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Rochelle’s Special Education Tips
Take Me Out to the Ballgame-Or at Least Let Me Go Outside
What are we doing to our children? Everyone knows they need outside time and should not be sitting without physical breaks. Yet the time for mid-day after lunch exercise has been minimized and rare is the class that gets a morning break. Then we wonder why the children act out. Query: would all of the children who have ADHD symptoms have these symptoms if more exercise was brought back into the school day? A physician was recently quoted in The Washington Post as opining that he is “prescribing” exercise in school for some of his patients. How many IEPs and 504 Plans include the accommodation of breaks, stand up when needed, walk around when the child feels anxious, have a pass when the child needs to leave the room, and the like? Be honest, don’t you think this is getting a bit out of control? When JFK urged the country to put a man on the moon, he also instituted a move towards more physical exercise in the schools. School children around the country would stop class and exercise in place to a record with the words “Go you chicken fat, go away, go you chicken fat go.” There is even a Maryland Court of Special Appeals decision where the song is mentioned. Do you think JFK was onto something-that academic achievement combined with physical exercise will propel children forward?
