om should not practice this form of reward and punishment. I am confident that many teachers would agree that if a child is distracted, talkative and not focused on their reading assignment in the morning session, then it would be absurd to punish this student by taking away their History or Math class for the afternoon class. Likewise, it would be unrealistic to offer extra work in Science as a result of good behavior. We should not treat Physical education as if it is an option in our curriculum and one we can manipulate to our advantage as an educator for good behavior in the traditional classroom setting. Physical education should be treated as a vital part of a child’s education. A curriculum without Physical education is simply not effective or complete. In teaching the student as a whole, an educator must take into account all the areas of development in a child, including the physical needs of a child’s growth.According to the International Life Sciences Institute and a survey conducted by telephone in 1997 of 1,504 U.S. households, about of American children received no physical education in school. The children who had participated in school physical education programs got less than 1 hour and 45 minutes each week. Physical education in the school curriculum would raise the awareness in our students in America of physical fitness and how it can positively affect their total learning experience (International). The importance of Physical Education is plain to see. However, it should be emphasized that healthful, active lifestyles are taught and learned just as any other attitude or skill. Physical Education programs should start at the earliest possible level and continue through high school. Educating small children about our bodies and how we can keep them healthy and fit is a very important task. Just as we teach a child in Kindergarten how to count and use numbers, we should also see the importance ...
