In this issue:
Departments:
|
by Terri Kimura Image a long term goal of biking 3000 miles or running 400 miles! An award winning teacher had a vision of having students set long term physical goals. Barb Chiles is a physical education teacher at Westmer Junior High School in Joy, Illinois. She started Challenges Unlimited Club in 1998 to motivate students to attain their long term physical goals through individualized programs. Students who join the club are allowed to set a goal for themselves utilizing activities such as: walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling and team sports. They then can set a distance and use various geographic locations such as crossing the state or by swimming across a lake such as Michigan. While the students are not actually doing this, they are keeping track of their distance by keeping a weekly activity log and charting the miles as they accumulate. They can also train for an endurance event like a 10K race or a triathlon. This program lets students adapt their goals to their own interests and it also allows every kid, regardless of their athletic ability, to set their goal at their own pace. Besides students staying fit they may also have the opportunity to earn medals, t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, a group trip or even a ten-speed bike. As well as attaining a goal, students may find an extra bonus of learning geography at the same time. One students chose to bike half the distance of Australia because he was interested in it. He "met" his math teacher in the center of the country. She used a stationary bike as well to get her miles in. The club also holds group trips such as a 59 mile bike ride to nearby Muscatine. Parents helped by serving hot chocolate along the route. The kids learned how to work and function as a group and how to stick something out, even if the weather was cold. While in the group, no one was complaining and it just doesn't seem to bother you as much. Kids also learned about nutrition and safety rules for a long bike ride. The club motto is: "Rise Above the Ordinary". This group and Barbara
Chiles certainly has done that.
|