TO THE EDITOR:
On November 25, one year will have passed since the publication of Law 21.778, which requires schools to guarantee 60 minutes of daily physical activity. This is great news in a country where more than half of schoolchildren are overweight or obese and nearly eight out of ten are inactive during the school day. What have we done in this year? Little: a few courses, some training sessions and, in many schools, delegating the task to the Physical Education teacher.
That is a mistake. This law is not about a single subject: it commits the entire educational community, that is, administrators, early childhood educators, teachers, and education assistants.
The law will begin to be enforced in March 2027, and it seems we are waiting for that deadline to start moving, just like with the vehicle inspection, which we leave until the last day. Why wait? Let's think for 60 seconds: here, everyone wins. Working with students' bodies and movement means working with what is most inherent to their nature. They gain cognitively, because they concentrate and learn more; emotionally, because they get along better; and physically, because they trust their bodies more. Teachers gain livelier classrooms that are more ready to learn, and families gain health and well-being.
Let's take seriously our children's right to move. They are already moving; it is we adults who need to move now.
Karin Haddad Bendekovic
Faculty member, Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Universidad Finis …
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Comments TO THE DIRECTOR: On November 25th, one year has passed since the publication of Law 21.778, which obligates schools to guarantee 60 minutes of daily physical activity. This is great news in a country where more than half of schoolchildren are overweight or obese and nearly eight out of ten are inactive during the school day. What have we done this year? Little: some courses, a few trainings, and, in many establishments, delegating the task to the Physical Education teacher. That is a mistake. This law is not for just one subject; it commits the entire educational community, meaning administrators, educators, teachers, and educational assistants. The law begins to be enforced in March 2027, and it seems we are waiting for that deadline to start moving, just like with the technical review, which we left until the last day. Why wait? Let's think for 60 seconds: we all win here. Working with the body and movement of students is working with what is most inherent to their nature. They gain cognitively, because they concentrate and learn more; affectively, because they coexist better; and motor skills, because they trust their bodies more. Teachers gain happier classrooms and students more willing to learn, and families gain health and well-being. Let us take seriously the right of our children to move. They already move; we adults are the ones who must move now. Karin Haddad Bendekovic Academic, Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Finis Terrae University More on: Students Overweight Physical activity