Legacy of Nash-Health, PE, & Outdoor Recreation (Rod Nash & Ron Jones)

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Dr. JB Nash & Wife Emma Nash

“Skill work lays the basis for thinking–the hands are the eyes of the brain. Sometimes we have to muscle in on the mind.” -JB Nash

Dr. Jay Bryan Nash (1886-1965) was cited by physical education scholars as one of the top physical educators of the 20th century. Overall, I call him THE most important. In my opinion as someone who has studied PE and movement history for decades, JB Nash was our greatest physical educator in the last 100 years. Dr. Nash wrote 13 books and well over 100 published articles. His body of work is absolutely stunning. He led many national organizations over his career in the fields of physical education and outdoor recreation. His writing style was intelligent yet easy to understand with great practicality and an eye on history to move forward into the future. There is no other author I enjoy reading more than JB Nash; his work has changed both my life and career and enhanced them both in numerous ways.

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Books by Dr. JB Nash

I had the wonderful opportunity again to sit down with the only son of JB Nash, Dr. Roderick Nash, who is a Professor Emeritus of UC Santa Barbara. The work of Dr. Rod Nash is equally impressive in the environmental studies and wilderness sides of health. This is truly an amazing show in terms of a family legacy of “Nash” but also for the wisdom shared on PE as it related to outdoor recreation and playgrounds and citizenship as taught by JB Nash and how the elder Nash’s work and legacy factored into the later work on outdoor recreation and environmental studies and environmental history of son Roderick Nash. Rod Nash’s 1967 book “Wilderness and the American Mind” forever changed how I thought about the outdoor “wilderness” and our ideas concerning the taming of nature and “the dangerous and mysterious unknown.” The Los Angeles Times listed this book on its 100 most influential books written in the last quarter-century, and Outside Magazine called Nash’s book “one of the books that changed our world.”

Dr. Jay Bryan Nash

“No educational theory has ever maintained that knowleddge could be pumped into empty heads or that skill could be developed without exercise. It is universally accepted that nothing can be taught to anyone not active in learning. This concept is as old as teaching. We must interpret the word ‘activity’ in a much broader sense than that of mere movement or busy work.” -JB Nash

The work and legacy of JB Nash have so much to say about guiding us into a better future through mental stability and organic health–and vigor. His teachings on the importance of outdoor recreation, parks, playgrounds, camping, quality physical education, equal rights for minorities and women, and keeping life balanced through the proper use of our leisure time has shocking relevance today on March 17, 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic. With millions of people locked down at home, what should they do? History and the Nash Legacy have some answers.

Enjoy the show…then get ACTIVE in the game of life in socially responsible ways in view of the current global situation. The weeks and months to come will allow for deeper reading and deeper thoughts about what we want and “need” the world to be as we move forward. DO what you can and do it NOW! -RJ

Ron Jones & Dr. Rod Nash

Jay Bryan Nash References:

• Memoriam (1965)
• JOPERD Summary (1985)
• War Fitness Conference Letter (1943)
• “The Ideas & Influence of McCloy, Nash, & Williams” by Ellen W. Gerber (1975)

Roderick Nash References:

• UC Santa Barbara Environmental Studies
• “Wilderness and the American Mind” Book
• “The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics” Book

–Ron Jones, MS, Show Host, Historical Kinesiologist, Physical Educator

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