Traditional Phyisical Education classes do not offer today's youth the knowledge that they need to know to lead a healthy life. Playing lifelong games of physical education that has been adapted many years ago and although it has taken the place of team sports as a component of physical education it is a still a far cry from teaching our kids how to lead a healthy lifestyle. This can be done with a change in the curriculum making the physical education department a wellness department. Some people ask the question "doesn't health teach how to lead a healthy life?" The answer to that question is yes but only to a certain degree. If we can combine the knowledge that the students learn from health and also from physical education class along with other infomration we can build a healthier more intelligent student who knows what it takes to and how to lead a healthy life through the use of wellness. An untested theory that I have is that "if wellness is required from ninth grade through twelfth grade eveveryday all year around, then it will reduce the sickness and disease in the schools but also raise the scores of both class tests and standardized tests.
Wellness is defined as: "the optimal health and vitality, encompasing physical, emotional, intellectual,spiritual, interpersonal, social, and environmental well-being". Wellness is largely determined by the decisions one makes about how to live their life. There are six dimensions of wellness: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, interpersonal and social, environmental or planetary wellness. These six dimensions are described in more depth in the Power Point Presentation. The decisions we make directly affects one of these dimensions and since it does it affects another aspect if not all the other factors indirectly. Wellness is the choice of the future and it is up to us to provide a better life for the youth of today and the leaders of tomorrow.
