Edutopia - June/July 2008 - (Page 52)

State University. Wilson has created what he calls “the PE Hall of Shame.” Into it he puts games like dodgeball or duck, duck, goose, even musical chairs—“any game where kids get eliminated,” he says. Wilson acknowledges that there are those who consider his philosophy of PE politically correct, “communist, and un-American.” What he is trying to do, Wilson says, “is to get PE teachers to think about whom their work can bene⇒t the most.” The clear answer, he believes, “is the overweight and weak.” Traditional PE, he says, “is designed for kids who are athletic and will succeed anyway.” Wilson is also a critic of what might be called the “full employment for coaches” program, under which PE teachers are hired primarily for their ability to coach organized sports. He contends that coaching and PE are a poor mix, because coaching “drains you as a teacher.” Physical education should never be about team sports, Wilson says, but rather should be the catalyst for developing a student’s individual and lifelong sport and recreational interest. Although instructors and medical and educational experts decry any moves to further weaken public school PE, there are in fact private programs that, if necessary, can ⇒ll at least part of the physical education gap. One possible private model is the Riekes Center for Human Enhancement. This 50,000-square-foot facility in Menlo Park, an hour south of San Francisco, tailors programs to meet the individual needs of its participants. Gary Reikes, the program founder, is a former Stanford University football player who believes that the center can be thought of as a “secret school” that uses a wide array of athletic equipment, coaching expertise, and coordinated arts, music, photography, and nature-study programs as incentives to improve academic performance. Students at the center range from young teens with behavioral problems to star athletes training for professional sports careers and Olympic try-outs. All Reikes Center students, regardless of their physical gifts, get equal attention, and the program puts a premium on students helping teach others. The Reikes program, nearly two decades old, is today af⇒liated with a number of local public and private schools that use the center’s resources, and its philosophy, to expand their own PE classes. Again, this sort of outsourcing may not be ⇒scally possible, but in places like Naperville, San Rafael, Spring⇒eld College, and Reikes, a revolution is brewing. And as new ideas are brought into schools by students and teachers who have seen the future, physical education is going to work—for everyone—in new and better ways. And not a minute, or a jumping jack, too soon. e Richard Rapaport is a journalist and consultant in San Francisco. Feel the Burn Visit Edutopia.org for many more feature articles, expert interviews, and video documentaries about phys ed, including these gems: video ACTIVE BODIES, ACTIVE MINDS Watch how smart schools unite brains and brawn at edutopia.org/new-pe-video poll FITNESS AND FOCUS Does working out improve mental fitness? See how readers respond at edutopia.org/poll-physical-activity features FIT FOR LIFE The late, great football coach Bill Walsh makes the case for life skills learned in sports at edutopia.org/coaches-pep-talk COACHING CHECKLIST For ten tips on how to hone emotional intelligence through sports, go to edutopia.org/take-action-coaches STRENGTHENING THE CORE Former teacher and Edutopia staffer Mark Nichol urges schools to rethink physical education as a core curriculum, not as organized recess. Hear him out at edutopia.org/physical-fitness STRETCH GOALS Elementary schools are teaching yoga to give kids a new fitness mindset. Remember to breathe at edutopia.org/stretch-goals ROUNDING ERROR Educators are taking on the fitness versus fatness crisis at edutopia.org/fighting-fitness 52 EDUTOPIA JUNE/JULY 2008 http://Edutopia.org http://edutopia.org/new-pe-video http://edutopia.org/poll-physical-activity http://edutopia.org/coaches-pep-talk http://edutopia.org/take-action-coaches http://edutopia.org/physical-fitness http://edutopia.org/stretch-goals http://edutopia.org/fighting-fitness

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Edutopia - June/July 2008 Contents UpFront Feedback Dispatches Sage Advice Ask Ellen Head of Class Cool Schools Design Young Minds, Fast Times Wii Love Learning No More Pencils, No More Books Tech Without Support All the Right Moves Room to Learn Heart & Soul Pop Quiz: Jeff Corwin

Edutopia - June/July 2008

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