3 answers
Sohalia
Student
Singapore
7
Questions
Updated
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Wouldn't making SEHS a compulsory subject from primary school bring a great change to the world economically and health wise?
SEHS = sports exercise and health science
#health #education #school
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3 answers
Patricia R Kerr
Retired professor
25
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Patricia R’s Answer
Sohalia,
Thanks for providing the long version of SEHS....
Over the years, across the US, there have been requirements for Health classes and courses, as well as Physical Education courses for Grades 1-12. That being said, they were not coordinated (pun intended!), nor were common standards developed. The professional organizations representing areas within SEHS were fragmented, often leading to both duplication of proposed requirements and gaps between others.
Other professional organizations representing Mathematics; the Sciences; English, Language Arts, and Reading; Social Studies; and the Arts were much more unified and had larger, more powerful memberships. They also owned the perception of being the “Core Subjects.”
As school funding suffered from rising costs and decreasing revenues, teaching and support positions for subjects outside of the Big Four – Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies – were cut. In Many schools, Reading and Math dominated the curricula, to the despair of Science and Social Studies teachers everywhere.
So --- The short answer to your question is, “Yes, it certainly would benefit students to implement your suggested changes, and it definitely would make sense to do so….. But, the competition for students’ time is fierce, and giving more time to SEHS would mean (most likely) less time for something else.
We may agree that the changes should happen, but who is to decide what those changes should be, and who should make them? Should SEHS be mandatory? I’m not so familiar with the structure of the schools in Singapore, but I do know that the process of decision-making in your city/state is quite different than in the US.
We would ask, ”Who makes the mandate, who enforces it, and how is it enforced? The Federal Secretary of Education? Each state’s top Education Director/Superintendent/Commissioner? Or should it be up to each local school district?
See how complicated it gets? And that’s even without agreement about what should be in the SEHS curriculum!
Good question, but hard to make it work....
Thanks for providing the long version of SEHS....
Over the years, across the US, there have been requirements for Health classes and courses, as well as Physical Education courses for Grades 1-12. That being said, they were not coordinated (pun intended!), nor were common standards developed. The professional organizations representing areas within SEHS were fragmented, often leading to both duplication of proposed requirements and gaps between others.
Other professional organizations representing Mathematics; the Sciences; English, Language Arts, and Reading; Social Studies; and the Arts were much more unified and had larger, more powerful memberships. They also owned the perception of being the “Core Subjects.”
As school funding suffered from rising costs and decreasing revenues, teaching and support positions for subjects outside of the Big Four – Reading, Math, Science, and Social Studies – were cut. In Many schools, Reading and Math dominated the curricula, to the despair of Science and Social Studies teachers everywhere.
So --- The short answer to your question is, “Yes, it certainly would benefit students to implement your suggested changes, and it definitely would make sense to do so….. But, the competition for students’ time is fierce, and giving more time to SEHS would mean (most likely) less time for something else.
We may agree that the changes should happen, but who is to decide what those changes should be, and who should make them? Should SEHS be mandatory? I’m not so familiar with the structure of the schools in Singapore, but I do know that the process of decision-making in your city/state is quite different than in the US.
We would ask, ”Who makes the mandate, who enforces it, and how is it enforced? The Federal Secretary of Education? Each state’s top Education Director/Superintendent/Commissioner? Or should it be up to each local school district?
See how complicated it gets? And that’s even without agreement about what should be in the SEHS curriculum!
Good question, but hard to make it work....
Thanks a lot for your reply, this was very helpful!!!
Sohalia
Heather Souleles
1
Answer
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Updated
Heather’s Answer
Hi Sohalia,
Responding this query from India, so may have a different perspective. I think it will be a great to include health and sports education from an early age. This promotes positive health change, instills group working, and ensures children focus on personal health from an early age.
I have observed inclusion of physical exercise in a few kindergarten schools / summer schools.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Harish.
Responding this query from India, so may have a different perspective. I think it will be a great to include health and sports education from an early age. This promotes positive health change, instills group working, and ensures children focus on personal health from an early age.
I have observed inclusion of physical exercise in a few kindergarten schools / summer schools.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Harish.
Patricia R Kerr
Retired professor
25
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Patricia R’s Answer
Sohalia,
Since many readers of Career Village are not from Singapore, the acronym "SEHS" may have a different meaning for us than for you. Would you please let us know what "SEHS" stands for?
Thanks.
Since many readers of Career Village are not from Singapore, the acronym "SEHS" may have a different meaning for us than for you. Would you please let us know what "SEHS" stands for?
Thanks.
SEHS stands for sports exercise and health science:)
Sohalia