Perspectives on Physical Education: High Tech High Staff and Parents, Education Experts,

and Medical Experts

In order to discover how todays generation is being physically active in schools, the
benefits of physical activity, and how schools can create a better environment and experience for
students when it comes to physical activity, interviews were conducted with various people on
this controversial subject. We reached out to High Tech High teachers, administrators, parents,
education experts outside of High Tech High, and medical experts to discuss adolescent health,
its importance, and what our schools can do to improve the health of all students.
The benefits and importance of quality physical education in schools are great and vary
widely. Schools are the best avenue to reach all kids and give them the quality of life they
deserve. Many children do not have the opportunities and knowledge that all kids need in order
to be healthy. Schools are an equalizer by providing all children regardless of socioeconomic
background with the same opportunities. Required physical activity in schools is the fairest way
to make sure all kids are healthy and active.
Medical experts who were interviewed emphasized that exercise prevents many diseases.
Exercising at least 30 to 60 minutes every day decreases the chance of being diagnosed with
many diseases, as well as sustaining a healthy stable weight. A doctor and professor at UC San
Diego shared, Cardiovascular disease is the cause of 1 in 4 deaths in the US. The only solution
and prevention method is to exercise and eat well (Interview 11/6/14). Physical activity can
benefit kids much more than just physically. Dr. Davis at Radys Childrens Hospital says, It is
important to have kids understand that there are multiple benefits to staying fit other than heart
health. That reason should be a big one as it is, but there are benefits in terms of mental health
and academic performance as well. (Interview 11/19/14) The academic benefit is another reason

physical activity should be so important to schools. A strong physical education class can aid in
level of activity, condition of diet, mental health, and academic capability. Physical education
cannot only improve fitness, but it can also benefit a persons quality of life.
Physical education also spreads awareness on eating right. A healthy diet determines a lot
in terms of ones lifestyle and overall health. A low-salt, high-fiber/fruit diet decreases the chance
of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. In addition, physicians shared that adolescents are
being diagnosed with diabetes because of weight gain at tremendously young ages. Quality
physical education emphasizes the importance of vitamins and nutrients such as calcium and
Vitamin D. Dr. Christopher Davis explained, Calcium and Vitamin D both are essential for
proper bone health and prevention of many unhealthy bone conditions. (Interview 11/19/14)
In order to see these benefits in youth, physical education must be implemented or
improved in schools. Young children look up to adults and need guidance to build and sustain a
healthy lifestyle. Schools particularly have the ability to influence and motivate adolescent
students into making healthy choices at a young age. The goal is to convert these choices into
habits that they will develop throughout their childhood, and will most likely follow them
throughout their lifetime. Most everyone agrees that physical activity is important and needed in
schools. But, how can we get schools to provide their students with the desperately needed,
correct amount of exercise? A doctor says, I think PE is the last thing that should be cut, but it is
the first thing they cut. Its tough, you gotta have space, you gotta have a court, you know; its a
lot easier to build a school for education than it is for PE (Interview 11/11/14).
Many of the people we interviewed shared the belief that developing habits of exercise
and healthy nutrition is important in a students life. A professor of kinesiology at Cal State
Marcos said, Everything that I have researched and read points that nutrition is the most

influential thing that you can do to take control of your life (Interview, 11/14/14). Additionally,
physical education classes provide the opportunity to complete different activities, allowing kids
to find how they prefer to exercise and how to implement their habits into a healthy lifestyle. The
professor reported, Kids at or before the age of twelve who have had a good experience with
physical activity are 85% more likely to continue into their future lives. (Interview, 11/14/14).
Physical education is important for children and adolescents because it helps them develop habits
and skills that they can use later in life. In order for students to achieve their goals in life and to
grow up healthy, they need to complete physical activity and be taught about nutrition, both of
which happen in a good physical education program. He continued, I realize the irony of it: we
push our students to do well in math and do well in english/language arts and so forth and we tell
them yeah, we want you to be great professionals, but if they dont take care of their bodies,
theyre not going to be able to achieve their goals or theyre going to be cut off early in life and
not live to be eighty (Interview, 11/13/14). Since High Tech High wants to prepare students to
be successful in the real world, they should also help students make healthy choices that will
endure throughout their lifetimes.
Physical education has been reduced in schools across America due to budget cuts.
Currently, the entire High Tech High organization does not foster a physical education
curriculum: not because of these budget cuts, but because administrators have chosen to take
advantage of a charter school waiver that does not require schools to incorporate physical
education into the curriculum. In the High Tech North County Village, many of the schools have
differing attitudes towards physical activity and even differing programs. However, many of
them still agree that physical activity does provide positive benefits to our schools.
Incorporating physical activity into our school would provide students with the

foundation for developing lifelong habits. School leadership at High Tech Elementary North
County (HTeNC) and High Tech Middle North County (HTMNC) both emphasized starting
exercise habits that will keep students physically fit throughout their lives (Interviews, 11/6/14,
11/12/14). The directors discussed other potential benefits including managing healthy minds and
bodies. The Chief Academic Officer at High Tech High also believes that schools should allow
students to have the option to choose how, when, where and what exercise they do. His main idea
was a set-up that allowed students to basically select their exercise:
Something I proposed a few years ago but no one really listened to me or no one liked my
idea that much You could imagine having like a requirement that every student who
has to do lets say a hundred hours of physical activity per year, but they can exercise
themselves. You know I go on about 4 hour bike rides a week, and someone else says,
well, Ive been meaning to do this but I havent been so now I will. (Interview, 11/17/14)
Outside of that, hes not very interested in physical education. He thinks, oftentimes, it can take
away from creative classes such as art and multimedia.
High Tech High teachers also shared their thoughts about the importance of physical
activity in school. They stressed the idea of physical activity being an outlet for students to spend
their energy and, as a result, it would give them a higher level of focus in class. Most of our
interviewees also believed that physical activity plays a vital role in both physical and mental
health and overall well-being. An HTeNC teacher mentioned, even 15 minutes can drastically
improve academic performance (Interview, 11/17/14). She also emphasized the importance of
regularly activity for younger students as younger kids need exercise in short bursts (Interview,
11/17/14). Many teachers noted that a physical education program could make a big difference in
our schools. A HTeNC teacher commented, Youre helping your executive functions, which

then allow you to have more control in the classroom and more control of your actions,
(Interview, 11/17/14). The benefits seem to go beyond health and also impact overall
performance and mindsets in the classroom.
In addition to experts and teachers, parents also expressed that students do benefit from
physical activity and education. Parents shared that physical activity impacts many aspects of
their childs and students lives, helping an individuals health, academics and mental well being.
One parent reported that when her daughter is engaged in physical activity, she feels more
refreshed and is ready to engage in other activities (Flores Interview, 11/14/14). Other parents
echo this saying that once their child or students in general partake in a physical activity, they are
ready to do their homework and focus on school, whether at home or in the classroom
(Interviews, 11/17/14). Physical activity helps letting students release stored up energy inside
them, resulting in students being able to focus more clearly on school work (Interviews,
11/14/14, 11/17/14). Of course, another benefit of physical education is improved overall health.
According to a parent who works in healthcare, students will learn to be active at a young age
and live a healthy lifestyle at an older age, (Interview, 11/20/14). Parents also feel that is it
important for students to create healthy habits for themselves and to grow in understanding about
their bodies (HTH parent survey data, 2014). Lastly, a major benefit parents have found is that
physical education can help boost self confidence (Interview, 11/14/14) and that involvement in
activities looks good on college applications (HTH parent survey data, 2014). Parents state that
the overarching main benefits are those of the academic, mental and physical nature, all key
reasons to be intently looked at as to the importance of incorporating physical education.
Physical Activity and Physical Education at the High Tech High North County
Village. The current state or structure of physical activity at the HTHNC village varies. The

elementary, middle and high schools all have different approaches for incorporating physical
activity into the school day. The elementary and middle schools combine class work and physical
activity by integrating physical activity into projects (Interviews, 11/6/14, 11/12/14). The
elementary school strongly encourages students to play on the playground during recess and
lunch (Interview, 11/6/14). The overall approach to physical activity at the elementary school is
open-ended and customizable, allows for widespread physical activity, encourages cooperative
play, and encourages all students to play (Interview, 11/13/14). The elementary school teachers
agreed that they were able to allot a lot of time for their students throughout the day to be active
because of the wiggle room in the schedule that HTeNC gives them. They also believe that
physical activity plays a vital role in developing cognitive functions (Interview, 11/13/14).
In comparison, the middle school and high school have slightly different approaches than
the elementary school. At the middle school, students are encouraged to sign up for active
electives and also have opportunities for physical activity during morning advisory. Teachers try
to integrate physical fitness into the day and are able to customize the experience for students
(Interview, 11/12/14). Meanwhile, HTHNC has no regularly structured physical activity beyond
a handful of active electives. The director of the high school believes that physical activity is not
necessarily a problem because many students participate in sports inside and outside school. He
also believes that physical education classes could take away vital time from art-related classes
and electives (Interview, 11/13/14). Teachers at both the middle school and high school feel that
some students are not motivated to participate and that there are fewer opportunities to develop
lifelong habits (Interviews, 11/06/14, 11/12/14, 11/13/14). They emphasized nutrition more than
physical activity and communicated that they both play a critical role in students lives. There
was also a mention by teachers of the need for structure in order to provide proper physical

education: participation from the student is not mandatory, so not all students are receiving
proper education (Interview, 11/13/14).
Parent surveys and interviews revealed multiple perspectives on the role of physical
education at High Tech High. Many parents concurred that their students do engage in some
physical activity, such as during recess at the elementary school or during elective at the middle
and high schools (Interviews, 11/13/14, 11/20/14). While some parents felt that their students
fitness and health needs are adequate at High Tech High, others were firm in their opinions that
the High Tech system needs to make some serious changes in order to meet the physical fitness
standards. On the survey a few parents even offered up ideas to develop physical education
and/or activities and provided example schedules. Parents agreed that most physical activity at
High Tech High is dependent on the students choice to participate, and many wished for a more
comprehensive health education program. This leads us to think about what an ideal program at
High Tech High should look like in the future.

Recommendations and Future Goals. Many medical experts have ideas about what
exactly should be included in a quality physical education class. Dr. Daniels, a professor at UC
San Diego says, School classes should include weight training because it is the best way to get
stronger bones (Interview 11/6/14). She also thought lunch activity groups and healthier meals
would be good to add in schools. Even if schools cannot provide the correct physical activity and
education, they should at least be pushing the students to get healthy by themselves. Short 5 to
10 minute activity breaks (e.g., walking, running, routines) to increase physical activity levels as
well allow students to clear their heads and let loose a little in between classes. Schools can also
encourage physical activity and healthy choices with motivational posters around the campus,
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sports leagues advertisements, and maybe even making a competition for the students to be
involved in.
Teachers and education experts outside High Tech High also offered suggestions for
designing more effective physical education in our schools. Educators believed that more
emphasis on optional physical activity is an important area that High Tech schools could
improve. One teacher said, The first thing would be to see if there is time in the day, during
school hours to fit PE in. If not, have fitness clubs or sessions available in the morning or
afternoon. This would be where students could have an opportunity, if they wanted to
(participate) (Interview 11/16/14). A teacher from Explorer Elementary said that in elementary
school, offering an afterschool program that focuses on exercise could be beneficial to the school
and students (Interview, 11/16/2014). Physical activity can be accomplished before and/or after
school, but adolescents and teenagers also need to be encouraged. The CEO of PUC schools
suggested, For those of you who know how physical education and activity really is important,
maybe try reaching out to students and discovering their interests and start some clubs!
(Interview, 11/13/14)
Many of the education experts discussed the importance of implementing an effective
program: I think a lot of times with adults and administrators, they dont have a clear picture in
terms of what is a quality program (Interview 11/14/14). Physical activity has a huge effect on
kids when growing up. It is important that kids get enough physical activity and feel safe in that
environment: So every student is participating the whole time. Theres no such thing as waiting
for their turn to get the ball. There is no such thing as the highly athletic students dominating
while the low athletic student sits on the sideline. (Interview 11/14/14) It is important for these
programs to be effective and document the students growth and progress (Interview, 11/14/14).

Programs must allow all kids to have the opportunity to complete physical activity and be
encouraging. Kids need to be in a healthy space so that everyone can feel comfortable while
exercising. As reported by a Cal State San Marcos physical education professor, Ultra
aggressive environments can be detrimental to the childrens mindset on physical activity
(Interview, 11/14/14). The founder of PUC schools agreed that when the teacher is assuring
them that they are doing great and that they can do it, they will eventually do great and they will
feel good about themselves! (Interview, 11/13/14)
The three schools on the High Tech North County campus have also identified goals for
moving forward. First, the elementary school is aiming for more cooperative play, naturalistic
play environments, and positive relationships (Interview, 11/13/14). They are hoping to structure
more opportunities for organized play by students during the school day. The middle schools
goals are to form habits from a young age, integrate physical education into classes, and to have
customizable and open-ended activities (Interview, 11/12/14). Some high school teachers
mentioned possibly adding more active electives to the schedule. Finally, the Chief Academic
Officer hopes for a better program, but he doesnt want it to take away from other classes, as he
considers many of the classes vital. (11/17/14)
Parents also offered a number of insights into how High Tech High as an organization can
improve opportunities for regular physical activity. One parent suggested that middle and high
school students can spend 15 minutes during advisory to be physically active and that it will help
students throughout the rest of the day to concentrate and perform better in class (Interview,
11/17/14). Other parents ideas included having a daily 60-minute health and physical education
class, a 30 minute class three days a week, and activities that support cardiovascular health. One
parent recommended that all students should be required to take an athletic elective along with

or in place of more sedentary options. If not in school, then students should have to prove that
they were doing exercise outside of school (Survey data, 2014). Parents also suggested using
student voice to design the physical education curriculum. These perspectives and ideas will be
important and useful when improving and restructuring the current physical education
curriculum.
In analyzing the data, it was apparent that there was not much of a consensus as to what
should be done at the HTHNC Village Schools to improve health and prevent disease. Though,
with all the new ideas up in the air, we have noticed that evoking curiosity pertaining to health
sparks a level of interest in the educators of the HTHNC Village schools.
Conclusion. Overall, the interviews provided valuable insight into the benefits of
physical education, what physical education looks like currently, and how it could improve. The
main theme that was reiterated across all of the interviews was the need for effective physical
education that focuses more on the long term health of students and not just sports and athletics.
If that goal is accomplished there in unanimity that the health and wellbeing of students will
improve. After learning all this valuable information about health and the importance of schools
participation in childrens health, we want to do something. We want to make the High Tech
High organization as healthy as can be.

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