In 1992, the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education convened Rhode Island s Common Core of Learning Team comprised of over 100 parents, educators and civic leaders. Together they formulated a questionnaire, polled over 200,000 Rhode Islanders and developed goals for education in our state in the 21st century. They included the ability to communicate effectively, to view learning as a lifetime process in which problem-solving skills are imperative, to acquire a body of knowledge that forms the base for the future of society, and to accept responsibility for one s self, one s learning, and one s role in society. Well-planned and carefully taught health and physical education lessons are an ideal means of fostering the development of these goals in each of our children. A few educators and state legislators in Rhode Island believe that the present time mandate, our children s only guarantee that health and physical education will be a part of their complete education, should be reduced or eliminated.
Students have the right to an education that includes the development of their physical selves.
And we know too much about the dangers of smoking, physical inactivity, drug use, and unsafe sexual practices to ignore teaching our children about how to make alternate choices for healthy lives. In view of the direction that our national government is taking to increase and improve physical education programs all over our country, we in Rhode Island want to remain a strong proponent of mandated physical education and health. Knowing that these programs are vital to the well being of our students, we cannot allow mandates for such programs to be put aside. Let our state instead invest in worthwhile programs that will not only improve the every day life of our children but also act as an investment in the health of an entire future generation. Please give our children every opportunity to be thriving, healthy, productive adults.