For instance, Mandalay Elementary School in Wantagh, New York, has taken on the challenge this school year -- thanks to it's P.E. teacher, Robyn Pastuch. In an interview last autumn, Ms. Pastuch said, "We are looking forward to seeing what our school can achieve when we set a goal together centered on fitness."
Over the years since I challenged the Montana students to virtually cross the country, there have been several schools in America that have posed similar challenges to students, including: Ramona-Alessandro Elementary School in San Bernardino, California; Deer Park Elementary School in Centreville, Virginia; and, Carmel River Elementary School in Carmel, California. Unfortunately, there are not as many elementary schools taking on the challenge as I hoped there would be nearly 14 years after I started encouraging schools in the U.S. to consider the opportunity to combine the fitness benefits of a virtual cross-country run with learning about different states during such a challenge. This type of program does not need additional P.E. funding and simply requires P.E. teachers to create a virtual route across America and to provide some regional and state facts as students make progress.
Sadly, in recent years there have been school districts that have felt the need to cut physical education programs, passing exercise instruction on to classroom teachers -- who have plenty of other topics to address in their limited time frames. In contrast to that, aims by some school districts to increase the frequency of physical education have fallen flat. Earlier this year. The Atlantic published an article with the headline: "Gym Class Is So Bad, Kids Are Skipping School to Avoid It." A massive P.E. initiative in Texas -- called the "Texas Fitness Now" program (a $37 million endeavor) -- was aimed to improve middle schoolers’ fitness, academic achievement, and behavior by requiring them to participate in physical education daily. Researchers concluded that the daily mandate didn’t have any positive impact on kids’ health or educational outcome. On the contrary, they found that the program actually had detrimental effects, correlating with a rise in discipline and absence rates.
Why would kids want to skip middle school P.E. class? Some say a potential reason is because students are more likely to be bullied in middle school than at any other point in their academic careers, and P.E. presents a particularly ripe opportunity for abuse -- whether because the class forces them to use a locker room (where adult supervision is limited) or because it facilitates the teasing of overweight or nonathletic kids. According to the study, the program resulted in a roughly 16 percent increase in the number of disciplinary actions for each student. The study also found that the proportion of misbehaving students went up by more than 7 percent.
Cutting physical education isn't the answer. Making physical education a daily requirement isn't the answer. In my opinion, a healthy balance needs to be reached between academics and physical education. A virtual run across America program combines fitness with learning and can be a creative and fun way to get kids moving while at the same time tracking their progress as a group. In such a challenge, everyone contributes to the overall group goal -- and it certainly does not have to occur daily. I hope that more P.E. teachers see the benefits of a coast-to-coast running and walking challenge for their students, and implement a challenge that will open the minds of students to what is possible with a strong and healthy body... perhaps even sharing with students stories of people who have actually run all the way across America.
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek
Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
- United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
- Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
- Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
- Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
- The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
- Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
- Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
- Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
- Some Cycling Moments From The Past
