On Monday, 30 or so parents showed up at the Austin ISD board of trustees meeting to weigh in on a curriculum debate that, at its heart, asks the most elemental question — what do we need more, body or soul? Or, to be more exact, physical education or art and music?
Responding to increasing obesity among school-age children, the Legislature passed Sen. Jane Nelson‘s SB19 last session, requiring elementary school students to engage in at least 135 minutes of physical activity per week. However, the Lege did not provide funds or suggestions on how districts should meet this goal. Like many other districts, AISD has no money to hire more PE teachers. Instead, classroom teachers now lead students in physical activity during recess three times a week.
That’s not good enough, says a proposal by the Student Health Advisory Council, a group of health care experts and parents appointed by the board. They say classroom teachers are ill-prepared to lead physical education activities and that the district has not given them training or equipment. “Austin has a history of under-investing in physical education,” said Dr. Dolly Lambdin, a member of SHAC. “And the health data is very alarming.” A study of three local middle schools showed that 22% of students were obese, compared to a national average of 13%.
The SHAC proposes rearranging the schedule, which now has art, music, and PE in a three-day rotation, so that children would have a PE period every other day. That would mean eliminating 48 art and music teachers and replacing them with PE teachers. The change doesn’t sit well with many AISD parents. “A place like Austin has no business cutting art and music,” says local musician Susanna Sharpe, whose daughter, a violinist, attends Brentwood Elementary. “These programs are not fluff. Art and music are cornerstones to our civilization and have been shown to facilitate the learning of math and language skills as well. I am not anti-PE. I agree that kids should be exercising more, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of their creativity.”
Superintendent Pat Forgione has yet to weigh in decisively on the issue, simply acknowledging at the board meeting that Austin has the “Cadillac of art and music programs” and lamenting that the budget crisis has brought on such difficult choices. He will hold two public forums on the subject before making a recommendation on Jan. 27. The forums are on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Reagan High, and Wednesday, Jan. 15 at Austin High, both at 6:30pm.
This article appears in December 13 • 2002.