The Challenge in Physed

How do we get more students involved in healthy activities that will enhance their chances of being healthy and active for a lifetime? This is the question that has been asked for years - and one that educators are still struggling with.

At the end of the day, we must ask ourselves - 'how do we make physed and related activities relevant to the school population?' How many students see physed and the extra - curricular programs as something that they can get involved with? Does what we offer meet their needs?

Some schools and school boards do a great job providing inclusive opportunities for students, but on the whole, schools continue to prioritize extra-curricular programming around the elite athletes and the school teams. This approach is no different than the english department running extra help sessions for the honour roll students. Does that make sense? We continue to focus the majority of our attention on the students who need our assistance the least. Will this approach allow us to answer the opening question above? Does this mean that we should do away with school sports?

No, not at all, but we must take a serious look at what we offer the rest of the school population - the students who are not involved in either physed or extra - curriculars. This is where intramural and other inclusive programs come into play. By creating a 'total health and physical education' model at your school involving the curriculum, varsity sport teams and intramurals we can offer programs and opportunities relevant to every student.