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A Call to Arms: AAHPERD on the Move Jerry E. Landwer September/October UPDATE
2005
“A
Call to Arms” seems to be a particularly relevant title for my President’s
Message. It has historical meaning and significance and also appropriately
characterizes the Alliance’s future advocacy efforts. A call to arms can also
serve to motivate us to ponder “Visions for our Future”
while reflecting on our
past. Vacations
and the “dog days” of summer are now behind us – and it is time to reflect
on what we accomplished both personally and professionally. Although many of us
will reflect on our personal accomplishments as we pass through life’s
journey, few will take time to reflect on the past performance of the Alliance.
I believe that reflection is a critical step in determining our vision for the
future. Understanding the Alliance’s history – in concert with an evaluation
and interpretation of the present – can provide valuable information in
meeting the challenges that will shape the Alliance’s future. The
beginning of each new school year produces a distinctive aura that stimulates
our thinking and creates the excitement and enthusiasm to seek opportunities to
meet the challenges that will exist in the year ahead. This enthusiasm often is
the genesis for creating our “visions for the future.” In creating a vision
for the Alliance’s future, I believe we must meet two challenges that will
enable us to effectively take full advantage of our opportunities for advocacy:
1) As HPERD professionals we must present a united effort in supporting federal
and state legislation that includes health education and physical education
programs as core subjects in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, and 2)
AAHPERD must identify its role in helping to solve America’s obesity crisis. A
logical question is: “How should the Alliance proceed in taking advantage of
our advocacy opportunities?” — or using the sports vernacular, “Do we have
a ‘game plan’ for how we should go about advocating for solutions to these
two closely related challenges?” I believe a first step in our “game plan”
should be to review a period in our history when the Alliance encountered
challenges similar to those that we face today and to evaluate the effectiveness
of the Alliance’s earlier actions. Let me elaborate. I
contend that the atmosphere of the present day NCLB legislation and the obesity
crisis of today is analogous to the media frenzy of the 1950s created by the
U.S./USSR space race and the launching of the Russian satellite, Sputnik I. The
common thread of these two events is the exclusion of health and physical
education programs as core subjects in our schools’ curricula. For many in the
United States, it appeared that the United States was no match for the USSR —
the blame for this state of affairs was attributed to the curricula in our
schools. As a result, health, physical education, intramurals (recreation), and
dance came under attack and were seen as expendable subjects. It is not
surprising if this scenario reminds you of the status of our HPERD programs
following the NCLB legislation. In
drawing parallels between events of today and those in our past history, some
will recall the furor generated by the results of the Kraus-Weber tests. Hans
Kraus and Ruth P. Hirschland published a report titled “Muscular Fitness and
Health” in the Journal of Health,
Physical Education, and Recreation in December 1953. The Kraus-Weber test
measured strength and flexibility of trunk and leg muscles and was given to
American and European children. The failure rate among the American children was
57.9% compared with 8.7% of the European children. This report was widely
publicized by the news media and shocked Americans. On March 19, 1954, U.S. News and World Report carried a feature article that also
called attention to the general lack of muscular fitness of American youth when
compared to their counterparts in many European nations. The current media blitz
on the obesity crisis is analogous to the media attention created by the results
of the Kraus-Weber test and the fitness movement of 1953–1954. Time
Magazine (June 7, 2004) published a special issue dealing with
the obesity crisis in America; the cover and 104 of the 114 pages were devoted
to the obesity problem. This special issue of Time Magazine
had an impact similar to the U.S.
News and World Report of 1954. Perhaps the time has come for the Alliance to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of AAHPER’s response to the challenges of the 1950s. (Note: The “D” was added to AAHPER in 1979.) As an outcome of the Kraus-Weber test results, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called the first National Conference on Fitness of American Youth. Encouraged by President Eisenhower’s action, AAHPER convened a Conference on Youth Fitness September 12–15, 1956; 116 leaders of the profession assembled to plan and implement a program to improve the fitness of youth in America’s schools and colleges. AAHPER was also instrumental in enlisting the help of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the American Medical Association in supporting and promoting physical fitness. With leadership and encouragement from the White House and assistance from Illinois AAHPER, the Governor of Illinois called the first Governor’s Conference on Youth Fitness May 5–7, 1957. Soon thereafter many states followed the Illinois model. Just over a year later, AAHPER announced its sponsorship of a nationwide fitness program called Operation Fitness USA — and developed a National Youth Fitness Test along with a manual that provided national norms. In February 1961, health, physical education, and recreation received additional support when President John F. Kennedy delivered his “Special Message on Education” wherein he proposed that Congress amend the National Defense Education Act to include health and physical education. Later that summer, President Kennedy held a news conference asking all Americans to support his physical fitness initiative. In order to improve the health and physical development of all children and youth, schools were asked to adopt the recommendations made by the National Council on Youth Fitness. In response to the President’s news conference, members of AAHPER rallied, individually and collectively, to besiege their local, state, and federal government officials to support the recommendations made by the National Council on Youth Fitness. Many AAHPER members also took this opportunity to write in support of the formation of the various fitness councils composed of representatives from schools, recreation departments, and other community agencies such as the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of America, Boy and Girl Scouts, and YMCA/YWCA. By 1970, nearly every state had a Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport. In addition, many cities and municipalities had a Mayor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport. In the 1960s and 1970s, AAHPER also sponsored approximately 35 state fitness conferences and 30 college and university fitness institutes. AAHPER members were very involved in the fitness movement of the 1950s through the 1970s and deserve much of the credit for its success. Although
considerable advancement was made, unfortunately AAHPER members may not have
taken full advantage of the momentum that existed during this time period. I
believe AAHPER “dropped the proverbial ball” when it did not develop an
ongoing advocacy plan for implementing President Kennedy’s proposed amendment
to the National Defense Education Act. The Alliance can take a lead in
supporting the Childhood Obesity Reduction Act, sponsored by Senator Bill Frist
(R-TN) and it has an opportunity to amend the NCLB legislation to include health
and physical education as core subjects. In addition, we should continue to
advocate for the American Heart Association’s Obesity Campaign. The
Alliance has been taking giant steps in its advocacy endeavors by supporting
Title IX, the Carol M. White Physical Education for Progress Bill, the Impact (Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act) Bill,
and other important legislation advancing the mission of the Alliance. Let’s
not drop the ball – and lose our momentum as we may have done following the
amendment to the National Defense Education Act. In summary, I maintain that the time has arrived for the AAHPERD membership to decide how we can utilize what we have learned from past history and devise solutions for our current fitness and obesity challenges. This is “A Call to Arms!” |