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Debrah OHara Intro into Allied Health February 11, 2013

Busy, Happy, Good Syndrome As a result of childhood obesity, physical education in the school systems is being taken far more seriously. It is now required for children in school to take a physical education class. Depending on the state, the amount of time they have to spend in the PE class varies. The issue with physical education classes in this day in age is that teachers feel that as long as their students are Busy, Happy, and Good, then they have done their job, which is not a very effective way to teach physical education. Judith Placek was a teacher in the 1980s, and she came up with the concept of Busy, Happy, Good Syndrome. She organized a study, where she observed the physical education teachers and came to the conclusion that teachers were satisfied if students were, busy (active), happy (engaged) and good (not causing problems) (Platell). Although the students are active, this becomes an issue when they are not learning anything significant in the class. Effective teaching identifies and builds on prior knowledge, makes real life connections, promotes skill development as well as monitoring and reflecting on learning and makes it relevant (Platell). There should be more to a physical education class than the students running around playing games or

not participating at all; the students should be able to take something from the class and use it in everyday life. Who is to say that the students are not just going to go home and sit and watch TV for the rest of the day? Physical education teachers should not only teach students to be fit, but also teach them exercises that will appeal to them while also improving them cognitively, socially, and also improving their motor skills. According to the textbook, when students enjoy the activity, they are more likely to continue to pursue it outside of school time (Hans Van Der Mars 129). Tips to making physical education more fun include: no lines, keep all students participating at all times, have different levels of success for all students, traditional team sports broken down into small group activities, and have challenges with a time limit. The goal is to keep things fun so that the students want to participate versus HAVING to participate while also tying in a learning aspect. In conclusion, there is a lot more to a physical education class than what most people think. Teachers should not be satisfied if the children seem Busy, Happy, and Good; they should be more inclined to improve not only their fitness skills but also other aspects of the childrens learning abilities. Teachers must also make the students want to participate, that way they will be more likely to pursue the activities outside of school. This issue in physical education is becoming a more prominent issue that professionals are noticing in the physical education department, and hopefully in time the issue will be resolved.

Mars, H. V. D. (2012). Physical Education, Fitness & Sport (Eighth ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Thompson, J. (n.d.). Taking Your Program to Another Level [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved April 16, 2013, from Making a Difference in Physical Education website: http://staffweb.esc12.net/~mbooth/ resources_general/physical_education/John_Thomson/ Making%20Difference%20in%20Physical%20Education%20Take%20Program %20to%20another%20level.pdf

Platell, S. (2009). Do you believe PE is about keeping students 'busy, happy and good'?.ACHPER Active & Healthy Magazine, 16(1), 8-9.