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May 16, 2007
Gnarly, dude!Forget dodgeball, kickball, and rope climbing. In some New York middle and high schools, the stodgy classics from P.E. classes of yesteryear are getting a makeover with innovative options like skateboarding, Pilates, yoga, line dancing, and kayaking.
BoardBuzz caught this tidbit in the New York State School Boards Association's On Board magazine, which actually made us want to go back to high school gym class. The goals of P.E. are the same as always, "to give students the knowledge and experience to remain physically active for a lifetime," it's just the techniques that have changed. Seriously, when was the last time anyone besides Ben Stiller played dodgeball? Besides, you need a whole team of people to participate in that activity, but for things like rollerblading, kayaking, and rock climbing, students can go it alone.
The state is even working on assessments to track student fitness and progress. Glen Maisch, Kingston High School's athletic director, summed up nicely by saying, "Students and parents need to see where their school's obesity rate is and fitness rate is because they're just as important as academics."
Posted May 16, 2007 5:16 PM | Health & Wellness
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Posted by: Betty on May 17, 2007 9:45 AM
I remember Dodge Ball. As a little kid, I was always afraid to see the ball coming. My arms still hurt from Red Rover! It's good news to see that P.E. is becoming a little more enjoyable. When I was in high school, we were graded by how good we were in sports. I usually made a D in P.E. Line dancing and yoga would have been better choices for me.
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