TIM'S RESPONSE TO THE DPA STRATEGY

Being and staying healthy could always be considered a monumental achievement in a person's lifetime, but so few manage to live up to that goal. Therefore, the government of Canada has chosen to "get them while they're young" by making PE mandatory from grades K-9 with the idea that students will then get thirty minutes of physical activity everyday, five days a week. After grade nine, the DPA program comes into effect and students now have to acquire 150 minutes of physical activity per week either at school or on their own time. This is not an effective way to ensure that students exercise and stay healthy because it is not possible to effectively enforce the DPA policy; the administration cannot determine if the individual is actually actively participating in the sport. Furthermore, forcing a person to do something they do not enjoy seldom wields good results. Anyone could just write that they have been running on their treadmill for 30 minutes each weekday and have their parents sign the piece of paper; there's nothing the school can do about it. Also, when a person is forced to exercise it would not be beneficial because if they don't enjoy it or is not capable of performing it well then they are not really getting healthier. They will simply be doing it idly and staring at the clock, then when time is up they will simply leave. The DPA policy was poorly planned, even more poorly executed, and will not work because it cannot be enforced due to the lack of regulation and the fact that one can't force a person to do something they don't appreciate in a proper manner.

However, health is still of the utmost importance for teenagers, so what should we do encourage exercise? The solution is very simple and effective; the government should make PE a requirement in grades K-12, and have not only teachers helping the students, but also supervisors from the school board. The supervisor would then make suggestions to the PE teacher about which students have not been trying hard enough, and he would have the power to make them run laps for 30 minutes after school. This would discourage students from just hanging around and not doing anything during PE class. Furthermore, the way that students are graded on their physical performance is exceedingly unfair; some people just have more talent in athleticism than others. A mark should be given solely on how much effort is made, nothing else. The one thing that will not be changed is the fact that a certain amount of exercise is still needed in order to graduate. Currently, my personal lifestyle definitely cannot be considered healthy, I lie around all day and I don't attempt to participate in PE class. The only thing that could possibly motivate me to start getting fit would be the strategy I just described, where if one tries hard enough they will get an excellent grade, even if it seems a bit harsh it is for the betterment of all adolescents' health.

Tim Chen