Jimmy Cox: PE essential to good health

Regarding the Jan. 19 news article “N.C. schools might cut arts, PE to meet new class size limits”: It was with great disgust that I read that the public schools may be forced to drop physical education due to laws concerning smaller class size. In this day where childhood obesity is on the rise this is a very “unhealthy” decision.

PE is also called “wellness.” It is also called “healthy living.” So basically PE is teaching life skills.

Please know that I am not saying that math or history should be dropped as I have taught math as well as PE. However, I have been to funerals or read obituaries of people who have died of coronary disease that could have been prevented by proper diet and exercise. I have never been to a funeral of someone who died because he did not know the Pythagorean theorem of geometry or that he could not recite the preamble to the Constitution or describe the Monroe Doctrine.

PE needs to stay in our schools.

This decision also makes me wonder what we are doing with the millions of dollars raised in the N.C. Education Lottery. Have a healthy heart.

This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Jimmy Cox: PE essential to good health."