Ivan Gonzalez

Professor Solther

English 1101

24 April 2017

Sprinting to an A

` Children who attend gym and are more physically fit have been shown to

perform better on tests. And were able to remember and recall facts better than

students with a lower fitness (Falini). Gym class are slowly getting cut from schools

because 52% of students attend to gym class one or more classes a week. And 32% of

those students attend to a daily gym class at school, according to The National Youth

Risk Behavior Survey in 2011. When it comes to gym class, students can try a new

sport, develop social skills and even get a break from class itself. Physically active

children are more likely to be physically active adults as to children who are not as

active. Gym class has a lot of benefits to students, these benefits include decreased in

obesity, behave better in classes, perform better on test and focus better in school.

A recent study finds that kids who are physically fit actually have differences in

their brain structures that might allow them to do better in math. This study shows that

the more kids that exercise the brain will help them do better in math or in other

courses. Students tend to struggle in math so exercise might be the solution to that. I

interviewed my friend Garett and asked What was your favorite subject? He said gym

class I also asked a couple of other people and they all said gym class. But that's not a

bad thing, children who enjoy gym class more will do better in school.
 Which leads me to my next question does adding opportunities for physical

activity during the school day boosts kids capacity to learn? Research says that yes it

does does according to a recent study in Georgia invited 111 inactive, overweight kids,

age 7 to 11, to participate in an after-school exercise program, during which they were

active for at least 20 minutes. Another 60 kids, also overweight, were wait-listed and

served as controls. After 13 weeks, the kids in the exercise program performed better

than the controls on tests of mental tasks such as planning, organizing and strategizing,

as well as on standardized math tests (Adams). If you get students getting used to gym,

they will want to go to gym and the more they go to gym the smarter they will be

research says it. Another study in Kansas was to help with obesity, teachers at 14

elementary schools were trained to teach lessons using movement; for example,

students might hop or run to letters on the floor to spell words or might solve 2+2=4 by

moving their bodies rather than blocks. Ten other schools served as controls; their

teachers received no training.

The added activity had positive effects on body weight. In the schools where

activity was added, 21.8 percent of children who were at risk for obesity moved into the

normal range for body mass index (a measure of weight that takes height into account);

in the control schools, 16.8 percent of at-risk kids moved to normal (Adams). I think this

study is a great and healthy idea for the students to use math or any related subject for

them having to use a subject to move on to the next stage of their task. This could be a

way that can keep gym classes a subject in students schedules. According to National

Association for Sport and Physical Education, Illinois is the only state that requires all

high school students to participate in a daily gym class. Some students don't even have
a year's worth of physical education which is not good. From experience while attending

high school, you need four years of physical education to graduate from high school.

With all of the studies and research done the state's Board of Education currently is

grappling with the issue of whether to increase physical education requirements.

Athletes don't feel the need to have to participate in gym class because they're afraid of

getting injured while theyre in a varsity sport. Some athletes might say it's a waste of

valuable time and as a potential hazard. Participating in gym risks the possibility of

injury for no apparent benefit because physical activity is already a significant part of

their day(Pennlive Op-ed).

In a 2012 report from the Centers for Disease Control, about half of high schools

surveyed said they provided no PE classes during an average week. This could affect

the student's health from developing social skills, their physical well being and their

school work. A recent study of 48 students between the ages nine and ten showed that

those with higher levels of physical fitness performed better on mental tests. University

of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had the kids memorize names and locations on a map

of a made-up region. Students in the top 30% of their age group for aerobic fitness were

better able to learn and recall the fictitious names and locations than those in the lowest

30% for aerobic fitness. The more exercise the students do the more they can

remember certain things . Children who are physically active also tend to participate in

more activities that improve their cognitive performance (Sifferlin). Gym shouldn't be all

about exercise but having life lessons like teamwork, communication and

sportsmanship. Most importantly, physical education should set the example of an

active, healthy lifestyle for a student to follow for the rest of his or her life.
 All in all, as a student pursuing in Physical Education I believe that gym class do

help students do well in their classes. As a student growing up, gym class was my

favorite subject and I would like to see students also have gym class as their favorite

subject. Taking away gym class can have a lot of effects on the student's brain

development and their physical well being. Research shows that it can cause obesity in

the country and even the world. Illinois is the only state that has daily gym, other states

should follow the way Illinois is running things. With the research and studies shown my

goal is to keep gym class in schools and i do believe gym class does help students do

better in their classes.

Works Cited

Adams, Jill U. "Physical Activity May Help Kids Do Better in School, Studies Say." The
Washington Post. WP Company, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

Alexandra Sifferlin. "How Cutting Physical Education in Schools Could Hurt Grades."
Time. Time, 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Falini, Lauren. "How Does Recess and Gym Help Learning at School?" Philly.com. N.p.,
31 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
"Schools Should Make Gym Class a Priority." PennLive.com. Penn Live, 21 May 2011.
Web. 19 Apr. 2017.