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'Get moving,' Education Ministry tells high-school students
Requirement for physical activity hiked to 30 minutes a day
Susan Lazaruk, The Province; with a file by Stuart Hunter

Published: Monday, September 01, 2008

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/s...f05f06da7a

Quote:Hundreds of high-school students have joined a Facebook page to protest B.C.'s new requirement that high-school students get 21/2 hours of exercise a week, a near-quadrupling over three years of physical activity required to graduate.

Education Minister Shirley Bond has made it mandatory, beginning tomorrow, for each student from Grade 10 to 12 to get 150 minutes of moderate to strenuous activity a week, on average 30 minutes a day.

The requirement for students in lower grades is 30 minutes a day, and 15 minutes a day for those in kindergarten.

Through its Healthy Schools program, Bond said, the ministry is counting on healthier students being better learners.

"Healthy children are obviously better able to learn," she said.

Previously, students in Grades 10 to 12 had to complete 80 hours of physical activity over the three years to graduate.

Based on 40-week school years, the students will now have to complete 100 hours a year, or 300 hours in total.

How the activity is implemented and verified is up to individual school districts.

Allan Kuan, 15, a Grade 11 student at David Thompson Secondary School in Vancouver, is helping to organize the Facebook group, which now has more than 900 members.

Allan said he objects to the new requirement because students weren't told about it when they selected their courses last January and now have to juggle their academic schedules.

And he said it isn't clear what constitutes moderate or strenuous exercise, or how the activity will be verified.

"It's really vague -- that's the problem," he said.

Another organizer, Bruce Nip of Burnaby North Secondary, said the Education Ministry never consulted with students, particularly about whether there's enough time in a week for physical activity on top of academic requirements.

"If you want to have smarter kids in science, when do you fit in P.E.?" Bruce said.

Both Allan and Bruce said they don't object to physical activity.

But Faith VanDeventer of Enver Creek Secondary in Surrey said in a posting to the Facebook group: "I HATE P.E. I only like REAL subjects. I'd rather do math all day than one minute of P.E.!"

But not all Facebook members agreed.

"Where are all the athletes here? We like the idea," wrote Paul Colpitts of H.D. Stafford Secondary School in Langley.

Through its Healthy Schools program, Bond said, the ministry is counting on healthier students being better learners.

"Healthy children are obviously better able to learn," she said.

Previously, students in Grades 10 to 12 had to complete 80 hours of physical activity over the three years to graduate.

Based on 40-week school years, the students will now have to complete 100 hours a year, or 300 hours in total.

How the activity is implemented and verified is up to individual school districts.

Allan Kuan, 15, a Grade 11 student at David Thompson Secondary School in Vancouver, is helping to organize the Facebook group, which now has more than 900 members.

Allan said he objects to the new requirement because students weren't told about it when they selected their courses last January and now have to juggle their academic schedules.

And he said it isn't clear what constitutes moderate or strenuous exercise, or how the activity will be verified.

"It's really vague -- that's the problem," he said.

Another organizer, Bruce Nip of Burnaby North Secondary, said the Education Ministry never consulted with students, particularly about whether there's enough time in a week for physical activity on top of academic requirements.

"If you want to have smarter kids in science, when do you fit in P.E.?" Bruce said.

Both Allan and Bruce said they don't object to physical activity.

But Faith VanDeventer of Enver Creek Secondary in Surrey said in a posting to the Facebook group: "I HATE P.E. I only like REAL subjects. I'd rather do math all day than one minute of P.E.!"

But not all Facebook members agreed.

"Where are all the athletes here? We like the idea," wrote Paul Colpitts of H.D. Stafford Secondary School in Langley.

Oh boo hoo, big babies as usual.

Yes, but if they are walking/exercising/getting fresh air/doing a sport/dancing, that is valuable time away from Facebook and texting....

Here's a simple way to get the 30 minutes: Turn off the fucking video games!

I cannot believe why no one wants to actually say it out loud! Since the late '80's and original Nintendo, kids have been getting fatter and lazier every year because instead of going outside to play, ride bikes, skateboard, etc. all they do is sit around, eat crappy processed food, and play freakin' video games.

There.

I said it.

gingerzing Wrote:Yes, but if they are walking/exercising/getting fresh air/doing a sport/dancing, that is valuable time away from Facebook and texting....

Heck I work with a kid two years out of college, and he doesn't do half of what he's supposed to do because he's spending most of his night on myspace and gaming sites.

The kids today are just lazy. Parent's don't make them do a danged thing, no chores, no nothing. My mom wouldn't let me sit in the house when there was kids and a playground nearby.

The sad thing is that these kids are going to be working with us in the years to come and if my coworker is any indication, we're all screwed.

Us who do our jobs, even if we are just average or mediocre, are going to look like geniuses next to these kids just coming out of high school and in the future decades to come. Heck I might write a book, become a published author because I'll be one of few who can spell correctly. No one else will want to write a book, it's too much work!

Dana Wrote:Us who do our jobs, even if we are just average or mediocre, are going to look like geniuses next to these kids just coming out of high school and in the future decades to come. Heck I might write a book, become a published author because I'll be one of few who can spell correctly. No one else will want to write a book, it's too much work!

That is too true. If it isn't animated and electrified and does everything for you these kids don't want it. And FSM-forbid they have to WORK for anything! They think gratification should be instant. None of this working crap.

Not to mention that they'll all be so obese that they'll need wheelchairs to get around. Electric wheelchairs, that is.

I'm sure that some of the kids protesting are just lazy and don't want to do anything. However, I can see the argument that they were not included in the decision and want a say. Especially if they now have to work it in to already packed schedules, etc. that were set BEFORE the new rules were enacted. That would have been difficult for me in high school. I had a packed schedule and took college classes in addition to doing things like drama, etc. I took gym class during summer school just to get it out of the way so that I had more time during my regular school year.

And, yes...there are many young adults now who are lazy and/or addicted to video games, Facebook, etc., etc. But there are also plenty that are hard workers who want to make the most of their educations and who are doing great things at a young age. We have a college student in my office on work-study, and he probably does more work in the few hours that he's here than some of the people paid to be here full time, not to mention that he worked 3 jobs over the summer. Young people like him give me a sense of hope for the future.

Vanessa