Take Me To Post Comment Form This is a favorite fantasy of mine -- children are succeeding in school, physically fit, and feel good about themselves and their lives. Then I sit down to write a carefully worded letter to Governor Perdue about how this would be so easy to accomplish in Georgia -- how the test scores for the CRCT would rise, and how Sonny could accomplish other goals at the same time -- that of downsizing our children and decreasing health care costs!

My fantasy also includes State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox adopting PE4life (www.pe4life.org ) and administrators, teachers, students and parents relishing the growing success of the program throughout Georgia. Legislators would receive accolades, be interviewed on CNN, and Georgia would be seen as a national leader in applying the notion that physical activity sparks biological changes that assist our brain cells in learning.

John J. Ratey, MD (author of Spark), writes: “The more neuroscientists discover about this process, the clearer it becomes that exercise provides an unparalleled stimulus…in which the brain is ready, willing, and able to learn.

Naperville Illinois has had such a program in their schools for twenty years. The emphasis is not on team sports, though they are a part of the school culture. It is more about what are you doing to keep moving, stay fit, and remain sharp. Coaches and teachers found that getting kids hooked on moving had an impact on their ability to learn and apply knowledge. Their brains were stimulated and were more receptive because they exercised.

Coach Phil Lawler has led this PE revolution. “Lawler’s tack runs opposite the trend in American public schools of cutting physical education in favor of increasing study time in math, science, and English -- an effort to help students pass tests dictated by the No Child Left Behind Act. Only 6 percent of U.S. high schools offer a daily physical education class. At the same time, kids are spending an average of 5.5 hours a day in front of a screen of some sort…

In Naperville, the PE curriculum is designed to teach kids the principles, practice, and importance of fitness. Ratey writes, “When Naperville students go for a mile run in gym, they are more prepared to learn in their other classes: their senses are heightened; their focus and mood are improved; they’re less fidgety and tense; and they feel more motivated and invigorated.

And now, back to the letter:

Dear Governor Perdue,
I recently read about a school in Illinois that has had great success in preparing students for life. In addition to their academic abilities, the young people are physically fit and graduate from high school with an understanding of how to care for themselves in the years ahead. Because their PE teachers taught them lifelong fitness skills, their test scores and their thinking skills have improved.

Please help Georgia’s youth increase their ability to be active, learn, and stay fit. Please bring back physical education to our schools and adopt the PE4life curriculum. The future belongs to our children -- we need to help them learn how to live in it!

Thank you.