Author: Chuck Corbin

A Tribute to George H. Sage: Scholar, Teacher, Coach, Athlete

On February 11, 2019, physical education and kinesiology lost one of its long-time leaders.  Professor Emerita George H. Sage (University of Northern Colorado) was a renowned scholar in the area of sport sociology having authored more than 20 books and 200 scholarly articles.  He was among the first of the scholars in physical education and kinesiology that identified a disciplinary area of study and was among the early researchers in sport sociology.  His text Sociology of North American Sport, coauthored with Stan Eitzen, is a classic text and is now in its 10thedition.

George Sage, 12/27/1929 – 2/11/2019

George began his career as a high school physical education teacher and coach, first at College High School in Greeley, Colorado while working on his masters’ degree at Colorado State College (now UNC) and later at Chandler High School in Arizona. Sage next served as a graduate teaching assistant at UCLA while working on his doctorate.  During this time, he studied basketball with legendary coach John Wooden. He then taught and coached (basketball) at Pomona College while working on his doctorate at UCLA. After earning his doctorate, he accepted a position as assistant professor and head basketball coach at his alma mater. From 1963 to 1969 his teams posted a 95-36 (.725) winning percentage, a school record. After he left coaching in 1969, Sage focused on teaching and research.

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Tribute to Roberta (Robbie) Park: Exemplary Physical Educator and Sport Historian

Roberta J. Park, or Robbie as she was known by her close friends and colleagues, was a lifelong proponent of physical education. In addition to being a renowned physical educator she was a passionate scholar in the field of sport history with a specialty in the history of health, exercise, and physical education in the 18th and 19th centuries. She edited a number of seminal books and monographs as well as many chapters in books and monographs. She published more than one hundred articles in virtually all of the important journals in the field of physical education and kinesiology.

Roberta Park, 07/15/1931 – 12/05/18

Robberta delivered lectures and research presentations in all parts of the world, often as keynote speaker or in an honor address. Her research output is truly outstanding and her extensive work on embodiment, sport, health and physical practices in historical context is widely admired. One of her most important contributions to the field was a substantive review article entitled “A Decade of the Body: Researching and Writing about the History of Health, Fitness, Exercise and Sport, 1983-1993” published in the Journal of Sport History in 1994.

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Art, Music, and Physical Education

Note: Reprinted from the Ahwatukee Foothills News, March 17, 2015, reprinted by permission.

Over the last few months, much has been written about funding for Arizona education. The seventeen percent decrease in funding in recent years and diversion of funds designated for education have prompted a variety of comments. Rarely mentioned, however, is the fact that art, music, and physical education programs have been dramatically cut as funding has decreased. Improving test scores in math and language arts seems to be the primary goal and “special” programs such as art, music, and physical education are the first to go when budget shortfalls occur. If and when funding is restored, these programs sometimes, referred to as “frills” are rarely restored.

But what does the evidence tell us about these “special programs?” It tells us that they really are special, not frills. Lets take a look at the evidence. Students who participate in the arts read more often, are four times more likely to do public service, four times more likely to be in a math or science fair, and three times more likely to bet elected to a class office than other students.

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High School Physical Education-Part 2: Going On Offense with Innovative New Programs and Online Options

This article is the second part of a two part series. The first segment was published here.

In Part 1 of this series, I described ideas for “going on offense” rather than “playing defense” with high school physical education programs. I suggested that we build strong standards based programs that show accountability. I also suggested the implementation of a strong fitness education program that adheres to the SHAPE America fitness education framework to bring credibility to our programs. Finally, I suggested that offering innovative electives is another key ingredient for taking an offensive approach. In this second article in the series, I offer additional ideas for “going on offense” including ideas for innovative new programs and ideas for quality online options.

Create Innovative New Programs

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High School Physical Education-Part 1: Going on Offense to Improve Programs and Prevent Program Loss

This article is the first part of a two part series.  The second segment will be published in the next issue of PHE America.

Recently, I was asked to participate in a college class activity in which students “defended physical education” before a simulated school board.  I, along with several others, served as “board members” for this activity.  Different groups were asked to make presentations to the board concerning proposed exemptions for band and athletics, or proposed decreases in the physical education requirement.  The activity was realistic because we in physical education often find ourselves on the defensive.  Challenges to our programs “pop up” and, in the defensive mode, we prepare statements or appear before school boards to defend them.

In recent years, I have written position papers for submission to school boards (solicited by physical educators or prepared on my own), and have presented to a number of school boards to defend programs. After involvement in several program challenges, I have come to believe that by the time a program challenge has reached the school board agenda, the battle has already been lost.  Indeed program losses, especially at the high school level, have been significant over time.

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Society of Health and Physical Educators, America (SHAPE America) Gets My Vote

Roberta Park, a noted physical education historian, has suggested that physical education (and I would also include health education) can become the renaissance field of the 21st century. She makes the case that medicine was a fledgling field prior to 1900, but became the renaissance field of the 20th century. The development of the medical sciences, strong delivery programs (treatment, prevention, and promotion), strong medical training programs, and a strong professional organization were the keys.

At this point in our professional history I believe that Park makes a good point! Health and physical educators are primed to do good things in the years ahead. Our ever-evolving scientific base has grown in recent years, just as medicine’s did in the previous century. We have the support of major medical groups (AMA, AHA, AAP, IOM), governmental groups (CDC, PCFSN, USDHHS), and other well-known public and professional organization (ACSM, NFL, NAK, NAKHE) to name only a few. In addition, the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently published two reports related to our field. New standards for teacher education bode well for improved teacher education in our field, a necessary prerequisite for the type of success enjoyed by the field of medicine.

Major initiatives have been implemented in support of Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAPS) with quality physical education as the centerpiece (CDC, AAHPERD). Comprehensive health education is also a strong priority of the CDC and other groups. We have a new cooperative agreement for a Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP) supported by multiple cooperating agencies including AAHPERD, Physical Best, the President’s Council, the Cooper Institute (FITNESSGRAM®), AAU, CDC, and the new National Foundation for Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition (NFFSN). Parental support for health and physical education is also strong. According to a Harvard survey, more than 90% of parents support health and physical education in the schools.

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