Story idea 12.19.10

Just read this Washington Post story, thanks to a link from KipCamp, part of the Kiplinger Programs.

Now there’s an interesting story idea.
Sitting is bad…

A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat less than three hours a day.

So what are we doing with our children? Our students sit at desks for a good portion of their school day. Unless they are lucky enough to have a P.E. class, they are behind the desk for just about six hours daily in high school.

And this is all part of tradition and law. The legal aspect includes requirements by most states for a minimum number of minutes, hours, days in school. In California that magic number is 175 days (down from 180, thanks to budget woes).

Just under half a year of six hours daily seat time. And here’s tradition – way too many teachers teach the old fashioned way, with students sitting, listening, thinking (we hope), writing, on computers. Not active.

Story idea: check out your local laws and schools. What are the required times for attendance and how many teachers use that time to be the expert on the dais as opposed to allowing students to move around, be active and interact? Are there any teachers who teach using kinetics – dance, movement, whatever it takes to help students get out of their seats? Movement actually helps with learning, as this site advocates.

Is academia actually contributing to society’s obesity and health woes?

Oh – and I loved the (mostly) boys at school who took every opportunity to grab a handball and hammer the gym walls. Plus (of course) my bboyz who expend more energy in one weekly club meeting that most students do in a month.