Schools
Physical education's move beyond sports helps brain, too
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| SNP photo by Dan
Trittschuh Liberty Elementary School fifth-grader Gabby Moreth jumps rope last week in Rob Smith's physical education class. Smith is part of a team of Worthington teachers that designed a new course of study for physical education students. |
n Worthington PE teachers join forces to create a course of study focused on wellness and lifetime fitness techniques.
By PAMELA WILLIS
Keeping kids fit for life is the aim of a new physical
education graded course of study in the Worthington City
School District.
Liberty Elementary School teacher Rob Smith said "Wellness4Life" is a new course of study focused on helping students learn a lifetime of fitness techniques.
"Our overriding goal is to teach students to live healthy, physically active lives," he said. "The course promotes the idea of lifetime fitness because we feel it's important to give students activities they can pursue for a lifetime. We also want to align our physical education teaching with the new 21st-century learning we've been working on throughout the district."
Smith said he was one of a team of physical education teachers that worked on the new course of study.
The other members of the team are George Brinegar, Evening Street Elementary School; Jim Callahan, Brookside Elementary School; Jill Wiebell, Perry Middle School; Donnell Johnson, Kilbourne Middle School; Ben Wilson, Bluffsview Elementary School; Mario Paliotto, Worthington Kilbourne High School; and Sheila Martin and Margo Postak, Thomas Worthington High School.
Smith said the team studied three resources to come up with the foundation of the course: Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by Dr. John J. Rarey and Eric Hagerman; and PE4Life: Developing and Promoting Quality Physical Education and The National Association of Sport and Physical Education Standards, which were recently adopted by the state of Ohio.
"It's important to look at the health of the nation now, in both youth and adults, and to promote more wellness activity rather than just more sports activities throughout our curriculum," Smith said.
The teachers identified four "pillars" that make up the structure of the new course: lifetime fitness, sport skills and strategies, character development, and wellness integration.
"I think everyone knows the benefits to our body with physical activity, but the book we studied called Spark talked about exercise and the brain," Smith said. "All the wellness teachers in the district want to have an impact on their students, not only when we have them in elementary school.
"Promoting healthy physical activity throughout children's lives aligns directly with why I became a physical education teacher," he said.
Smith said if the new course is approved by the school board, it will be implemented across the district.
"We're already using parts of the course in pilot programs across all three grade levels, but we need board members to approve the course so that we can get software that will help students see the links between cardiovascular endurance and brain research," he said.
Smith said the secondary component of the course provides students with more choice in physical education activities.
"High school students will have more choice in classes and activities with the new course," he said. "We're moving away from more traditional sports-based classes and looking into personal fitness classes. Teachers are currently looking for classes that will meet the needs of students in different ways."
Liberty Elementary School teacher Rob Smith said "Wellness4Life" is a new course of study focused on helping students learn a lifetime of fitness techniques.
"Our overriding goal is to teach students to live healthy, physically active lives," he said. "The course promotes the idea of lifetime fitness because we feel it's important to give students activities they can pursue for a lifetime. We also want to align our physical education teaching with the new 21st-century learning we've been working on throughout the district."
Smith said he was one of a team of physical education teachers that worked on the new course of study.
The other members of the team are George Brinegar, Evening Street Elementary School; Jim Callahan, Brookside Elementary School; Jill Wiebell, Perry Middle School; Donnell Johnson, Kilbourne Middle School; Ben Wilson, Bluffsview Elementary School; Mario Paliotto, Worthington Kilbourne High School; and Sheila Martin and Margo Postak, Thomas Worthington High School.
Smith said the team studied three resources to come up with the foundation of the course: Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by Dr. John J. Rarey and Eric Hagerman; and PE4Life: Developing and Promoting Quality Physical Education and The National Association of Sport and Physical Education Standards, which were recently adopted by the state of Ohio.
"It's important to look at the health of the nation now, in both youth and adults, and to promote more wellness activity rather than just more sports activities throughout our curriculum," Smith said.
The teachers identified four "pillars" that make up the structure of the new course: lifetime fitness, sport skills and strategies, character development, and wellness integration.
"I think everyone knows the benefits to our body with physical activity, but the book we studied called Spark talked about exercise and the brain," Smith said. "All the wellness teachers in the district want to have an impact on their students, not only when we have them in elementary school.
"Promoting healthy physical activity throughout children's lives aligns directly with why I became a physical education teacher," he said.
Smith said if the new course is approved by the school board, it will be implemented across the district.
"We're already using parts of the course in pilot programs across all three grade levels, but we need board members to approve the course so that we can get software that will help students see the links between cardiovascular endurance and brain research," he said.
Smith said the secondary component of the course provides students with more choice in physical education activities.
"High school students will have more choice in classes and activities with the new course," he said. "We're moving away from more traditional sports-based classes and looking into personal fitness classes. Teachers are currently looking for classes that will meet the needs of students in different ways."
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