Need of exercise in education

Need Of Exercise In Education
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
References 5
Introduction
The time is ripe when it has become the social responsibility of our government to incorporate physical exercise as an essential component of our education. Exercise is the missing factor which has contributed to the burgeoning figure of obese people in the USA. Gone are the days when academic excellence could be measured just in terms of intellectual achievement. The old adage of ‘ Healthy mind in a healthy body’ though simple is the essence of human wisdom which needs to be followed religiously now to produce future generations of healthy citizens. I am reminded of an old comic book I read in school where the world is overtaken by artificial intelligence androids because human beings have become too weak to use their limbs. In another story I read, a family of bears is being read a bedtime story by grandma bear, who tells her children about the disappearing human race whose representatives had lost all their limbs due to disuse as they had become too dependant on machines. The present day Hollywood blockbuster movies like ‘ The Matrix’ are also symbolic of the domination of man by machines.
Incorporation of physical exercise in the form of entertaining games and excursions is absolutely essential in the school curriculum and should be part of a national program. Gymnastics should be introduced at a very tender age as it is the mother of all sports and imparts great control on the physical aspects of human body to its practitioner. Its practice endows great balance and control and keeps all vital organs in a state of physiological perfection. We have seen some great specimens of the human body in terms of near perfect physical appearance and great beauty in international sports events like the Olympics where one is left gaping at the superhuman achievements of great athletes. It is not hidden from the world that such people are the longest surviving members of their species on the face of this planet. Communist countries have achieved great feats in the past century just by enforcing a disciplined curriculum of physical activity on their citizens. Democracy should not serve as an excuse to stay away from fitness and exercise just by hoodwinking ourselves that we are under no compulsion of any enforced discipline and have a free will to abuse our body. The stark example is there for all to see in countries such as Germany, where the former GDR (German Democratic Republic), the communist faction was far ahead in terms of sports achievement during its heydays as compared to its democratic cousin, the Federal republic of Germany (FRG). After the unity of the two factions into a single Germany in 1991, the sports achievements have gone down drastically and former East Germans are slowly and steadily turning into fat slobs. Democracy therefore should not be used as an excuse to stay away from exercise. It would be something like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand and believing that all danger is over.
The people who govern the United States are slowly realizing the importance of physical activity, exercise and fitness when they are faced with increasing figures of obese people in the country having far reaching implications on our economy, happiness and increased expenditure on healthcare and medicines, which we could easily have provided for all, had we followed a national program and policy on health matters. The success of Barack Obama over McCain in the current presidential elections has been influenced up to some extent by his physical fitness, notwithstanding the political reasons and beliefs, which imparts a sense of confidence to the general voter.
The Presidents’ Council on Fitness and Sports is a body which keeps the nation’s leader abreast of the current requirements and necessities of our children and youth, who in turn authorizes the use of available resources in a positive and meaningful way for building a healthier America. Let the lazy laggards who dwell in the pleasures of the body by not exercising properly, eating junk food and depending on machines for their daily activities wake up to the true facts of life and start taking actions which can only lead to better and healthier lifestyles for them.
References
President’s Council Overview, The President’s Council on Fitness and Sports, Online article available at: http://www. fitness. gov/about_overview. htm