WEBVTT - Why Do We Test Middle Schoolers' Fitness?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and believe it or not, I was

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<v Speaker 1>never particularly the athletic type. I have vivid middle school

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<v Speaker 1>memories of being administered a standardized fitness test during gym class.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't recall ever being taught how to do pull

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<v Speaker 1>ups or curl ups, but I sure remember being tested

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<v Speaker 1>on how many I could do in front of my class.

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<v Speaker 1>The Presidential Fitness Test was a battery of physical feats

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<v Speaker 1>designed to assess the health of school age American children.

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<v Speaker 1>The test has since been retired and replaced by the

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<v Speaker 1>less arbitrary and more forgiving physical fitness test known as

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<v Speaker 1>Fitness Graham, but it left a significant mark on scholastic history.

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<v Speaker 1>It all started in the early nineteen fifties, when fitness

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<v Speaker 1>activists Dr Hans Krauss and Bonnie Prudent administered exercise tests

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<v Speaker 1>to thousands of kids throughout the United States, Switzerland, Italy,

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<v Speaker 1>and Austria. U S kids came up shockingly short. Fifty

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<v Speaker 1>eight percent of them failed the tests, compared to just

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<v Speaker 1>eight percent of the European kids, and then President Dwight

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<v Speaker 1>Eisenhower was not pleased. He took action by forming the

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<v Speaker 1>President's Council on Youth Fitness in nineteen fifty six to

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<v Speaker 1>seek out strategies for improving American kids fitness scores. Concern

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<v Speaker 1>mounted by the time John F. Kennedy took office in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixty he penned a Sports Illustrated op ed about

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<v Speaker 1>the perceived problem an expert, in a very real and

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<v Speaker 1>immediate sense, are growing softness, our increasing lack of physical

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<v Speaker 1>fitness is a menace to our security. And so in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixty six, the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge commenced, a

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<v Speaker 1>competition of sorts designed to get kids excited about physical

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<v Speaker 1>fitness as it related to military service. The challenge included

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<v Speaker 1>activities like a softball throw along jump, and that dreaded

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<v Speaker 1>pull up, all meant to mimic military tasks like grenade

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<v Speaker 1>throwing and ladder climbing. To earn the coveted physical fitness awards,

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<v Speaker 1>kids would have to place in the top eighty five

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<v Speaker 1>percentile based on national standards. The problem with all this testing,

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<v Speaker 1>which by the way, was usually done in front of

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<v Speaker 1>one's peers, was that, according to experts, it didn't resemble

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<v Speaker 1>the Krauss Webber tests. In any way. Rather than focusing

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<v Speaker 1>on core and arm strength and improved flexibility, the Presidential

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<v Speaker 1>Physical Fitness Challenge simply reflected the goals and priorities of

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<v Speaker 1>the country and people who had formed their fitness philosophy

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<v Speaker 1>during training in World War Two years later, in twelve,

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<v Speaker 1>the test was finally abolished and replaced by a more

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<v Speaker 1>comprehensive fitness program designed to support individual goals rather than

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<v Speaker 1>prescribe as standard fitness regimen. The change was the result

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<v Speaker 1>of decades of negative feedback from both students and teachers.

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<v Speaker 1>Physical education teacher Joanna Faber told NPR the test was

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<v Speaker 1>totally backward. We knew who was going to be last,

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<v Speaker 1>and we were embarrassing them. We were pointing out their weakness.

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<v Speaker 1>So where does that leave us now? And why are

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<v Speaker 1>teachers still testing kids at all? We spoke with marisolv Zzali,

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<v Speaker 1>a San Francisco Bay area physical education teacher and massage therapist.

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<v Speaker 1>She said, the reason for the tests, I believe is

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<v Speaker 1>basically to collect data so the state knows fitness levels

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<v Speaker 1>of different demographics and counties, schools, cities, et cetera. But

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<v Speaker 1>we teachers do our best to turn it into goal

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<v Speaker 1>setting and teaching students about their bodies. We also turn

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<v Speaker 1>it into awards for students with the most improvements are

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<v Speaker 1>best scores to create some buy in and get them

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<v Speaker 1>motivated to be fit people. While the current program continues

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<v Speaker 1>to focus on specific areas of fitness, there's a decidedly

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<v Speaker 1>less militaristic approach to it. For instance, Fizzali says there

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<v Speaker 1>are different options for each of the five categories that

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<v Speaker 1>are tested, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and

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<v Speaker 1>body composition, which is muscle to fat ratio. These options

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledge different types of fitness far better than the original

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<v Speaker 1>test did, taking into account the different ways kids bodies

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<v Speaker 1>work based on age and sex, and acknowledging that fitness

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<v Speaker 1>is a spectrum. So how many kids do well on

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<v Speaker 1>this test? Azali said the number of kids that pass

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<v Speaker 1>usually depends on the school. In Burlingame, California, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>where I teach, most kids pass, I'd say, but that

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<v Speaker 1>has to do with a lot more than just are

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<v Speaker 1>awesome physical education teachers. She explains that the kids in

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<v Speaker 1>her community are really active outside of school, whereas in

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<v Speaker 1>poorer areas the number of kids that passed could be

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<v Speaker 1>much lower. For many reasons, children might not be active

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<v Speaker 1>outside of school due to lack of local programs, time,

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<v Speaker 1>or funding. Punishing and humiliating tests certainly aren't the way

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<v Speaker 1>to get kids in shape, but encouraging physical activity of

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<v Speaker 1>some kind is important, since it's been shown to help

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<v Speaker 1>kids build cardio fitness, strong bones and muscles, and even

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<v Speaker 1>reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. According to the Centers

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<v Speaker 1>of Disease Control and Prevention, only twenty one point six

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<v Speaker 1>percent of six to nineteen year old children and adolescence

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<v Speaker 1>in the United States get sixty or more minutes of

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<v Speaker 1>moderate vigorous physical activity at least five days per week.

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<v Speaker 1>But don't be discouraged. Any activity is better than no activity.

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<v Speaker 1>There are lots of guides online to making fitness fun,

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<v Speaker 1>even for the less coordinated among us. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Michelle Konstantinovski, produced by Tyler Clang. From on

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<v Speaker 1>this and lots of other fitting topics, visit our home

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<v Speaker 1>planet pastoff works dot com. H