Is cutting gym really a solution?

Is cutting gym class really a good solution to solving poor standardize test scores and budget problems? Gym classes are one of the "Specials" being cut in many schools today for a couple of reasons. One of these reasons is poor standardize test scores and the other is school funding. There are big debates about standardized test scores and how they need to be raised. Many people's solution for this problem is cutting gym classes. However, I do not believe that this is a valid solution. Having students sit in a classroom with no real relief from learning for 7 hours a day is not going to help their test scores improve that much. Kids need to get up and move around throughout the day and gym class is one of those times they get to run around and not really have to think. I strongly believe that children need at least a short amount of time everyday or every other day that they can have a structured time to release their energy. Cutting gym class is not a viable solution to fixing budget problems or standardize test scores. Often times I think that people have lost site that kids are still kids and they need some time to just have fun, taking "specials" out of their school days does not necessarily benefit them but instead harms them. Keeping gym classes in schools despite test scores and budget problems is essential to keeping our kids healthy and productive.

Cutting Art Classes

In today's society it is not a hidden fact that money has become a problem. This problem has led to budget cuts everywhere including the education systems. This is a huge problem because when you cut the funding for schools, the first things that are cut are the extra classes that are not mandatory by law, such as "Specials". Specials are the classes such as music, gym and art. By cutting these classes out of the curriculum we are harming our students. Not only are these the classes that the students look forward to the most but they are also very beneficial to them as well.

Art classes are one of the first "Speicals" to go when a budget crisis arises, especially at the elementary level. What people do not realize is that when these art classes are eleminated from the schools we are robbing the students of something very valuable. Art is a way that children express themselves. It is a creative outlet for them and for many young students art class is their only outlet they have in school. When we take art classes out of school we are significantly limitingthe creativeness of our students. If they do not have the opportunitiy to have a time and place to be creative they will eventually lose that desire to even try to be creative and this can be harmful later on in their schooling and life. Keeping art classes in schools even during budget crunches is a necessary thing in order for our students to become well rounded and creative people in our future society.

New Plan for Elementary School Funding

http://http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/01/20/obama_wants_135b_more_in_school_grants/

The above link is an article from the Boston Globe, the article explains Obama's plan for improved funding toward schools across the United States. The article gives good reason to beleive that our President really does care about the education of students, the question is does he understand what will truely help improve their education in the long run. "Higher test scores" were mentioned several times throughout the article, which no doubt are important to students of any age, however Obama seems to be missing the larger picture, that students need more from their time at school then an excellent score on their standarized testing to become a wholesome member of society someday. The article does stress that the money in which schools recieve will allow higher quality teachers to be highered, which is an excellent use for this money. The question government officials should be asking themselves however, is what an "excellent" teacher really is, in my opinion an excellent teacher is one who will involve the children in the subjects they are teaching in a fun, age appropriate manner that allows the children to learn at their highest potential. The question in my mind when i read this article however is; does the government want educators who will do whatever it takes to produce productive members of society in the future, or do they want an educator who will cram the information into the children's minds just for a high standarized test score? There are definately pro's and con's to this article, improved funding can be a HUGE blessing to the schools all over the United States, we can only hope that the government allows this funding to be used to its full potential.

Personal and Political

The subject of cutting specials out of some school's curriculum is a very political issue because it involves our children's education. The State decides what is "important" and what isnt in our school systems, and they choose to think that the specials are not important. I would disagree because the specials are a time where the children can grow creatively and not just academically, which in some instances is just as important. One big example of politics in school is when our Federal Government came up with the No Child Left Behind Act, which tells how our schools should be run. That shows how much of our children's education is truly just a political game.

Honestly, this subject shouldnt have to play the politics game because our children's education should be something that everybody agrees on, but that isnt the real world. The real world has differing opinions about absolutely everything, including education and the issue of cutting specials. Some politicans think that we should have standards for everything in school and not worry about art and music classes for example, so they push for legislation to make that happen. But, every child is different in their learning process and learning speed. So this wouldnt make any sense. We need to encourage individual learning so that children who are slower learners don't get frustrated and give up hope for themselves and their learning, which happens a lot today. We should not look at the political side of the agenda when it comes to our children's education, we should look at the facts and make schools a place where children can grow in every single aspect of school, including the specials.

Cutting specials

Gym, music, art, computer lab; those are the things that kids get excited about in school. These classes help students to learn how to use their imagination and creativity. "Specials" as they are sometimes called, are also a very important part of the student's learning. Unfortunately, schools have been cutting funding for the specials, or limiting the amount of time the students spend in those classes each week. This only hurts the child because then school isnt as fun anymore and they have to stay in one place all day, every day, without any change. We all know that kids tend to get bored easily, so instead of keeping them engaged, the schools make it so that all school is, is boring and repetitive. This needs to change because we will soon have a deficiency in creative and imaginative minds in our world because the schools didn't encourage this way of thinking, they encouraged, the curriculum and state standards.

It is proven that music can help children learn and understand math better, and art classes help to develop one's own sense of individuality and creativity. Gym makes it so that children know that exercise can be fun, and not just the boring chore that most adults make it out to be. If we continue to cut gym classes, our obesity problem in America will only worsen because we didn't show children how to stay physically fit. Also, as for computer class, we are in a technological age where we depend on our computers and other electronic devices in our everyday lives. While most students already know how to use a computer, they only know how to play games and access the internet. In school computer labs, they are taught how to use the different, and sometimes important, programs on the computer, and even more importantly, they are taught how to type correctly, which can help them with school work and possibly their future careers.

Another blog that speaks about this controversial issue of cutting specials from the school day is,

http://www.frihost.com/forums/vt-9301.html

Personal or Political?

There is a huge debate on weather schools should cut out fine arts programs. In an article from Western Mass. administrators argue the idea of keeping fine arts programs in their schools.
According to Benedict J. Smar, a University of Massachusetts Amherst music education professor, "Fine arts are vulnerable to budget cuts partly because children are not tested in music or art under the No Child Left Behind law." Yes, this is true, but some students, regardless if age, need this type of engagement in their day to help them get though it. The one thing that pushes them along is their art or music and taking it away from them is crucial. As a school and corporation, I think you would want to be a well rounded school, not a school that only focus on the basics. More schools are looked at for their diverse education and activities, clubs, organizations, rather than just how high their test scores are in math, reading, and writing. Yes, all of these are important, but in order to focus on these basics, some students need to have that "other" time to unwind.
This brings up the question is the cutting of fine arts more of a personal problem for schools or more political? Personally, I think it is a political problem that is swiping the country. Individual schools are being told what to do and do not have the strength to have input on certain things to keep or not to keep. I think that teachers in the building want to keep these classes and extra curricular things, but it is more of the "head honchos" who want to focus more on the standards part of school. Truly they want the schools to do well, but deep down, all they want is for their schools to look good when it comes to standard time. If their school looks good, then they look good and at the end of the day, that is all they care about.

"personal is political"

"The personal is political" is a phrase that really allows the mind to consider issues in almost any subject, elementary schools' "specials" being taken away is no acception. As a former cadet teacher, I wittnessed the politics in elementary schools to control the overall atmosphere and learning environment for the children, and working environment for the teachers. The state standards that teachers are required to meet at the end of every year have grown into such a long list that there is little time to do anything extra for the children, this is not because the teachers don't feel these extras are important anymore, but someone higher up then them has. It is unfortunate that politics control so many of the decisions made for the children however, because their knowledge of working with children and helping them best accomplish goals is very minimal I would guess. Each classroom teacher would better be able to assess the most effective way to teach his or her group of children, this would allow a more personal take on education rather than the broad view that every teacher in every school should be able to teach the same way, and have the same effect on students. Personal attention to each student may also be getting cut as jobs get cut because of the bad economy. When aid's such as special ed or reading specialists jobs are being taken away, so is the extra attention for those children who need it. Once again politicians are taking away jobs that they see as needless, because they are not the ones in the schools everyday to see how helpful these positions are to the children. Without these extra aids, children who need extra attention and care will fall behind at no fault to their teacher, but because politics would not allow them the extra push they needed to succeed.

Standards over "Specials"?

In recent years elementary schools have cut way back on "specials" time. "Specials" are classes such as art, music, and gym class that students attend each week in a seperate classroom from their home room, with a field specialized teacher. As a ninteen year old, I can remember even the short time ago when I myself was in elementary school looking forward every week to these fun activities that allowed my classmates and I to learn in a more non-traditional setting, because at that young age it doesn't feel like learning at all. Time each week continues to be cut from these activities as years progress. Recess time has also been on a steady decline in recent years. The students in elementary school are not being given an appropriate amount of time in these "specials" in my opinion, although children do need to understand their core subjects in order to learn new subjects. "Specials" are being cut due to lack of cash flow in the school system, as well as updated State Standards that each teacher must meet by the end of each school year. With the amount of State Standards needing to be met in subjects such as math, english, science, ect. there is little time left over for anything extra. The question I would like to raise is this, how is this affecting children's stress level, and ability to focus on their work?

Although I feel many would like to beleive that a child should have the maturity level of an adult, we must remember that at an elementary school level especially, children must be children first and foremost. This is especially true in the lower elementary (k-3). I personally feel that a child will not learn as well in a cold, strict learning environment as they would in a fun friendly atmosphere. Teaching in a "black and white" format will not give the child the advantages in the long run, where making learning exciting and almost tricking them into learning information will stick with them because they enjoyed themselves. There are also many talents that individuals possess that cannot be accurately discovered by sitting a child in a classroom all day every day, and giving them opportunities to explore other interests they might possess. This is where the "specials" come into play, when I was a cadet teacher in high school I worked in a kindergarten classroom where I saw children struggle with reading, but once a paintbrush was in their hands you would never know they didn't do well in school. These "specials" also allow children to burn off some energy by doing fun activities, sitting in a desk all day at such a young age is very difficult for some children. Even adults need movement to stimulate their brains, how can we expect anyone to learn to their full potential when we are taking away the tools to a well rounded education?

Cutting Gym Class

When you were in elementary school, you probably remember gym class as a fun way to run around and play games for a time period either in the morning or afternoon. I remember it as going down to the gym, stretching and running a few laps then leading into a steal the bacon or kick ball game that everyone for the most part got into. But what happens when we take this part of the day or week for students out completely? Schools are recently taking out these types of activities; such as gym, art, and music,or what I call "specials" out of the school day. In an article I found from Michigan State University Libraries,schools today are starting to cut back or completely cut out gym classes and are telling students that they should find the time outside of the classroom to ex cerise.
A huge influence on why schools are taking out such activities are because of standardize testing. Corporations want their schools to succeed and you will not succeed if you do not put the time and effort into doing so. Therefore they will cut out these "specials" in order to make the time needed for students to learn.
This brings up many issues, especially in the lower academic level. Students NEED the time apart from the classroom. Even if it is a small time of ten to fifteen minutes a day to have students run around and let off a little desk cramp, then do so. Students at that age have a hard time sitting in one place all at once for a long period of time anyways. I think that having a variety of extra activities for them do, weather it be gym class, art, music, or even recess, their brains can take a break from the standardizing of the entire school day.