the state of physical education in america

frank forencich, exuberant animal

october 23, 2009

the state of physical education in america

“making a case for the body”

the state of the animal

hypervisual stimulation

circadian disruption

chronic low-level fear

compromised immunity

socially confused, isolated, asc

abnormal digestion and fake foods (EFLS)

insufficient locomotion:sedentary, aphysical existence, kinetiphobic

sensory deficits

endocrine disruption

nature deficit, biophobia

adrenal exhaustion

touch deprived

overworked and multi-tasked, temporal poverty

excess visceral fat

assaulted by noise

metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance

neurologically threatened

obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression...

“300,000 premature deaths due to inactivity and poor diet each year...

a 9-11 every week...”

World Health Organization (latest stats):

By 2015, 700 million obese and 2.3 billion overweight.

60 % body dissatisfaction

discover magazine, may 2009

Major study on global burden of disease conducted by World Health Organization (1996):

“by 2020, depression will be second only to heart disease in terms of disability or disease burden.”

epidemic of depression

antidepressants are now the most widely prescribed drugs in america.

blame it on descartes

“it is certain that i, that is to say my mind... is entirely and truly distinct from my body, and may exist without it.”

1596 – 1650

radical skepticism: don’t trust the senses

“i am a brain, my dear watson, and the rest of me is a mere appendage.”

Sherlock Holmes(Arthur Conan Doyle)

testing, grading

“hard sciences”

“soft sciences”

humanities

physical education

renaissance: a new integration

movement training

public health

cognitive-academic performance

"The human brain and the rest of the body constitute an indissociable organism, integrated by means of mutually interactive biochemical and neural regulatory circuits...mental phenomena can be fully understood only in the context of an organism’s interacting in an environment."

brain-derived neurotrophic factor

“miracle grow for the brain”

end of the “dumb jock” stereotype

New ScientistOctober 17, 2009

strategic, intentional use of movement

aka “somatic cognition”

intelligence is distributed throughout the body

sedentary v. active cognition

holistic education

"watching a child makes it obvious that the development of his mind comes about through his movements ... mind and movement are parts of the same entity."

Maria Montessori 1967

the power of plasticity

ORIGIN mid 17th cent. (in the sense [characteristic of molding] ): from French plastique or Latin plasticus, from Greek plastikos, from plassein ‘to mold.’

myelinationltpneurogenesis

myelin

only insulates axons

speeds transmission

notable examples:

locomotor development

PFC development

long-term potentiation

the cellular mechanism of learning

“cells that fire together, wire together.”

human emotion networked through observed movement

psychophysical contagion

frans de waal

“To learn from others, apes need to see actual fellow apes: imitation requires identification with a body of flesh and blood. We’re beginning to realize how much human and animal cognition runs via the body. Instead of our brain being like a little computer that orders the body around, the body-brain relationship is a two-way street. The body produces internal sensations and communicates with other bodies, out of which we construct social connections and an appreciation of the surrounding reality. Bodies insert themselves into everything we perceive or think.”

“The field of embodied cognition is still very much in its infancy but has profound implications for how we look at human relations. We involuntarily enter the bodies of those around us so that their movements and emotions echo within us as if they’re our own.”

increased appreciation for...

• emotional intelligence• self-regulation• impulse control

begins with the body!

training and growth orientation

deep, deliberate, mindful practice

“training trumps talent.”

“reward effort, not achievement.”

the growth mindset ultimately prevails over the belief in fixed abilities.

focus on education

training = learning = education

it’s all one process!

all education is physical!

all teachers are pe teachers!

physical educators as leaders at the center of the curriculum

the ultimate objective:

fall in love with movement!

make it sustainable