Exercise In Education!?!

 

We all know that physical activity and health are pertinent to good educational performance, but many kids these days are not getting nearly enough physical activity each day. One may ask how exactly is this perpetuating the achievement gap, but dive in and i’ll show you exactly how!

 

Many low income students and students coming from neighborhoods where it may not be particularly safe to be outside before and after certain times of the day/night are unknowingly having their educational performances sacrificed. According the the CDC, “Students who are physically active tend to have better grades, school attendance, cognitive performance (e.g., memory), and classroom behaviors (e.g., on-task behavior).” So if one is restricted to access of outdoor time and access to programs that get one physically active you might start to see how the gap may be perpetuated. Students that have direct access or the means to be put into said programs that emphasize physical activity are advantaged due to the cognitive benefits that physical activity has directly on educational performance and learning. The CDC states that, “Higher physical activity and physical fitness levels are associated with improved cognitive performance (e.g., concentration, memory) among students.” Students coming from low income homes, or restricted outside time areas, don’t get to reap the benefits of physical activity that those without these type of hindrances might be able to.

 

This brings me to the topic of recess. Many schools in low income neighborhoods do not have the access that should be required for that necessary after lunch break. Recess according to the CDC, Recess benefits students by,

  • Increasing their level of physical activity.
  • Improving their memory, attention, and concentration.
  • Helping them stay on-task in the classroom.
  • Reducing disruptive behavior in the classroom.
  • Improving their social and emotional development (e.g., learning how to share and negotiate).”

If students are not getting the necessary mental break where they learn other necessary skills in early childhood development, you can easily see how far behind this puts those kids in the developmental stages of life. Not only are they losing out on said skills, but it is also directly impacting their ability to do their best and perform at 100% for the entire day.  

Lastly the CDC brings up the point that physical activity before and after school directly benefits a child’s test scores.  Low income students and students from “rougher” neighborhoods do not get to partake in these kinds of activities for safety reasons. This perpetuates the gap further due to the fact that without this crucial outside time their scores on tests and focusing abilities are compromised greatly. The gap is usually talked about being perpetuated only by lack of quality teachers, schools, parent support and will of the student, but outside factors such as physical activity are generally overlooked in the success of a student. I wanted to bring this aspect of the achievement gap to light due to its cruciality towards a good versus outstanding education. If we can figure out a way to alter this and give kids the time outside they deserve whether it be after school programs or different kinds of extracurricular activities, (because not everyone is into sports), then I believe we will be able to close the gap a little bit more!

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/facts.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/recess.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/pa-before-after.htm