Local News
March 28, 2008
Maryland Public Schools’ Formula For Success
Jon S. Cardin
Special to the Jewish Times
The Maryland Constitution mandates two things: a balanced budget and an adequate public education for every student. To that end, legislators must have the vision and fortitude to enhance the quality of our schools. This year bills would positively impact learning in the classroom by a) determining current class size (HB 119) and by b) increasing physical education standards (HB 503).
The goal of HB 119 is to compile comprehensive data on the size of each class throughout the state. Gathering and sharing this information would bring no additional fiscal cost to the state; its purpose would be to help parents and educators make the right choices when it comes to class size. Currently, the only data gathered by our state school system is general information containing the total number of teachers versus the total number of students in a county or a school. It is these types of generalities that force us to extrapolate imperfect estimations.
What we do know is that many of today’s classrooms are composed of both large and small groups of children. If parents were offered clear, concrete data as to the success of their children compared to the class size, what do you think would be their reaction? While large classes may become a hindrance to every child’s learning and every teacher’s ability to feel successful, the truth in date may be different. In an age of city-stat and state-state, disaggregated statistics on class size can give us a whole new wealth of information in school-stat.
The information learned from a class-size study benefits parents, students and teachers, as it gives people a better indication of a teacher’s workload. Is class size is directly proportional to student achievement? This information will tell us. By compiling this data, local school boards are given the necessary tools to find solutions to the overcrowding in classrooms. Legislators are provided critical information to make the best decisions for Maryland’s best and brightest. The kids deserve better, the teacher’s deserve better and so do lawmakers.
As a former schoolteacher and fitness enthusiast, I feel strongly that physical fitness is a necessary part of the educational process. With this in mind, I sponsored HB 503: the Bryan Moore Health and Fitness Act. This bill would gradually increase the amount of physical education to 150 minutes in public elementary schools by the year 2012. The bill is designed to address unprecedented health concerns, such as obesity, type ii diabetes, and heart disease, as well as to increase learning in the classroom for elementary school students. There is proven scientific data showing a clear connection between the mind and the body and that exercise enhances brain development. Increased aerobic activity improves grades, lowers depression and increases self-esteem. Students cannot sit for long periods of time before the blood and oxygen flow to their brains significantly slows down, thereby hindering the learning process. The impact of physical activity on productivity, grades, attention and health is remarkable.
It is clear to anyone who has visited a classroom lately that the amount of time children currently spend sitting still is unacceptable. It is time that we build a healthy foundation at a young age when it comes to physical fitness. Approximately 33% of children ages 6 to 11 are overweight and 16% are obese. These numbers reflect a tripling of obesity cases in adolescents and more than a doubling number of cases in all children in the past twenty years. The lack of physical fitness is also connected to Type II Diabetes, which is rising at an alarming rate in overweight children. Currently, most of our students participate in a gym class one day a week for a mere thirty minutes. Pediatric cardiologists from the Medical College of Georgia, as well as the National Association for Health and Fitness agree that children need sixty minutes of activity a day and that encouraging moderate and vigorous activity in the schools is important.
Including physical fitness as a valid part of the education process is not unreasonable. Opponents have stated concerns about the cost of implementing this bill.
Declaring physical health and fitness as an integral part of the learning process costs nothing and benefits all. Schools can do this with existing resources. In fact, Maryland cannot afford to not pass this measure, as the state currently spends over 1.5 billion dollars on obesity related medical expenses. For a fraction of that we can promote health and fitness in children, thus fostering healthy attitudes that will last a lifetime.
The benefits of class size information and increased physical fitness outweigh all prospective drawbacks. These policies transcend curriculum. They are about giving students the tools to succeed. HB 119 and HB 503 would create a cost-effective, high-quality learning environment for our students. If we want Maryland to be the best place for our children to develop, then we must look to these policies in the coming year(s).
Jon S. Cardin (D), sponsored the above legislation and represents the 11th District in the Maryland House of Delegates and serves on the Ways and Means Committee that has jurisdiction over k-12 education.