Have you heard the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? Well, as it turns out, it might be true, not just for all Jacks, but for all Jills, too. Research scientists compared results of 14 studies of students around the world. They came to the conclusion that both boys and girls who got more exercise, learned more and earned better grades. It didn’t seem to matter what kind of exercise the students got during the day, riding a bike to school, running at recess, playing soccer after school, as long as heart rate was up for around 30 minutes daily. It appears that exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain and helps you think more efficiently.
Dr. John Ratey noted in his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, that we have underestimated the power of the mind/body connection. One school district in Illinois, Naperville, however, has begun to harness that power with nothing short of miraculous results. With a revolutionary physical education program, the student body of 19,000 has become perhaps the fittest in the nation. In one entire class of sophomores, only 3 percent were found to be overweight, compared to 30% nationally. More surprising still, in 1999, Naperville 8th grade students tested among the highest in the world on an international standards test called TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). In the past, students from China, Japan and Singapore have outscored American students in the crucial test areas of math and science. Naperville eighth graders astonished everyone with placing sixth in the world in math, and first in science. (As a whole, American students ranked 18th internationally in science and 19th in math.) These amazing scores are being attributed to the new individualized physical education program, a program that focuses on personal fitness and health, rather than team sports. The science behind these results indicates that exercise provides the stimulus necessary to create an environment in which the brain is ready, willing and able to learn. New brain cells are created as blood and oxygen pump into the brain during exercise, flooding the brain with “Miracle Gro” chemicals. By having students work out before their hardest academic subjects, the new cells are available and ready to be filled. Newly created cells that aren’t given tasks, simply die – use it or lose it. Students in an experimental before-school high-intensity PE program have shown a 17% improvement in reading and comprehension, compared to 10.7% for students who were involved in standard PE class. The administration now incorporates this experimental PE class into a first period literacy class, Learning Readiness PE, for struggling freshmen needing a reading score boost. School guidance counselors have begun recommending that students take their hardest course work immediately after gym.
The sad thing is that many school districts are cutting, rather than increasing, gym classes. One Virginia Tech research study showed that cutting PE class and allocating more time to reading, math and science did not improve test scores, as was expected. Other studies indicate the opposite, that adding more movement, more aerobics, more vigorous exercise can improve test scores. It’s time we re-evaluate where to put our time, money and other resources where they can do the most good. It’s time to give kids more, rather than less movement, during the school day. That could make all the difference in the world - not only in improved learning, but also improved fitness, behavior, self-confidence, and attitude.
