase in type 2 diabetes, which was a rarity forty years ago. I believe the reasons for these statistics are as follows:

There are not enough physical education programs in schools.

Children dont walk or ride their bicycles to school as they used to.

They are spending six to eight hours on daily screen time.

They are eating extensively at fast-food restaurants.

I believe it is safe to say that the current levels of obesity and inactivity in our children have become the most fearful enemies to their health. Unless we do something in the immediate future, we will be facing a health-care crisis that could bankrupt this country within a few years.

Realizing the critical need for improving the health of our children, in 2007 I tried to pass a state law (SB-530) that for the first time in many years would bring PE back into Texas schools. With the No Child Left Behind program, PE was replaced with math, science, and reading in an effort to improve academic grades. It didnt work, and we now know that the best way to improve academic performance is to improve childrens level of fitness (see chapter 3). I testified four times during that legislative session in 2007, trying to get SB-530 passed, but I faced considerable resistance. At first, many parents rebelled because they didnt want the government any more involved in their private lives than they already were, with which I totally agreed. Nevertheless, I told the parents, In the area of fitness and obesity, you have failed miserably since in Texas we rank as having some of the fattest and most deconditioned children in the United States!

Then the politicians were less than supportive. They said, We dont have the money to bring PE back into the school! It would take at least three million dollars to equip all nine thousand schools in Texas with the FitnessGram testing equipment, which was also a requirement of SB-530, and train twenty-five thousand teachers how to not only give the test but also to become qualified to be PE teachers.

However, by June 2007, former Governor Rick Perry signed SB-530 into law as a mandate without funding! I told the legislature, If the state wont fund this project, I will raise enough private funds to meet the requirements. With a lot of hard work by dedicated people, we raised $3.1 million by January 2008. PE was brought back into the schools for grades K12, and FitnessGram testing was required annually for grades three through twelve.

Our results in testing more than 2.4 million children that spring and reporting them in the newspapers shook up the state since the results were unbelievably poor. However, since data drives decision, we have now seen a turnaround in the fitness and obesity problems in our Texas children and the rest is history.

I tell this story because our project is only ten years old, but Bill Simons program is celebrating twenty years of combating obesity and inactivity in 141 (and growing) underserved middle and high schools, mostly in the Los Angeles area. Moreover, his challenges in implementing and funding these schools were comparable to what we have experienced in Texas.

Therefore, on this twentieth anniversary of the UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind organization, I am both honored and delighted to be asked to contribute to this book and hope it will stimulate more interest in Bills program. Break a Sweat, Change Your Life thoughtfully and constructively addresses the health crisis todays children are facing, calling on schools to implement adequate physical education programs at all grade levels in order to give our youth a strong start in life.