Category | Op Ed

Head, shoulders, knees and yawns, knees and yawns

Published on January 26, 2007 by The Sentinel

Every student at KSU has to take HPS 1000 or "Fitness for Living." The purpose of the class is admirable - to educate KSU students about their own health and to encourage them to participate in beneficial physical activities. My problem is not so much with the course itself or with its intent. Rather, the one-size-fits-all character of the course makes it appropriate for a few, and less than ideal for many.

 For some, it may not be useful at all. Just think about it. Does a multi-sport athlete just getting out of high school need the same health and exercise indoctrination as a 40-something nursing student who has two active teenagers at home? Does an ROTC student who is already participating in daily physical training have the same need for indoctrination to a healthy lifestyle as an overweight couch potato who complains of the long walks from the parking decks to the classroom buildings?

 For many freshmen entering KSU from high school, HPS 1000 is redundant. Most of these students have recently completed a semester of health class covering much of the same curriculum. Many of these students would be better served by the option to take one of the more interesting exercise courses such as tennis, golf or scuba diving, which could lead to a lifetime activity.

 For non-traditional students, [particularly for those parents who have been obsessing about the correct diets and activities for their children] it would be useful to have a once a semester Saturday session that would include spouses, children and/or parents. Getting the family involved is a good way to encourage more exercise outside of, and beyond, the one semester length of the class.

 For those students who are already knowledgeable about nutrition and the effects and benefits of exercise, why not have a way to test out of the course in much the same way that CLEP tests allow getting credit for English, History and Political Science courses? Additional requirements could also be stipulated, such as a CPR certification.

 Instead of the standardized HPS 1000 for all students, why not offer multiple versions? There could be sections tailored for active athletes, older adult students and those with young children who want to learn as much about their children's health as their own. Some sessions could focus on walking and the use of typical exercise equipment, but others would allow [if not encourage] participation in more active sports from tennis to swimming, from bicycling to rock climbing.

 Why not have HPS 1000 turn into a course that students look forward to taking? If it provides both useful information and the opportunity to participate in something that will more likely be a long lasting activity, maybe it would look more appealing in the course list. As it is, HPS 1000 is a drudge course, one that few students look forward to taking, and one that seldom leads to a long term increase in useful physical activity.

 Rather than do away with HPS 1000, as many students have suggested in the past, why not turn it into multiple courses offering varying levels of classroom instruction coupled with a much wider variety of beneficial physical activity? Instead of being a course that every student has to take like a dose of unpleasent medicine, HPS 1000 could become much more interesting for the faculty to teach, as well as for students to take.