Judith Young, executive director of National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), the nation's largest organization for physical education teachers, maintains that schools cut gym classes for lack of funding, but more often cuts result from time constraints that develop with the addition of new curriculum. "Standards-based reform has been detrimental to physical education," said Young.
Young said it troubles her to see gym classes eliminated, especially when physical education curriculum is getting better. Historically, she explained, physical education programs did a poor job of promoting life-long physical activity, and focused almost exclusively on a handful of competitive sports, such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, and baseball. According to a November 2000 report to the president from the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education, kids need to be taught less competitive activities—such as bicycling, running, and swimming—because they're more likely to carry these activities into their adult lives.
As gym classes get elbowed out of the curriculum in favor of other subjects, recess, in many school districts, is also in jeopardy. An estimated 40% of U.S. school districts either have eliminated recess or are considering eliminating it, said Rhonda Clements, president for the American Association of the Child's Right to Play. Some school districts cite safety and supervision issues as reasons for eliminating recess, explained Clements. But more likely, she said, recess is chucked in favor of an expanded curriculum.
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