Independence, Ore. — The third-grade students in Meg Greiner's PE class at Independence Elementary School can barely contain themselves as they wait for the previous class to end. With limbs twitching in anticipation, eyes fixed on the gymnasium and the equipment inside, they bound into the room as if being set free in a theme park.
"Miss Greiner?" they wail. "Can we use the unicycles? Can we climb the rock wall today? Pleeeeaaaaase??"
Their enthusiasm suggests a much different experience from that which many of the students' parents may remember from their days in gym class. No more agonizing rope climbs. No more anxiety and dread, wondering if they'd be picked last for softball or pummeled mercilessly in dodge ball.
Physical education in kindergarten through high school is going through an evolution, with conventional activities such as team sports and lap-running taking second place to in-line skating, snowshoeing and circus classes that emphasize fun, continual movement and individual skills instead of team competition. No more standing around waiting for a turn at the ball.
Around the country, kids have access to more than ball sports. At Tucson High School, students have their pick of health club equipment, from treadmills to elliptical trainers. At the private Kamehameha School in Hawaii, the curriculum includes everything from fencing to Frisbee golf. And in Florida, one elementary school has introduced juggling.
Educators are also focusing on why it's important to exercise. Students are taught about cardiovascular health, how to maintain a target heart rate and the importance of strength training and good nutrition. The goal of these new programs: to instill in children a lifelong love of exercise.
Not all schools are following this game plan. Many cash-strapped school districts have cut physical education entirely, or maintain bare-bones programs that lack the funds for stair climbers or unicycles. Others don't see the need to radically alter PE programs that are little different from those of 20 or 30 years ago.
Increasingly, though, the idea of physical education that starts children on the path toward a lifelong involvement with exercise and health is gaining momentum in the nation's schools. Administrators and educators are concerned about rising obesity rates among children, causing them to rethink everything from vending machines to recess. And today's PE teachers may be motivated to make gym class more enjoyable than the lap-around-the-track and rope-climbing drills they experienced as children.
