"By the time they graduate, the members of this year's senior class at Lincoln University will have met the usual academic requirements for a diploma.
But for the first time in the school's history - and perhaps for the first time in the United States - those whom the school judges to be unhealthfully overweight will have to surmount another hurdle before they get to cross the stage. They must take an exercise class designed to help them lose weight and stay healthy."
This previous quote, from an article posted on my PE in THE NEWS page, seems interesting and ohhh so wrong! Lincoln University administrators state they feel compelled to do something about the obesity epidemic, and are making it mandatory for overweight students to take a special health class to help them manage their weight.
In principle, anything an institution can do to educate its members in order to be healthier is worthy of our appreciation and support, but making it mandatory does not seem the way to go. If they have students that are NOT overweight, but have addictions to, say, tobacco... will they also make them take a class that teaches them how to kick the habit? What about if a person suffers from aneroxia nervosa... will they take a class to help them gain a healthy weight?
I strongly believe in giving people the information necessary, but ultimately it is the person itself who will make the decisions, healthy or not. A student can learn to answer the right questions and still not make changes in his/her lifestyle.
But for the first time in the school's history - and perhaps for the first time in the United States - those whom the school judges to be unhealthfully overweight will have to surmount another hurdle before they get to cross the stage. They must take an exercise class designed to help them lose weight and stay healthy."
This previous quote, from an article posted on my PE in THE NEWS page, seems interesting and ohhh so wrong! Lincoln University administrators state they feel compelled to do something about the obesity epidemic, and are making it mandatory for overweight students to take a special health class to help them manage their weight.
In principle, anything an institution can do to educate its members in order to be healthier is worthy of our appreciation and support, but making it mandatory does not seem the way to go. If they have students that are NOT overweight, but have addictions to, say, tobacco... will they also make them take a class that teaches them how to kick the habit? What about if a person suffers from aneroxia nervosa... will they take a class to help them gain a healthy weight?
I strongly believe in giving people the information necessary, but ultimately it is the person itself who will make the decisions, healthy or not. A student can learn to answer the right questions and still not make changes in his/her lifestyle.