They Grow Up So Fast

[Music] [Applause] see me jumping see me jumping [Music] Mommy I did it I did it I did it I did it we won we won we won they grow up so fast that before you know it they're out of your [Music] hand Pap Bye Mom goodbye dear come right home after school now can't I stop a cheer fast and F all right but home for supper okay oh Paul what time will you be home hey tennis today goodbye [Music] don't fret dear you're just growing up oh I wasn't fretting just thinking now what time will you be home sex as usual I don't have a thing to do after [Music] school just thinking while they're growing up so fast it used to be they were mine all day long but now school it seems I hardly see them anymore still when school is the right kind of a place it's such a pleasure to watch them go oh our school is the right kind of a place now all right and we know that our children are in good hands all day long in the hands of people understand them and know how to help them grow hi Miss hi Miss Johson says we're going to learn rhythms today will you be there oh yes children I certainly will but you better hurry up now or you'll be late okay bye people with a purpose that's what makes a school the right kind of a place so that whether our children are reading or painting or learning about health all their activities blend together into a single unified program and we parents know that because of it our children all of our children children are getting a chance to grow and develop for Effective Living now and in the future but we haven't always understood how important physical education is in this program and there was a time when we didn't understand that even the youngest children need help and guidance in their physical activity just as they do in their other studies maybe we wouldn't understand it now if something hadn't happened 5 years ago something that began right in my own family family when Paul was just 10 years old Bye Mom Dad PA you've forgotten your shoes again here okay have a nice day dear bye I don't know what's wrong with that boy now don't start worrying about Paul he's coming along fine no he isn't he doesn't seem to take an interest in things what things well do you know last night he asked me again to give him an excuse from gym class at school did you well no I didn't the doctor told me last week there's nothing wrong with him of course there isn't you should see the Army's gun I was watching him Saturday morning pegging stones at a tin can yes but by himself that's no way for a growing boy he needs well I don't know something's missing oh forget it Helen Paul's still a child he'll come along all right he's got all the time in the [Music] world I felt in my heart that my husband was wrong Paul didn't have all the time in the world he was growing so fast and yet he seemed to be turning into himself for satisfactions he should have been getting with others [Music] come on PA you picture yeah strike them [Music] out come on all you pcture yeah strike them out come on flip on P [Music] boy you did [Music] it I knew that a growing child needs to feel the Thrills of success and the approval of other children his own age and that Paul wasn't getting the chance [Music] what's the matter Paul scared come on Paul what's the matter no muscles I strong up what's the matter come on I knew that every youngster needs adventure and the right kind of challenges Paul wasn't finding them where he should come on Paul I'll show you [Music] how I'll show you how now swing your feet free that's right now let go and reach that's right let's go and reach let go and reach let's go and reach let's go and reach let's go and I knew that a growing child needs to learn how to handle himself but nobody was teaching Paul he wasn't a happy child at all I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong but I wasn't alone there were a few people in our PTA who had noticed that something was lacking in our school and who had been trying to do something about it but it seems that they were in the minority those physical education classes are too crowded there's no organization the teachers don't have any definite time to give instruction equipment's neglected what there is of it I Tell You Folks those kids aren't getting physical education and they aren't getting it in high school either oh come on now Jed those buildings are the best that money can buy sure but Henry walk past the at elementary school every day like I do and watch most of those kids just standing there with nothing to do you'll think different well what do you want them to do too young to do much of anything are they too young to learn how to play Mr Taylor of course not but you don't have to hire a physical education teacher for that all the same Henry it seems to me that physical education is more than play nonsense I agree with Henry turn them loose in the schoolyard and let them go that's all you have to do yeah just turn them loose in the schoolyard and watch them go are they too young to learn how to play but you don't have to hire a physical education teacher for that just turn them loose in the schoolyard and watch them go of course not of course not we were closing the doors on an important part of our children's growth you could see it in their faces particularly on days when there was no playground to fall back upon there just wasn't anything for them to look forward to except a confused frustrating half hour in the gymnasium something was bound to happen oh it wasn't the teacher's fault they were doing their best to develop well-rounded healthy personalities and in the classroom they had a program and definite goals in mind but when it came to the teaching of physical education the teachers had little to offer except the same old games disorganized and without any continuity from one grade to the next our children would get a feeling of emptiness every time they went off to the gymnasium that's the feeling Paul must have had on the day it happened emptiness and confusion about his own abilities to play all right mat then we're going play gave a dodge ball uh let's see Bob you be one captain and um Marg you be the [Music] other hi B look out Paul let me throw yeah you can throw get out of the way Daddy come on [Music] [Applause] [Music] come on Paul what's the matter and straight come on F on I'm strong enough what's the matter come on let me me get out of way you get out of the way yeah you can get out of the way [Music] it was a surprise to me because I know Paul isn't that kind of a boy so that's why I thought it was best to ask you both to come in well I've had a feeling that something was wrong the way Paul's been going off by himself and those shoes always forgetting them Paul isn't a stupid child I know that Mrs Perell it isn't just Paul is it Mr Keller no as a matter of fact it's not then there must be another reason you asked to see us there is Mr phoh you see I too have felt that something was wrong and I think I know what it is and I believe this incident of Paul's shoes puts you folks in a position to help me set it right well isn't it a matter of scheduling more physical education periods or or something like that not quite it's a matter of finding the right people to put a real physical education program into effect let me explain myself a little further teachers here are fine people they're well trained Educators but they haven't had special preparation for physical education like Frank Davis for example up at the high school well can't he help out Davis already has more than he can handle at the high school actually he needs help too well you know Mr Keller we've talked about this often enough PTA but we've never gotten anywhere may I offer you a suggestion perhaps you could open up this whole question again at the PTA because I have an idea when parents truly understand what physical education is really about they'll see to it that the right kind of a program gets community support now can I count on your help I'll say you can if there's one thing a man likes to see it's his boy getting the right breaks when it comes to growing up my husband was wonderful he not only organized a special meeting of our PTA but he talked up the subject whenever he could with other fathers it was his idea to have Frank Davis the high school physical education teacher come in and give us a professional point of view about physical education I could go on and on but the point is we don't have an adequate physical education program in any of our schools we see a great many children coming to high school without even the basic physical skills running jumping throwing and the like and we can't do much to help them the way we're set up now they like stamina strength endurance they just can't do so many of the things they should be able to all this is a deep effect on the way they grow as so many communities have found out if each child is to make the most of himself then all need direction in physical activity and a program that's organized with every type of youngster in mind now you just can't turn children loose to play if you expect them to learn to work together play by the rules and build strong bodies in the elementary school particularly the classroom teachers shouldn't be expected to do all this by themselves they need the counil of a physical educator who is especially trained for the job someone who can supervise instruct help plan and point up the role of physical education in the children's lives someone to encourage and help this person should be a graduate of a regular and so it wasn't too long before our PTA group together with other groups in the community that were interested in school problems asked the school board to take action that action took the form of obtaining more qualified help at the high school level additional professionally trained teachers of physical education were employed to assist in both the boys and girls high school classes this meant more room in the schedule for new activities it also meant that now for the first time Mr Davis himself was free to take responsibility for the direction of the entire physical education program one of his first steps was to secure the services of a consultant in physical education someone who would work in our elementary School Paul's School with the individual attention she was able to give to the pupils and the help she was able to give to teachers conducting demonstrations helping to plan activities and the like we parents began to realize that at last our children would have their chance to grow and develop as children should and that's what has happened and has been happening ever since [Music] it's only over the years that a parent can get an inkling of what's going on and even a wall can't tell the whole story no one really can except the children themselves and they're too busy growing up but if you could telescope those important years of growth into a few short scenes you might see the meaning of it all and understand as we have come to do what physical education is really all about the movements you see your children doing in the early grades skipping hopping imitating animals and the like are more meaningful than they might appear this is not just turning them loose to play it's what their teachers call rhythmic activity and it's part of an overall program that will continue even in their college Years if you could follow these rhythmic activities from grade to grade you would see coordination develop before your eyes as the children go through increasingly complicated movement patterns and you would know at the same time that they are acquiring Poise skill and social abilities these are the purposes of rhythmic activities to help establish qualities of body and of Personality that are so important to every Young Person's success and happiness in life and if you could watch your children through years of activity on playground and gymnasium apparatus you would know that this this is not just a device that busy teachers sometimes use to keep children from getting into Mischief these are what they call self- testing activities and they too have a definite purpose in physical education programs all the way from first grade into college they are designed to let children find out for themselves just what progress they are making in mastering the skills of body control for it is through such activities as these that children learn to watch for their own strengths and weaknesses and strive for better performances day after day year in and year out it all happens so fast a parent hardly knows that anything is going on but they are growing in many directions and if you could somehow condense the whole range of self- testing activities into a few moments you could almost see that growth taking place you could see how agility strength and endurance come to life under proper supervision you could see how they do learn to handle themselves when there is someone around who is qualified to teach you could see how getting better at things becomes part of their way of looking at life this is the real meaning of self- testing activities and suppose you could put many years of games and sports activities before your eyes in a matter of a few seconds you would know that this is so much more than just play or keeping them busy for games are as much a part of Education as learning how to read and write even the simplest games or learning experiences for the very young children and as the games become more advanced they call into play more and more of the skills that children have learned in other parts of their physical education work from their rhythmic activities come timing and coordination from self- testing comes a sense of balance strength endurance and the ability to do things with their bodies that more vigorous games demand it's not easy for a parent to see the full meaning of all the games children play at school and everything happens so fast as the years go by there's hardly time to ask questions but if you could watch a well-directed physical education program in action you'd see that the games are taught so that all of the children regardless of size or physical type or particular talents get a chance to play in a good physical education program their activities are intended to set up a spirit of team play that will be useful to the children in later life wherever they are in college at work in community recreation programs these children will be ready to pull their own weight as members of the team but games are even more important than we parents realize because they are social activities and they must be played with others according to rules that are the same for all in many cases for boys and girls alike think of what learning about the rules of play means to a young man or woman who must soon accept responsibilities and learn about the rules of work and of daily life games are educational experiences because they are one of the most important ways children have of finding out what it takes to live with other people to win to lose to compete gradually through games they discover the meaning of good sportsmanship fair play equal opportunity ideals that go far beyond the playground in their significance for Americans no games aren't just a matter of keeping children busy and neither is what the children do in schools where swimming is part of the curriculum a child doesn't learn to swim in a day a week or a month it takes years of training and practice but if you could telescope it all into a few seconds you would know how important it is to begin when they are young and to follow through with skilled instruction all along the line you'd see how confidence develops as they take to the water and learn basic Strokes you'd see how basic Strokes provide the background for Preparation against the emergencies that every parent hopes will never come you'd see them develop lifelong Recreation interests right there in the swimming pool that you have helped to build oh it all happens so fast this development of a child into a young adult and a parent almost never sees what's happening until it's too late to do anything about it but if you know your children have had physical education in a school where activities are coordinated in a definite program then you can be sure that they are getting every chance to grow and develop as they should some of them may grow up to be the kind of athletes everybody looks up to and admires men and women who keep setting new standards of performance in every kind of physical activity event star performers like these come out of schools where the right kind of physical education was begun early where there were challenges and a sense of the adventure of sports where there was someone to help where there was a chance for success and the approval of others but most parents don't count on their children taking a place in the ranks of great performers what we want most for them is that they grow up to become people who want to play who know how to play and who are good enough and who stay fit enough to enjoy a wide variety of physical activities some will be skilled some won't but what matters is that they'll be participating for nowadays we are all coming to realize that people who like to play can usually get along well in the give and take of daily life and that's what physical education is really all about hey Johnny I ra your home I'm glad we found that out and as I look at our children growing so fast I often wonder how many towns have not made our discovery that physical education is a community responsibility it depends on many people on teachers and school administrators who acknowledge the importance of physical education on coaches and instructors who recognize that individual progress is on a par with team sports and the winning of trophies on physical Educators who know how to make a program work and on parents who take action before it is too late they grow up so fast that before you know it they're out of your hands [Music]