TAF program...good-bye...
The Trim and Fit program, or otherwise known as TAF, has been implemented in primary and secondary schools as a means of reducing obesity in children. It mainly consists of subsituting recess time with exercise time, where obese students are expected to exercise when their trimmer friends get to eat during recess time.
Yours truly, due to being vertically-challenged and horizontally-abundant was in this program all the way. Alas, though the idea was great in helping students to get rid of their excess fat, it also created a stigma, as those who were invloved in TAF got ridiculed and teased at, often given labels such as 'fatty pompom' et cetera. It is this unwelcome repercussion as well as the limited results that eventually caused TAF to be discarded.
Frankly speaking, I did have quite a lot of fun at TAF because i got to try out different gym equipment and went for hikes. Besides, when it become apparent that starving the students only created more disgruntlement, the schools even provided healthy snacks such as yoghurt (yummy!)to fight off the hunger. Besides, I get to interact with students from other classes and also form new friendships.
However, it seems that a new program is now in progress, aimed at enforcing a more holistic approach towards health for all students, instead of just the overweight. Known as Personal Responsibility in Daily Effort (PRIDE) for Play program, it seeks to integrate playtime into the school curriculum, on top of physical education periods. It is to introduce 'play' as a means to boost up the physical level of activity in school children and in this way, improve their overall physical and mental health.
It still remains to be seen whether PRIDE will be materialised, yet the concept behind it, which is of course the age-old method of playing reminds us today how deprived the children are in terms of physical activity and playtime. In comparison to our fathers, who lived in kampongs and basically played hide-and-seek, police-and-thief and catch insects, the children of today are preoccupied with video and online games that resulted in them sitting for hours in front of the computer. Alas, good old playtime seems to have been forgotten with the advance in technology.
Yours truly, due to being vertically-challenged and horizontally-abundant was in this program all the way. Alas, though the idea was great in helping students to get rid of their excess fat, it also created a stigma, as those who were invloved in TAF got ridiculed and teased at, often given labels such as 'fatty pompom' et cetera. It is this unwelcome repercussion as well as the limited results that eventually caused TAF to be discarded.
Frankly speaking, I did have quite a lot of fun at TAF because i got to try out different gym equipment and went for hikes. Besides, when it become apparent that starving the students only created more disgruntlement, the schools even provided healthy snacks such as yoghurt (yummy!)to fight off the hunger. Besides, I get to interact with students from other classes and also form new friendships.
However, it seems that a new program is now in progress, aimed at enforcing a more holistic approach towards health for all students, instead of just the overweight. Known as Personal Responsibility in Daily Effort (PRIDE) for Play program, it seeks to integrate playtime into the school curriculum, on top of physical education periods. It is to introduce 'play' as a means to boost up the physical level of activity in school children and in this way, improve their overall physical and mental health.
It still remains to be seen whether PRIDE will be materialised, yet the concept behind it, which is of course the age-old method of playing reminds us today how deprived the children are in terms of physical activity and playtime. In comparison to our fathers, who lived in kampongs and basically played hide-and-seek, police-and-thief and catch insects, the children of today are preoccupied with video and online games that resulted in them sitting for hours in front of the computer. Alas, good old playtime seems to have been forgotten with the advance in technology.
Labelled by Quaintness at
17:28
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home