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| Source: http://www.ragestache.com/Comics/Every-Day-In-Gym-Class/41091 |
In Indonesia, like in many Asian countries, school is where students study for at least eight hours, sitting in desks and nothing more. The only time they leave their classrooms is during lunch, when they go to the bathroom, or when they are leaving home. This schedule not only applies to high schools, but also to intermediate and elementary schools.
This spiked my curiosity: how can students- especially hyperactive 7-8 year-olds- stay in desks for such long periods of time. Even kids in America can't stay still for the average 6.5 hours a day they spend in school!
Even though the documentary was made by a college student, it is very well-made and shows the daily life of an average Korean student. (Stop at 5:18)
While Korean schools are proven to be the top-rated in the world according to the Huffington Post, Washington Post, BBC News, etc. they are also proven as the country with one of the highest suicide rates in the world. And the fascinatingly horrifying fact is that there is a relationship between the two.
According to a study by Psychiatrists Rebecca P. Ang and Vivien S. Huang, they have studied the relationship between suicide rates among adolescents and education:
[they have] examined factors contributing to suicidal behaviors
in 9,886 high school Korean adolescents and found that students who reported
feeling a high level of stress regarding academic performance and higher
education were more likely to have serious thoughts about suicide than those
students who did not experience academic stress.
This
stress comes from a lot of factors, but I believe that the most contributing
factor has to be the lack of being active and having more leisure time. Replacing that is mental stress of trying to be the top of the class.
I remember when I was younger most of my fondest memories came
from recess being active outside. That was where I could freely enjoy being a
kid and hanging out with my friends. Once we got back to class, I was refreshed
to finish the rest of the school day.
So when I heard about ongoing debates of removing recess and gym class in American school systems, it saddened me because future kids won't have the chance to have the same experiences I had when I was younger. Sure, they'll have higher grades then I did, but they will always be confined in classrooms all day long and never really enjoy being outside or being a kid. Instead, they'll be consumed with grades, tests, and- in the most extreme cases- thoughts of suicide.
If we don't advocate to keep our gym classes, our future generations might end up in the same predicament as South Korea's. I understand having good grades is important when it comes to the future, but is it really worth it if our future kids are always stressed out and can't have fun once in a while? Is that what we want to replace gym class? Do we want our generation to be in the same situation as Korea?
I agree with your argument here. I loved being in a gym class, and I would have been extremely sad if they had cut those programs out of schools. However, are these debates including the sports programs that most schools have? Wouldn't it be enough for kids to participate in these sports programs, or programs like the YMCA or recreational sports outside of school?
ReplyDeleteYou say that you believe the most important factor to these suicide thoughts is the fact that these students don't have gym or recess. Is this proven? Also, what about the students here in high schools that don't have to take gym? Are they shown to have more thoughts of suicide?
First off thank you for your comments! I am happy that someone is concerned about the loss of gym class in America.
DeleteI realized I forgot to mention an important thing in terms of my blog: the reason why many students in Korea are committing suicide is not only due to the increase of mental stress but also due to lack of gym class. I'm noting the problem that American schools are becoming more like Korea in that they are removing gym class in order to use that time to study more. However, I'm proving that gym class should be kept because the study I used is showing that with the removal of gym class and long, continous hours of study will lead to stress and thus lead to increasing thoughts of suicide. I'm showing that there's also a mental drawback if gym class is removed.
There's also a study I found that showed that elementary kids that go to schools without recess are more likely to have ADD. Why is that? I will also include that in my argument.
And I did not think of the exception, but of course there will be kids who won't have these problems but in general, kids in school will have more stress and this could cause severe mental problems. Another main point is that while it may not lead to suicide, the fact that kids as young as six won't be able to have recess along with this increased stress is preventing them from being just kids. Schools should reconsider not only the repercussions in kids but also realize that traditions such as recess prevent these kids from socializing with each other and having those same experiences older generations had.
The best part of this post was how personal it was. You kept us engaged when you talked about how your cousin moved from Indonesia and there were a lot of I statements. Making it personal, for me, was the biggest contributing factor.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mwilwand when she talks about what other factors play into the lives of the students. Are there other programs that are in place that allow students to relax? For example, Spain has a siesta in the middle of the day that allows students to go home and relax. All in all it was really good. Nice use of visuals and a very strong argument.
Thank you! I'm happy that someone can relate to this topic! I feel that more people should be aware of the ongoing gym class debate because if people don't pay attention, the government will start deciding without our consent in terms of whether to keep gym class or recess in schools.
DeleteI do agree that there are programs outside of school that will provide exercise and relief for kids, but in reality, how many kids out of any school actually do this? I found a newspaper article in my hometown stating the statistics of kids attending school and out of those kids, the fraction of them that actually have activities outside of school. I forgot the actual numbers, but it was a small number to say the least.
In addition, while these programs are offered, they're only offered after school. My argument here is that studying for long hours on end is not good for the mental health of many students, and thus gym class or recess should be implemented in order to provide a break.
And I like that Spain implements a siesta for students to take a break from school to refresh. I remember having nap time for kindergarden, but unfortunately, we don't have that nap time as we get into middle or high school.
I agree that if gym class or recess will be exempt from school, I advocate we should implement at least some other form of break in school in order to decrease stress and mental fatigue that will result in long hours of studying and class for students. After all, students are human and they can only take so much before problems arise.