Latin School of Chicago

at h l e t i c s fitneSS for life latin revamps Physical education ���Our philosophy as a department has always been the same: to give students the knowledge and skills to be physically active throughout their lives . . .��� ��� Pam McCarthy, P.E. Department Chair It is a Monday morning in Latin���s upper school gym, and about 25 students are playing an impassioned game of gladiators in a class called Unique Competitions. It is action-packed, loud, boisterous. Not a single person is standing still. On another morning, students are following directions in a yoga class. The room is quiet and full of focused concentration as students follow the intricacies of the moves. Both classes ��� and the level of student engagement in them ��� are the fruits of a threeyear effort to overhaul the physical education program at Latin. ���Our philosophy as a department has always been the same: to give students the knowledge and skills to be physically active throughout their lives,��� says Physical Education Department Chair Pam McCarthy. ���But we were struggling with the challenge of how best to get kids motivated.��� As McCarthy and her team worked on a new curriculum, the main goal was to transform P.E. from something that those not involved in athletics grudgingly take as a requirement to a program that makes students enthusiastic about participating in fitness ��� a goal that seems particularly relevant at a time of growing concern about childhood obesity and the general health of all Americans. Currently, upper school students must complete three years of P.E. credit to graduate but can fulfill the bulk of the requirement by participating on athletics teams. McCarthy wants P.E ultimately to become ���a class that kids don���t only take because they have to, but because they want to.��� To achieve this, the program has moved away from a traditional general P.E. class structure to a choice-based curriculum that allows students in grades 10-12 to customize their activities by selecting from a variety of courses based on their personal interests. Offerings for the 2011-12 school year will Pam McCarthy 18 Latin Magazine include Yoga and Pilates, Outdoor Education, Life Guarding, Strength Training and Net Games, to name a few. Freshmen are required to participate in a yearlong ninth grade wellness course that covers skills development and general health units such as sex education, nutrition and stress management. In moving to a choice-based curriculum, Latin is following the lead of some of the country���s most successful and respected high school physical education programs. McCarthy and her team have worked closely with students to determine their interests while continuing to ensure that valuable basic skills like dribbling, kicking, running and throwing are still part of the experience.

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