The Importance of Physical Education

Physical education or health and physical education are the areas of knowledge that will ultimately drive our success engine. We are physical and spiritual beings. Our mind, body, and spirit are all connected and learning how they work together and how to care for them can save us from unnecessary pain and suffering. Knowing how to take care of our body, mind, and spirit will lead us down the path toward happiness, health, and wealth.

The most powerful tool of influence we have is to model good behaviors. We should be sure we are working on our health and fitness at the same time we preach to others about the value health, fitness, and participation in sports. Each of us will have our own issues, goals, and obstacles to living a healthy lifestyle, but we must strive for excellence in this area. When we live it, we will feel the difference. We will find it much easier to dream, act, achieve, and enjoy.

There are a few areas of health and physical education we will focus on at this time. First, I will discuss the area of fitness. Fitness has to do with stamina, strength, and flexibility. Our objective should be fit enough so that a day of physical activity does not lay us up for a week.

To begin a fitness routine you need to visit your doctor and let him or her know what you want to do. They will give you the practical advice based on your over-all health. In doing this fitness routine you should build in stretching, anaerobic exercise, and aerobic exercise. You most definitely do NOT need to buy expensive gym equipment or memberships at clubs to get started. There are a number of good programs you can do right at home. Having someone who will do this with you and hold you accountable would be a great benefit. Any fitness program you actually do and do consistently will help you in all areas of your life. You will have more energy, will perform better on the job, will feel less stress, and will sleep better. You must take action to achieve those benefits. The motivation to follow through and the building of the routine is most people's down-fall. That is topic of a future article.

The second area is that of athleticism. Athleticism covers things like stamhna, coordination, speed, and agility. It encompasses the skills that enable us to do many different physical tasks. It is also the skills that would allow us to participate in team and individual sports for our entire lives. Skiing, swimming, basketball, baseball, softball, cycling, tennis, bowling, and of course golf are several of many sports that can provide a fun and competitive outlet for people of all ages. For those who are not naturally athletic becoming fit and actually participating in athletic activities and exercises can and will improve that athleticism. You can find that competitive outlet and not feel embarrassed about your performance. Just go get in the game.

Nutrition is a broad topic. There are basic principles that you need to understand. First, your body needs basic building blocks for your cells. It must get vitamins and minerals in the correct amount to operate to its maximum abilities. We get those vitamins in minerals from the foods and drinks we consume. The next basic principle is that the fuel for our body is calories. If we consume more calories than our body uses it converts the extra calories to fat. When we consume fewer calories than our body needs we burn excess fat. In each case we can develop serious health conditions if either problem continues for an extended period of time. One other fundamental principle is we must keep our bodies hydrated. Dehydration is an often ignored and a serious problem in America today. Within those foundations there are numerous other nutrition related topics that can be discussed all of which can impact our overall health. There are a number of books that would be highly recommended reading.

The final category would be that of our well-being. It is this area that may well be the most important, yet the most misunderstood and the most difficult to share. Our well-being consists not only of our general health and fitness, but our spiritual well-being as well. It is that spiritual side that has be so over-looked in western medicine. We are spiritual beings anyway you look at it and denying that truth can lead to serious consequences.

Spirituality goes beyond who we are. It includes things like beliefs, values, emotions and intelligence. These aspects of a person's personality are not easily understood, but profoundly impact who they are and their well-being. There are psychological processes that can show people how to change your beliefs, values, and emotions. We can do things to improve our ability to think and reason. At the same time, genetics plays a role in those areas and will influence health and well-being as do injuries to the brain. Those factors are only part of the spiritual picture.
Spirituality has played a significant role in healing in most religions of the world. Eastern religions and native religions have kept more of those healing arts in tact over the centuries than have the western, Christian nations. Any discussion regarding spirituality and health would be incomplete if it did not include a discussion of faith and religious creeds. It also must be noted that while religious people tend to live longer and healthier than non-religious people being religious does not automatically mean you will be healthy; however, if you are truly a convert of a religious faith you will tend to be healthier than those who don't.

Does it matter what religious faith you are? First, we must point out that ALL religions are mutually exclusive. They have core beliefs that set them apart from other religious views and those core beliefs cannot all be true. Given that fact it is a reasonable conclusion that it does matter because each will have a different view on how an individual is to live their life and what happens to you upon death. It then would make sense to investigate the truth claims of the religions of the world. If you were to start your investigation with Christian truth claims you may find that you can dismiss all the other claims because a fundamental truth claim of Christianity is that Jesus Christ was the only way to reach God, the father. If those claims are true then all other claims to the contrary are false.

We truly don't fully understand the spiritual realm but we do know it does positively impact our physical and emotional health and well-being. So, seek the truth, build a relationship with God, and enjoy improved health and well-being.

Christian Barnard received his BA degree in Economics and his Masters degree in Special Education. After graduating, Christian began his study of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, hypnosis, Behavioral Modeling, Time Line Therapy techniques, Personal finance, and education. He spent much of his career working with unhealthy, unmotivated and unsuccessful students helping to get them back on track.

Allowing Students to Choose Physical Education Activities: The New And Advantageous Way To Teach

Imagine, it's 11 AM and you are in high school. You just finished your second class of the day and you are heading towards the gymnasium. During this three minute walk towards the gymnasium you stop and talk to your friends, say hi to an old teacher, and try and come up with a good excuse to get out of playing softball today. You hate softball and are even more upset because you are forced to play this game by your teacher. You arrive to class with a poor excuse and are forced to change for class. You go into the locker room, change for class, and walk into the gym dismayed at the fact that yet another day in physical education is spent doing something you don't enjoy.

This is a thought running through many average teenager's minds on an every day basis. Many students do not like what they are learning in physical education and refuse to participate in something they have no interest in. Many teachers are content with allowing students to sit out or just stand around during class and let it affect their grade. Is this doing any good? Is the job of a teacher really getting done? Absolutely not, the job of a teacher, specifically a Physical education teacher, is to teach students different healthy and active things they can do as a part of their lifetime fitness. Of course they are their to get their "required fitness time" in, but are they really doing anything about their fitness as they sit and watch half the class play a game they do not like? Are teachers helping fight the growing obesity rates by allowing students to not participate and let their grade suffer?

The solution to fighting the plague of students sitting out of physical education is adopting the style of Elective Physical Education. Elective Physical Education is exactly what it sounds like it is, Elective. The students get to choose which activity they want to participate in for that specific unit. The teachers get together and lay out a certain amount of different activities that the students can choose from to participate in during that time period. Then on the first day of each unit, the activities are all explained and the students choose which activity they will participate in. Now instead of students feeling forced into participating in something they do not enjoy, they have a choice of what they want to do, and what they will actively participate in.

There is a concern about how to make sure a broad variety of activities are covered by each student and to make sure they get proper exposure to different skills, athletic events, and fhtness techniques. Each unit should have a specific theme such as team sports, individual sports, lifetime fitness, cardiovascular fitness, leisure activities and much more. By laying out multiple choices within each unit allows for teachers to maximize time on task. Students will be more involved in the lesson, and teachers will spend less time trying to get everyone involved.

A major emphasis should be put on allowing the student to find something he or she likes and getting them involved. This is especially important when talking about lifetime fitness activities because this is where our teaching is going to affect the student the most. If every student can attend a class that they enjoy participating in and gain a new found love for a lifetime fitness activity, then as Physical Education teachers we have done our job in helping to keep our population healthy and active.

Social figure heads, such as First Lady Michelle Obama, have taken it into their own hands to help fight obesity in the United States. The first lady conducted a fitness day in which hundreds of students joined her in participating in a physical activity to help fight obesity. It is in using Elective Physical education that this can really make an impact on fighting obesity. We want every student to learn about how to stay healthy and how activity can help burn calories and keep them in a healthy physical shape. For one specific unit each activity can focus on checking one's heart rate, calculating calories burned per class, and measuring other health factors that are important to our physical fitness. Many students think that the only way to burn calories is to walk or run around the block. They need to be shown that while playing tennis they burn so many calories, or while they participate in expressive dance their heart rate reaches eighty percent of their maximum heart rate. Showing students that while participating in a variety of activities can be beneficial to their health is very important. Allowing the students to choose the activity is even more important because they will then have an interest in this subject area and will hopefully continue to participate int his activity outside of the gymnasium at their high school.

Now imagine its 3 PM, you are getting into your moms car on the way home from school and she asks you how your day was. You tell her about the A you got back on your math test, and the project you have due in history, then you tell her about how much fun you had in physical education. You tell her it is because you got to choose the activity you are going to do for the whole week and in doing that you learned how beneficial this activity is to your health. You tell her how you can't wait to walk to class tomorrow at 11 AM and go right back to were you left off today.

Why Physical Fitness Class Is Better Than Club/Membership Involvement for Students

As a future physical educator, I've learned the very importance of physical education while studying for my degree, but even more so with the involvement with my students. The truth of the matter is physical education class is vital to any student's success in the future. In the early grades we go over key motor skill and development tasks. As we progress through the grades, we target other more in depth skills, such as strategy and cooperative games, that incorporate these fundamental motor skills. This directly can be associated with our National Association of Sport and Physical Education standards, but more importantly teach students how to participate in a variety of skills. Other than these tasks, we also are able to associate physical fitness with fun and positive experiences, by offering our students a chance to expand in their imagination and creativity. These are also vital skills that teach students to come up with their own ideas and to adapt to different environments, as they will need to do these tasks on a daily basis. The physical education class is the only place that can allow such a dramatic and dynamic learning atmosphere.

The main reason clubs and other various programs do not and will not ever be able to fulfill the skills learned in our physical education class is because they are all based of specificity training. Specificity training is when clubs, memberships, etc. train children and adolescence to be particular good at one skill. For example, swimming memberships specifically would train students to only be proficient in in-water activities. However, it is common knowledge that a majority of physical fitness happens outside the water rather than in it. While I find the program to be of great value for those who want to go on to swim competitively, it does not teach the motor skills needed to even participate in swimming.

Let's say you were a student who joined the swim team in your area because your physical education class was terminated at the beginning of the year. Now that your program is cut, you need to attend swim practice after school three times a week for one hour. This means that homework along with dinner will have to wait or be rescheduled for a different time. You are also swimming around 20-50 laps during practice and learning the max of the four strokes available to swimmers. Now imagine that your physical education class was not terminated and is scheduled twice a week during your school day. After a given subject classes you go the gymnasium to find out this week and next you will be touching on your basketball skills with an instant activity and a scooter basketball tournament. The following two weeks your will be playing racket ball with again an instant activity, as well as, a mini round robin tournament. This example shows how there are multiple of other factors that go into students needing to attend an outside activity rather than a physical education class; for example, after school time taken away from valuable homework time and the fact that being involved in only one activity stiffens a student's skills and imagination. Also, it is imperative that as physical educator's we place emphasis on not only team sports, but also individual sports. Even back yard games such as Can Jam and Horse Shoes are games played at family and community events. If we do not teach these basic games to our students who will? Put yourself in our student's shoes with this example and examine which is truly better for accomplishing both these goals. The answer is physical education.

It is our duty as a physical education program to teach these skills to our students and associate them with positive memories. This will in turn allow students to be excited about physical fitness and be much more successful in the helping them continue to participate in physical fitness throughout their life. This is goal of not just the physical education class but expands throughout our community. As fitness is one of the essentials of life, it is one that is necessary to promote in our communities in a way that has value and success. The physical education classroom is our answer.

Physical Therapist Education Requirements - How to Get Into Physical Therapy School

education requirements. Such professionals perform a wide range of duties for those who have limited physical mobility due to illness or injury. Because therapists prescribe treatments and conduct hands-on therapy, they are required to obtain the appropriate education and pass a national licensing exam before they can practice.

For many years, the only formal education needed to work in the field was a bachelor's degree. However, almost all health care facilities now require a master's degree before they will consider one for employment.

Physical Therapist Education Requirements

College Programs

Educational requirements always include clinical rotations in a healthcare facility and course work that is completed in a classroom setting. There is a variety of options from which prospective physical therapists can choose from when they first set out to acquire the necessary education. For example, a student may decide to enrol in a science major such as anatomy, physiology, or biology. Certain schools also offer majors in health and physical education, the latter of which include pre-physical therapy in their curriculum.

Regardless of the option one chooses, one will typically be required to take courses in physiology, personal wellness and physical education, in order to meet the minimum education requirements.

Master's Program Prerequisites

Master's program prerequisites will vary depending upon the physical therapy school one selects; however, most have requirements regarding one's grade point average and his or her level of experience in a related field. In addition, all learning institutions that offer such programs require that a standardized test or entrance exam be completed, in which one must receive a passing grade.

Accreditation Requirements

Physical therapist education requirements should only be fulfilled at accredited schools. Although most students will find that almost all schools offering Master's degree programs are accredited, it is wise to inquire about the organization from which the school has received its accreditation. The only schools a student should consider are those that have been accredited by an organization that is recognized by the United States Department of Education, such as the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education-CAPTE.

Additionally, those who do not graduate from an accredited school will not qualify to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination. This is a test that must be passed in order for one to become licensed. It is designed to test the prospective physical therapist's knowledge of techniques, practices and physical therapy theories. Because licensing is required in all 50 states and one will not qualify for the exam without having attended an accredited school, the importance of this aspect should not be overlooked.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the field of physical therapy will grow at a higher than average rate until the year 2016. This is likely due to the many advancements being made in the field of medical technology. For this reason, it is wise for those seeking a career in this field to familiarize themselves with the aforementioned physical therapist education requirements.

Click here if you are thinking about becoming a physical therapist. Find out everything you need to know about the profession, including education and training, programs, schools and jobs.

Physical Education in Schools

Physical education in schools is becoming a popular discussion topic. Are children getting enough gym class time? Is the amount of physical activity directly correlated with their test scores? More and more studies are indicating that a good physical education is vital in growing healthier, smarter and more creative young people.

For years, gym class has been seen as a necessity in schools. Children have a need to be active and they thrive when instructors let them play organized sports and games. Scientists are beginning to understand why exactly this physical activity makes them thrive.

Aside from the obvious need to let children have a physical outlet for energy, some scientists see a correlation between physical education and mental health. Children that are more active are showing signs of higher amounts of serotonin. This compound acts as a neurotransmitter and has shown connections to an increased sense of health, happiness and well-being. Greater amounts of serotonin in the bloodstream can quite simply mean happier children.

Children who exercise also show an increased understanding of their bodies and how they work. This education can lead to children having greater self-awareness and a healthier self-image. Most children will be able to see the connection between exercise and change in muscle, fat or otherwise. They will be willing to establish a healthy relationship with exercise as a lifestyle choice and a good way to keep their bodies in the best shape.

Children who are enrolled in physical education, usually receive instruction in health, including nutrition. Children then begin to understand that when they eat healthy they have greater amounts of energy to expend in games and sports. Like exercise, they begin to learn that healthy eating is a lifestyle choice and one that can positively impact the growth of the skeletal and muscular systems. Children learn to take pride in affecting their growth through their food choices, and may cause them to become adults with healthy habits.

Finally, exercise positively affects the way children think. There are studies linking children in physical education classes with having higher test scores. Adults have been told for years that living an active lifestyle will keep them from losing reasoning skills and stops early memory loss. Exercise has been proven to promote brain growth. Now, we are beginning to see that the same brain growth occurs in physically active children. Kids who exercise show greater reasoning, critical thinking and memory skills.

Principals, coaches, teachers and parents alike are recognizing the necessity of keeping physical education in schools. No longer is it seen as a frivolous part of the day. Learning about exercise and how to exercise is promoting mentally and emotionally healthy children. These children are showing an increased understanding of their minds and bodies and how to lead a healthy lifestyle and eat properly. Perhaps most importantly, they are acquiring skills and habits necessary to become a healthy adult.

If you have questions about physical education New Orleans professionals are ready to answer your questions. For more information visit http://educatenow.net/

Preventing Childhood Obesity Begins in Physical Education Class

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic that can threaten the health and life span of the world. Obesity is on the rise due to the lack of activity children have since schools are decreasing physical education classes.

Diagnosing obesity in children is different than in adults they use your body mass index (BMI). In children there are several factors in determining obesity. In children they measure your skin fold thickness, height and weight and their BMI. In children if there BMI is above the 95th percentile they are considered obese. Type 2 diabetes is rising...scientist...call this a major public health crisis. Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes in children has increased from less than 5% before 1994 to 30% and 50% in more recent years.

Childhood obesity is not only predisposing kids for health risks but mental and social complications as well. Obese children are at risk for diseases such as hypertension, type II diabetes, and coronary heart disease. Once considered rare conditions in children, these diseases are seen with increasing frequency by pediatricians. With this rise of adult diseases in children it is decreasing the life expectancy of the next generation. With the rise of these diseases heath care costs will increase as well. This is an alarming rate because it can cause financial restraints on families who do not have access to health care. Families with limited access to health care will delay seeking treatment and will in turn have greater complications.

Children and adolescents aged 10-17 from families with an income below the poverty line were 74% more likely to be overweight or obese than those from families with a household income at 400% above the poverty line. Simply put, teachers need to address these issues within health education lessons [http://www.physical-education-lessons.com/category/health-education-lessons]. Other concerns with the rise in child hood obesity are children from families where the parents are always working and they are left home alone and depending on the neighborhood they live in it is not safe for them to play outside.

Another contributor to the rise in obesity is the food choices offered to school aged children. School lunches today are not filled with the essential vitamins and minerals children need to consume everyday and lunches contain almost two thousand calories in one serving. Vending machines are all around school buildings and they are filled with soft drinks other unhealthy foods. In our society children are consuming fewer amounts of fruits and vegetables and reaching for chips and soda. Vending machines are mainly filled with unhealthy foods so it makes it easier for kids to keep on getting bigger in size.

School lunch periods are decreasing in time due to academic requirements which makes it convenient for the child to consume food from the vending machine then eating a real lunch meal. Some schools have banned vending machines from schools or have set certain times for when students can use the vending machine. Preventive measures put in place by physical education teachers and health education teachers are helping students and parents fight the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Nicholas Cuttonaro is a Physical Education and Health Teacher from New York. He operates Physical-Education-Lessons.com which offers free tips and guides for teachers. Check out his other health education lessons [http://www.physical-education-lessons.com/category/health-education-lessons] to educate teachers and parents on his website.

Benefits of Engaging in Physical Education and Sport Activities

Engaging in natural health remedies such as physical education and sport activites are encouraged by health and nutrition experts today. The increasing number of health risks and conditions that are experienced by most people today, young or old, create concern about the impact of lifestyle and diet factors to increasing those risk factors. If you wanted to adapt a change in lifestyle, make sure to learn how you can incorporate those activities in your daily life and experience their benefits.

What is Physical Education?

Physical education is a form of instruction that focus on promoting activities that involve physical development and enhance an individual's overall well being. This is one reason why physical education is an integral part in a school's curriculum, especially for grade school to high school students. This is the time wherein the physical body is undergoing development and engaging in activities such as dance, sports, gymnastics, and calisthenics, among other PE classes are highly encouraged.

Aside from those physical activities, games can also become part of physical education and sport classes. The idea is to stimulate play behavior to develop physical fitness and skills. Although physical education has been largely associated with the modern society, it actually has a long history that dates back to the times of ancient Greece.

Teaching Physical Education

The ability for children to benefit from physical education and sport classes depend largely on the teaching methods employed. This is why PE teachers need a certain level of qualification before they are allowed to teach this subject. A baccalaureate degree is the most basic requirement for PE teachers and some could even have concentration studies in the area of human behavior and biology.

Aside from teaching physical education and sport in schools, there is also a large demand for PE instructors in other sectors. This is partly due to the recent surge in health and fitness awareness with the need to stay active being considered as one of the healthy yet natural alternatives to combating common diseases and health risks.

Sport Activities

Although sports is viewed today as a competitive activity, it can also be practiced for leisure and fitness purposes. There are various level of sports activities that one can engage in such as amateur, leisure, and professional sports.

Sports classes are also held in schools to encourage students to participate actively for physical stimulation. After all, sports is not only fun and competitive, but it also teaches one the importance of taking care of your body and well being in terms of physical self-discipline. There are several sports activities that one can choose from such that it is easier to commit yourself into this activity, depending on what you enjoy doing most. Some of the most popular sports today include basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, tennis, swimming, to name a few.

Benefits

To encourage your kids to engage in physical education and sport activities, here are some of the rewards for doing so:

• Depending on the type of sport, it can encourage social behaviors and improve one's ability to work with a team.

• It boosts your endurance and fitness level such that you stay healthier for longer.

• It teaches one self-discipline to adapt a healthy lifestyle and take good care of one's body.

• It promotes physical development and acquire essential physical skills.

Janelle Farley is a qualified sport management professional who is passionate about everyone leading a healthy and active lifestyle. She invites you to visit [http://www.juniorsportsecrets.com] to find out more about how you can motivate your children to lead happy and healthy lives.